User post: Perfect eyebrows

In an earlier post here on Shine, I talked about eye shadow techniques for different eye shapes, i.e. close-set eyes, wide-set eyes, hooded eyes, etc. Another very important factor to enhance your overall look is properly shaping your eyebrows. I am sure you have all seen women with unnatural looking eyebrows, they are either too thick or too thin, has either no arch or an arch that is too pronounced or is harshly penciled in. A well defined and nicely shaped eyebrow can essentially give your eyes a lift and frame the eyes.

First and foremost consider whether you eyes are close-set or wide-set. This determination will give you a beginning point for your eyebrows. If you are not sure of your eye position here is a general rule: the space between the eyes should be one eye length. If the space between your eyes measures less than 3/4 of an eye length then they are close set. If the length is more than 1 1/14 times the length of your eye then they are wide set.

Below is a diagram on how to properly shape your eyebrows. Note that the beginning of the eyebrow begins a a little past the tear duct, the peak of the arch begins just past the iris and the end of the eyebrow ends at the outer corner of the eye. So grab a ruler or whatever and imagine a straight line from the outside corner of the nostril up to the inside corner of your eye. For those with wide-set eyes you can extend the line a little towards the ridge of the nose to minimize the width between the eyes. For close set eyes extend the beginning point towards the eye to widden the distance between the eyes. Next, measure a straight line from the outside corner of your nostril to the outside corner of your eye; this is the shortest measurement that your eyebrow should be. Finally measure a straight line from the outside corner of your nostril through the outside corner of the iris; this will be the peak of your arch. Also note that the arch should fall at the back third of the eye.

Other tips to create perfect eyebrows are:

Selecting the right color is essential for a natural look. Blondes should choose one or two shades lighter than their brow hair. Brunettes should choose one to two shades darker than their brow hair. Redheads consider the same color family. Think of Christina Hendricks, although not a true redhead, her eyebrows are in the same color family of her hair.

Avoid over-tweezing above the brow. Granted a few stray hairs is fine to remove but over tweezing will result in an unnatural look. Do not over pluck the eyebrows into a thin line.

Work with the hair that is there and fill in where sparse rather than draw on eyebrows. Eyebrows should be softly shaded with the appropriate natural color. If using an eye brow pencil, start with light strokes between the brow hairs. Start at the beginning of the brow and work outward. If penciling doesn't look natural, consider a powder.

Follow the natural contour of your eyebrow and shape and tweeze to define the look.

Do not pencil in no more than 1/4 inch where there is no hair, any more than that only accentuates that there is no hair there.

Never shave your eyebrows as this will give you a 5:00 shadow, much like men get on their face.

Eyebrow tools:

There are a number of tools to help you get perfect eyebrows and below are a few recommendations:

Tweezers - a good pair of tweezers are a necessity. The difference between a good pair and inferior pair is the control you will have. Good tweezers can pick out one hair at a time and will maintain its shape and point for a very long time.

Tweezers by Revlon under $6.00 and has great reviews

Eyebrow pencil or shadows - if your eyebrow hair is sparse the right colored pencil and/or shadow can define your eyebrows into a work of art.


NYX Automatic Eyebrow Pencil features an advanced formula, self-sharpening tip and built in brush to smoothly style and groom the brows only $3.99

Eyebrow gels - For thicker eyebrows an eye brow gel will keep eye brow hairs in place.

Maybelline Brow Styling Gel - CLEAR, only $4.19

Eye brow brushes - Brushes are used to blend and soften the eyebrow pencil or shadow for a natural look. If you not ready to invest in an eyebrow brush, use an old toothbrush. You can even spray a little hair spray on the toothbrush to keep unruly hairs in place.

Eyebrow stencils - these are handy if you are unsure of shaping your eyebrows on your own. What is nice about stencils is that you can try various shapes before you actually start tweezing.


Ardell Brow Perfection Stencils, only $2.49

I hope you found these tips handy and now you can create your perfect eyebrows. I have many posts here on Shine about skin care, beauty tips, and skin care recipes, I hope you will stop by and visit. I would love to hear your input on my posts. Or, visit my website at Complete Skin Care Therapy for new articles and beauty tips.

CarolB - author of 300+Skin Care Recipes

Oh yeah, my favorite skin care store is Skin Energizer - great prices! Check them out you will be happy you did!