A Small Comment on Eyebrows...and Other Non-Makeup-Related Things

Recently, I have been going through Facebook photos of myself from freshman year as well as other pictures from high school. I want to go back and shake myself senseless. I need to show you a picture of what my eyebrows used to look like.

What was I thinking? My eyebrows are semi-circles! They don't complement my facial structure, and I look constantly surprised. Thankfully, I was able to grow them in and learned a thing or two about filling them in over the course of my college career.

My eyebrows are much more natural nowadays, and they actually require much less maintenance! They have found their natural arches (which I was lost about back in the day), and I have become much less obsessed with making my eyebrows twins. Here are my eyebrow suggestions for other people struggling with what to do with eyebrows.


#1: Your eyebrows are sisters, not twins. When you become too concerned with your eyebrows being exactly the same, you start to over-pluck. As I'm sure you've already noticed, I used to do this all the time, and gave myself non-existent eyebrows. Let your brows find their natural arch and work with what your momma gave you individually on both sides of your face. No part of your body is exactly identical, and your brows won't be either. Don't worry about it.

#2: Feel free to add more, but stop taking away too much. What I mean by adding more: to match one brow to the other, use a brow pencil or a brow powder one shade lighter than your natural hair color to fill in the spaces. Don't take away from the other one! Again, this is how I overplucked my eyebrows into oblivion. *Shudder* Even thinking about it getting me upset! Ha!

#3: Use those stencils you get in brow kits! They seem absolutely ridiculous, but I promise you--they help you find a shape that will complement your face, and you don't have to worry about planning out the shape yourself. Try it once, fill it in lightly. You'll thank me, I swear. They come in the Sephora brow kit, if you're looking to buy  one.


My brow regimen:
1) Wow, when I wake up in the morning my eyebrows are all over the place! I use a brow brush to brush through the hairs and tame them before I begin filling them in.
2) I tweeze unnecessary hairs that have popped up--but be careful! Don't tweeze hairs above the brow because it creates a really unnatural look and can ruin the height of the beautiful brow arch.

This Brow Tutorial Shows How to Create the Perfect Arch

3) I fill in my brows with a shade VERY close to my natural dark brown hair color. I have used Sephora's brow kit, and I am currently loving the brow kit I purchased from NYX cosmetics. You can find each of them on their respective websites, www.sephora.com and www.nyxcosmetics.com. FYI--the NYX kit is only $6, which I think is a steal because I can use it 1,000 times. No lie.

Use a small angled brush to create the top and bottom lines of your brow with a brow powder (I don't use a pencil, I think it is too aggressive of a line) and make sure to blend the lines you created up into the hairs. The more natural the blending, the better your eyebrows will look. To create a natural line on the inside-most part of your brow, use a brush that has a rounded edge--that way the line doesn't come out so angular. That would look unnatural.

4) Keep your brows in place all day with a gentle brow gel. I find some of them to be too "hardening". I didn't like the gel that came in the Sephora kit--I felt it "glued" my brows in place. Example: It's like the difference between a hair spray that holds your hair but lets it maintain its bounce, or a spray that literally turns your hair into steel. My favorite brow gel is the one that Chanel sells. It's the perfect amount of hold.

5) Highlight with a soft white underneath the brow to draw attention to the height of your brow bone--that will also deepen the crease color you put on when you wear makeup later!

I think my brows are much more natural and fit my face much better now. I hope you agree, and if you have brow questions, be sure to e-mail or comment.

IN OTHER NEWS: My room mate and best friend in the entire world, Jeanne, turned 21 this weekend--a total milestone! We threw her a great party at our favorite Italian restaurant and then went to New York City--the West Village is the "it" spot--I had no idea! The whole neighborhood was overflowing with the trendiest people, and everyone was relaxing and laughing and dancing and just living it up! We had such a great time down there that we're planning on going back at the end of the school year. I used a H.I.P. duo for gold lids that I hope to show you soon, by the way! She and I both had a truly great time, and I want to thank everyone who was a part of the festivities for making it a really great experience. I love her very much and I'm glad that she had a good time. So, Happy Birthday Jeanne! :D

This is a picture of us being silly from my Photo Booth Application--it's from freshman year! How far we've come! <3 LOVE YOU.



<3 all the best, kristie