Brows, Brows, Brows

Lately I've had a few questions about my eyebrows so I thought it was time to do a post explaining my 'eyebrow routine'. To be honest it's nothing revolutionary, but hopefully it will help someone! This isn't really going to be a tutorial, more a collection of tips and tricks that I find work well for me. To see the process itself, have a look at the video in this post (eyebrow bit starts around 1 minute in).



Before
Routine:
After I've applied my foundation, I brush my eyebrows through with one of those comb things that are for mascara on one side and eyebrows on the other - I'm sure you know what I mean! Mine is just a cheapy one that I think came free with a magazine once, but it does the job well enough.

I then fill my brows in using the powder from the HD Brows palette. I use a combination of the two darkest shades, as none of the colours are a perfect match for my hair colour. I just use the little brush that came with the set, but any small angled brush would do. I don't think it's particularly necessary to buy 'brow powders', any eyeshadow that is the right shade is perfectly good! I used to use a dark brown No7 eyeshadow before I got the HD Brows palette in a Glossybox a few months ago.

I find it easiest to start at the part of your brow closest to your nose and work your way out. Once you're happy with the main/straight part of your brow, then move on to the tail, making sure the arch is nice and curved rather than pointy. If you have unruly eyebrows, setting them with a brow wax would probably be a good idea. I find that mine usually stay in place all day so don't bother using one.



After
Useful Tips:

• Buy yourself a pair of good tweezers with thin blades so it's easy to catch stray hairs (I can't recommend Tweezerman enough). It takes patience to get your brows into a shape you like, and it's best to do it gradually rather than going crazing and plucking too much at once. Once you're happy with the shape, maintain it by plucking any stray hairs you spot whenever you're doing your makeup. Don't wait until your brows are out of control before you pluck them again!

• I once read somewhere that eyebrows are meant to be sisters, not twins. Cheesy, but it's true. You'll drive yourself mad if you try to make them look identical, as long as they compliment each other and look similar, don't worry. I think they look more natural if they're slightly different anyway.

• I always apply my foundation, do my brows, and then apply finishing powder. I find that this helps to soften the brows a little bit and make them look less harsh without losing their shape. Just make sure to brush them through lightly with the brow comb to make sure there's no obvious dusty bits!

• I find it easiest to fill in most of one eyebrow, most of the other one, then check to see if they're even. It's easier to even them up if you haven't finished them completely. Once you'e happy that they're even, you can go over them again to make them a bit darker and make sure the edges have clean lines.

God, I love eyebrows. If you don't believe they're important, look at this and tell me I'm wrong!

What's your eyebrow routine?
Gillian x