Pro tips to shaping your brows yourself
Because your brows are an essential part to every makeup look
Your brows have the power to frame your face, if you know how to do it right
If you’re anything like us, your brows are sacred. You’ve spent ages growing them out, conditioning them with serums, nurturing them, and trying to get them to look like their best self. While we’re all about a good DIY beauty moment, we usually leave our brows to the professionals – because if there’s one set of hands we don’t trust, it’s the ones responsible for our overplucked ‘90s era (AKA our own!).
But the truth is, shaping your brows at home IS possible. And you CAN do it without messing them up. While you should still see an expert every now and then for some fine-tuning, in-between those appointments you can be the one to keep your brow game on-track.
Here, brow expert Amy Jean reveals how to shape eyebrows into perfectly arched brows.
1
Assess your face shape
Girl, put down that eyebrow trimmer! Before you do anything, you need to assess your face shape (it’s the number one rule of brow sculpting), because this plays a BIG role in what brow style will best suit you. “It’s important to think about your eye and face shape before anything else,” insists Amy Jean. For a round face and small features, opt for delicate arches and steer clear of harsh lines and edges. For face shapes that are square or diamond, a soft, angled brow will complement your jawline. Struggling to figure out which eyebrow shapes suit your face? Read our article on how to find the most flattering shape for your face.
2
Pluck below your brow
Working from the arch outwards, use a pair of slanted eyebrow tweezers, like Manicare Ultimate Slant Tweezers, to remove hairs that fall below your brow (if you prefer wax over tweezers, follow the same method). “The best time to pluck is after showering, when your skin is still soft,” advises Amy Jean. Remember, when you’re plucking eyebrows it’s a good idea just to stop, look in the mirror and reassess how they look in between every few plucks – because we all know how easy it is to go overboard.
3
Create the shape
Taking the corner of your nose as a starting point, trace three imaginary lines: one straight up (this is where the inner brow should end); another that crosses your pupil (this will be the arch’s highest point); and one that goes past the outer corner of your eye to establish where your brow should finish. Using these lines as a guide as to where you should pluck away stray hairs. Remember fullness is the key, so don’t overdo it; you want to create a defined shape, not to look like you just Google searched ‘how to draw eyebrows’.
4
Fill in with a pencil
Apply short, feathery strokes using a pencil, such as Benefit Precisely, My Brow Eyebrow Pencil, to areas that are bare or thinning. For defined brows, you can also opt for an all-in-one pencil/wax/powder formula using an Hourglass eyebrow pencil, like the Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil. Or, for a softer look, choose a powder, like Amy Jean Luxe Brow Polish, that’s one to two shades darker than your hair colour. Need more tips on how to create a full brow? Check out more of our brow-filling tips here.
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Eyebrow Pencil
Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil
Amy Jean Luxe Brow Polish
5
Set with gel
Finish by running a clear gel upwards into the arch and then downwards to the tail for extra shape with added hold. We like Rimmel London Brow This Way Eyebrow Gel.
Now you know how to shape eyebrows at home, how about keeping those long brow hairs in check? Read our article on the best way to trim your brows yourself (this is a great DIY trick for women and for men!).
What is your must-have brow product? Share with us in the comment section below.
Main image credit: Getty
Illustrations by: Ann Do
Alex is BEAUTYcrew’s Digital Content Director and has been since the site launched in 2016. She’s constantly on the search for the perfect shade of nude nail polish and lipstick for fair skin and battles with keeping her fragrances on rotation to under a dozen. You can find her words right here on BEAUTYcrew, and in previous issues of marie claire.
