Picture-Perfect Eyebrows

Picture-Perfect Eyebrows

A poorly groomed eyebrow can alter the look of your face-and for the worse. Plus, let's be honest, sporting uneven brows can make you feel a little off-kilter. Though brow hair does grow back, it could take weeks for your natural line to resurface following a grooming session-gone-wrong. Hollywood makeup artists Suku Duggan and Brett Freedman (also the creator of VanityMark, a line of high-quality brow and lash products) offer up a batch of freshly plucked suggestions for eyebrow maintenance, shape according to face, masking gray areas and more! Consider these expert recommended tips-sure to banish eyebrow blunders for good.

Face Shape: Heart

Freedman says, "The key here is to soften angles." Keep the arch high to add a sense of roundness and femininity, and make sure you have a well-shaped tail to anchor the eyes and balance a strong jaw line. "I tend to like brows a touch lighter than your hair (as shown here); it softens the face and accentuates the usually darker eyelashes." Before darkening your hair, assess how much lighter your eyebrows will be, he explains. Too light and it might give the illusion that you're wearing a wig.





Face Shape: Long & Thin

Accentuate delicate facial features with an equally delicate brow shape, but be careful not to pluck brows too thin; this gives the face a weak, low-watt look. Similarly, keep the brow a lighter shade for subtlety. To fill in gaps, Freedman recommends only using products specifically intended for eyebrows. He explains, eyebrow pencils will have more pigment, be less waxy and leave a more natural finish. If you choose to highlight with a shadow, it's best to use one with a matte finish-avoid anything with shimmer or satin. In both cases, choose a pencil or powder a shade lighter than your brows, and blend with a spoolie.



Face Shape: Oval

An oval-shaped face is the easiest to work with, Duggan says. You can create any shape you want, she says, whether straight across or arched, but suggests following the natural brow line. However, even the prettiest of brows may still run into a gray area! Freedman's advice is to tint brows with dye when gray hairs start to appear. While mascara is a quick fix, it tends to look thick and chunky, he explains. Plus, if you're blonde, even a soft brown color may be too dark. "I'd resist plucking them out if you have more than one or two," he advises.



Face Shape: Round

"It's best to keep brows on the full side and the tail on the shorter side," Freedman says. Both Duggan and Freedman agree that too long or too short a brow will only accentuate the width of your face. If your brows are coarse or curly, Freedman suggests taming them with a light brow glaze or gel, or trimming with small scissors to tone down girth. If your brows are on the sparse side, you can cheat this recommended look with a sweep of brow powder a shade lighter than your brow.





Face Shape: Square

To soften a square face it's best to showcase a full eyebrow with a rounded shape, explains Freedman. Keep the arch high and well-defined to create a more feminine look, he adds. A clean, but substantial shape will balance the strong angles of your face without weighing it down. If you're going blonde, Freedman recommends lightening your brows simultaneously. This will make them more subtle, and reduce the risk of over plucking; there's little we can do to remedy this beauty blunder but be patient while they grow out, which Freedman says take about 2 to 3 weeks.

For more great beauty tips, check out WomansDay.com!