Binky Felstead's Beauty Blog - Eyes Right, How To Groom Your Brows
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Hello my favourite beauty buddies. Welcome to the latest BBB (that’s Binky’s Beauty Blog, for the uninitiated amongst you).
This week, I’ve been mulling over how amazing it is that the tiniest little change can make an enormous difference in life? Just think how new cushions can update an old sofa, or how dazzling new earrings can give last season’s dress fresh new feel.
That counts for make-up too. You don’t need to pack on a full face of slap to feel newly beautiful; simply running a brush through your hair or slicking on a coat of lipgloss can mean the difference between scruffy and sleek.
So it was that my attention turned to eyebrow grooming. While beauty novices may think that you’re stuck with the brows you’re born with, make-up fans and beauty-lovers will know that there is all sorts you can do to tame those fuzzy facial caterpillars. Not only that, but grooming your brows can have a huge impact on the way you look – it’s that “small change/big result” effect all over again.
OK, I have to admit, it wasn’t long hours spent deep in intellectual and philosophical thought that brought me round to the subject of eyebrows (stop sniggering at the back – I’m joking, ok!). I was doing a bit of online window-shopping, checking out the new spring/summer catwalk collections, and I couldn’t fail to notice the current reigning star of the runway is gorgeous Brit supermodel, Cara Delevingne. And that girl has got some serious eyebrows!
While the last few decades have seen brow trends run the gamut from super-duper skinny (à la Marlene Dietrich) to animal-fur bushy – (in that Brooke Shields Eighties style), right now it’s all about naturally thick and healthy brows, inspired by Cara D’s fabulous pair.
However, just because the look says “natural”, doesn’t mean there’s no work involved and while it helps if you’re born with a thick and healthily hairy pair like mine, those of you with sparse brows can still achieve a thick and glossy finish with the right tools.
To begin with you will need to shape your brows. All of us have the odd stray hair that needs taming I would definitely recommend visiting a professional eyebrow technician to have yours knocked into shape. There are all sorts of methods – waxing, plucking, threading – and all of them involve just a teeny amount of agony! But the transformative effect of a good brow session is amazing. A decent brow technician will have you looking smart, stylish and glamorous within a few snaps of her tweezers.
If you don’t fancy forking out for a trip to the salon, then you must invest in a decent pair of tweezers. I use Mister Mascara Precision Point Tweezers, which have a super-sharp tip for tackling those teeny-tiny hairs that are hard to grab. Two golden rules if you’re going to DIY – first, never pluck hairs from the top of your brows but only shape from the underneath. Second, never over-pluck your brows but just stick to tidying them up. If you continuously over-pluck, the hairs may simply give up the ghost and never grow back – not a good look!
Next comes the grooming and shaping. I start by brushing my brows to smooth down the hairs, using Stila’s No18 Double Sided Brow Brush though the Daniel Sandler Brow Groomer Brush is also brilliant.
Then I use a brow colour to create the shape I want – I find it often helps to copy a magazine picture, and for this week’s photo I wanted to recreate the thick, sharply pointed brows seen on the catwalk at the Marc Jacobs spring/summer show.
Some of you will find it easiest to use an eyebrow eyeshadow to colour your brows – I tried out the Clarins Pro Palette, which is fantastic as it includes several different shades. However, I’m an old-fashioned girl, and after trying all methods, I found it easiest working with a simple eyebrow pencil or brow pen. Two of my absolute favourites are the Dior Powder Eyebrow Pencil and the Stila All Day Waterproof Brow Colour pen.
Work slowly and carefully, drawing on the shape stroke by stroke, and filling in the colour as you go. If you make a mistake, simply dip a cotton bud in make-up remover, tidy up, and on you go. Once you have achieve the desired look, it’s a good idea to fix your brows in place with a clear mascara.
And there you have it – pure perfection. With brows this chic, you don’t need to pack on tons of make-up as you’ll look super-glam and groomed already. As I said at the beginning, small change, big results. When it comes to making an impact, the devil is all in the details…