When it comes to makeup and beauty routines, eyebrows have been going through rough times in the past centuries. Did you notice that the Mona Lisa doesn’t actually have any? Well, back then it was common to shave them off. Completely. Going back to more recent times, eyebrows had been extremely overplucked before the bold brow made a comeback a few years ago. Ever since Cara Delevign showed us how sexy eyebrows can, everyone has been paying a lot more attention to them. This is actually a very good thing since eyebrows are the frame of your face and can give you an awake, serious or happy expression just by the way that they are shaped. Which is why I felt the need to talk about brows and how to make them work for you.

I have had a love-hate relationship with my brows for years. Mother nature decided a long time ago to give me a lot of brow hair to work with and it took me forever to figure out how and when to shape, pluck or wax them. But before you get out your tweezers, let’s talk about something called brow mapping.

What is brow mapping?

Brow mapping is actually quite easy to do, but extremely essential for a good brow look. What you’ll need is some type of make-up product that comes in the form of a pencil. I like to use a brown liner usually. Now, we are going to figure out where your brow should begin, where the arch should be and where it should end. Of course, you can do your brows the way you want to, but this method gives you a nice shape to work with.
Hold the pencil upright next to your nostrils, lining up with the inner corner of your eye. This is where your brow should start. Let’s mark it with a little dot. Next, hold your pencil horizontally. The pencil should go right over the center of your pupil. Mark the spot where the pencil hits your brows. This is where your arch should be. Now line up the pencil with the outer part of your eye, this is where your brow should ideally end.

Plucking, Waxing or Threading?

All of these methods work, but choosing the right one is not always easy. I have extremely sensitive skin so I usually go with waxing, which might be a surprise for some of you since it can be quite harsh to the skin. I prefer it because it is quick and the pain lasts for only a few seconds. I usually see a brow specialist every couple of weeks. She knows what kind of brows suit my face and it takes her less than 15 minutes to trim and wax my brows. I do need some concealer afterward though since my skin get’s very irritated, but the redness usually goes away after a day or two. My brows will stay in shape for about 4-5 weeks and I won’t have to bother with trimming them myself.

Filling them in

Filling in your brows can be a little bit tricky and scary the first time. Depending on the color of your brows, I suggest the following eye shadows

For blonde and light brunettes: Take Grace by Kjaer Weis
For brunettes and Redheads: Take Transcend by Kjaer Weis
For any brow color that is darker: Take Divine by Kjaer Weis

Use an angled liner brush and always do light strokes. You want to create the look of tiny extra hairs, not look like Bert from Sesame Street afterwards. Just fill in any sparse areas and stick to your natural shape. Afterward, take a lash comb and comb them into place. You will also remove any excess eyeshadow this way. and make it all look more even.

Highlighting the shape

To add some extra glow to your eyes and defining your brows a little more, I suggest doing two extra steps:

1. Use your concealer and cover any redness or imperfections around your brows. Then set with a translucent powder. This will make your brows bulletproof and no color will transfer to the surrounding skin
2. Highlight! Get out some shimmer and highlight under your brows. It will magically lift them a tiny bit and you will look more awake and happy.

And we’re done! You will be surprised what nicely shaped eyebrows will do to your whole face. I cannot recommend these steps enough, so easy to do but the effect will be WOW.
How do you treat your brows? Share your routine with us in the comments below.