Want wow brows like Cara Delevingne? Who doesn't? Brow specialist, makeup artist, and aesthetician Kristie Streicher gives Cosmopolitan.com the ins and outs on what — and what not — to do to make your arches look *~AmAzInG~*.
1. To get your brows to look full, lightly shade the hairs above and below your brow to create a barely there shadow. Using a low-oil pencil that's soft, shade on top and underneath your brow to get a slight shadow of color, and then brush your brows upward with a spoolie brush to give them a natural look.
2. Keep any brow pencil away from your skin where there isn't hair; it's the tell-tale sign that you've colored your arches in. Remember, you want to enhance what you have, not draw on what's not there.
3. Brushing your brow hairs upward and outward gives them what Streicher calls a "feathered" look. You arches will look more natural and fuller when you groom them this way. Brushing them simply outward won't do the trick.
4. With brow gel, go for a color that is the same shade as your brows or one shade darker; with brow pencils, go one shade lighter because you want that look to be softer. When you're drawing the illusion of hair, it looks unnatural if the pencil is darker or as dark as your hair. The lighter color gives it dimension. Try Maybelline New York Brow by EyeStudio Brow Drama Tinted Gel Mousse, Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow, or Blinc Eyebrow Mousse.
5. Don't color your brows with at-home box color that you'd use on your hair. Why? Because the peroxide levels that at-home color contains are just too intense for your brow/eye area and can actually burn the skin under your brows, cause your eye area to become red, and create a burning sensation in your eyes.
6. If you do want to color your brows at home, the only colorant you should use is vegetable dye. It's better for dyeing your own brows because it's mixed with lower peroxide levels than regular hair dye, so it not only lasts longer, it's actually safe for the eye area.
7. In general, eyebrow tint lasts longer than coloring your brows. The peroxide in regular hair dye is often too much for your brows to handle and absorb. Your arches actually do better accepting a lower peroxide level, as in an eyebrow tint. Ask your local aesthetician or brow specialist if they offer this service and then get it ASAP if your brows need a color boost!
8. Brows serve a purpose to protect your eyes and frame your face, so it's important not to over-tweeze them and to keep them filled in. Strong brows also exude confidence and make you look healthy, so if you want to look awake but don't want to apply that much makeup, definitely fill in any sparse spots in your arches.
9. Tinted eyebrow gel is perfect for achieving fuller brows, but you have to tissue off any excess formula on the brush head before you apply it to your arches. Or else you'll look like Groucho Marx. For real though.
10. A brow mascara with fibers in it gives the appearance of fuller brows instantly. If you don't want to bother with trying to create tiny, hair-like strokes with a brow pencil, pick up a fiber-filled brow gel, like Talika Eyebrow Extender, and create beautiful brows with the help of the fibers that adhere to your arches to conceal sparse spots.
11. Brow pomade is a thing and it will keep your arches in place without making them look or feel crunchy. Much like hair products, gels often look a bit harder in your hair, so if you want that groomed un-groomed look, brush on a pomade, like Troy Surratt Expressioniste Brow Pomade. It's clear so it won't add color, but it will keep your brows coiffed.
12. If you're jonesing for bleached brows like Miley or Kendall, let a pro do the reverse dye job. Bleach is a dangerous chemical and isn't safe to put near your eyes without the supervision of a licensed professional, like a hairstylist, brow professional, or aesthetician. So, the next time you reach for your bottle of Jolene to DIY bleach your brows, think again.
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13. Bleached brows can become dry and brittle, just like your actual hair would be if you stripped it of its natural color. If your beauty jam is to look like Miley, make sure you're conditioning your brows on the regular by applying a lightweight oil over the hairs with your fingertip. Try Kristie Streicher's Aforé Oil.
Follow Carly on Twitter.
Carly Cardellino was the beauty director at Cosmopolitan. If you follow her Instagram, then you know she'll try just about any beauty trend or treatment once (the pics of her purple hair are on IG to prove it). But her favorite part about being in beauty is finding the most effective products, and then sharing that intel with others—because who wants to spend money on stuff that doesn't work? No one, that's who. Her most recent discovery: De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment, which will change your blemish-clearing game! Hopefully through the beauty stories she writes—and the experiences she shares—you can see exactly why she's in this business.
