A wise woman once told me that everyone has their beauty black hole. This is the area where women let their otherwise immaculate grooming slide just a little. Whether because they’re not really all that interested (maybe some of you aren’t a huge fan of nail polish, for instance), or because they have no clue what they’re doing (perhaps you’re in need of some eyeshadow application lessons), the beauty black hole affects every woman, even the most beauty-obsessed.
For many women, including myself, the eyebrows are an area they neglect for one of two reasons:
1. You’ve got no time to groom your brows. Think about it, ladies: When you wake up in the morning, you barely have enough time to put on your makeup and pick out the perfect, stylish outfit, never mind tend to your brows. You don’t really think about putting makeup on your brows when you’ve got some major blemishes to conceal or some tired eyes to coat with perk-inducing mascara.
2. You just don’t know where to start. Who really knows what the perfect arch looks like anyway, right?
But according to eyebrow expert Valerie Sarnelle, eyebrow grooming is of the utmost importance. “Having well groomed eyebrows is so important because they are the frame of your face; they can naturally transform the beauty of your face. You can have on little to no makeup with a groomed brow and look polished and glamorous,” Valerie says.
And since women have to pay the most attention to their brows during their 20s and 30s, eyebrow maintenance is extra important for collegiettes™. Valerie, whose Beverly Hills makeup studio Valerie Beverly Hills has been the place to go for perfect brows for over 15 years, spoke with Chrissy’s Beauty School about all things brows. Valerie shared her tips on some essential eyebrow products, explained the best way to groom your eyebrows, and revealed why, when it comes to eyebrows, thin will never be in.
Tweezing, waxing, threading, oh my!
When it comes to eyebrow maintenance, there are so many competing methods out there, all competing for your attention. There’s tweezing, there’s waxing, and there’s threading, for starters. With all these options, you’d think you could single out one as the best alternative, but Valerie says she likes to use many methods in order to achieve a perfect brow.
“I use a combination of methods to get my clients the best results. I wax under the brow because it gets the small hairs that are typically hard to get; and I also like to tweeze above the brow. Tweezing is the only way to have control of the shape of your brows,” she says. “And the best way for women to keep up with their brows is to get a stencil, draw it in and take away any access hairs that lye outside of your stencil line.”
When it comes to endurance, though, some grooming methods last longer than others. Threading, for example, lasts the longest, but Valerie says it also gives you less control over the shape of your brows. Waxing and tweezing, on the other hand, give you more control and tend to last the same time.
Mistakes, mistakes, eyebrow mistakes
You hear it time and time again, but how many of you actually follow the “Less is more” rule when grooming your brows? So many women are guilty of over-tweezing and are left with measly brows, but according to Valerie, thin is most certainly not in when it comes to brows! “You can’t fake a big bushy brow with makeup and I really love that look,” she says. “You see it on runways all the time and it is very fashion forward, modern, confident and gorgeous!”
And it seems like thin brows aren’t the only mistake ladies are making when it comes to taking care of their brows; many of them are overdoing their arches. “I can’t tell you how many over-exaggerated arches I see. They are too high and it is not natural looking or flattering.” To fix this, Valerie recommends opting for a less dramatic arch: “If you look at a young girl’s natural brow, it is almost a straight line – the arch is slight. Follow the natural path of the brow and you will be getting a prettier, more youthful look.”
At-Home Eyebrows
As a busy collegiette™on a budget, we know you can’t always make it to the salon to get your brows perfectly polished. But with Valerie’s expert advice, you can make your brows pop all from the comfort of your dorm room! Here are some of her tips!
1. Create “brow symmetry” Valerie says, by matching your brows’ color to each other. According to Valerie, there are no set rules when it comes to achieving the right color brows; just make sure you take hair color, skin color, and eye size into consideration.
2. Place Valerie’s Brooke self-adhesive stencil—ideally sized for achieving a larger arch—over your natural brow.
3. Apply brow powder in between the stencil in a similar color to your died brows.
4. Lock brows in place with a brow tamer clear gel. Angle the wand from your inner brow to your outer brow, moving with brow hair.
Pick a product, any product
Like with any other makeup, picking out brow products can be confusing, but Valerie boils it all down to this: Pencil for definition; powder for fullness, gel for taming and hold. Here are some of Valerie’s top products and some additional recommendations from Chrissy’s Beauty School. With the help of these products, you’ll be on your way to creating flawless brows in no time!
Brow Shaping Kits
Christi Harris Precision Brow Planing System, $40, www.christiharrisbrows.com
This kit from beauty expert Christi Harris includes all the tools you’ll need to naturally fill and contour your brows. No experience necessary!
Too Faced Brow Envy Brow Shaping & Defining Kit, $35, sephora.com
Brow Pencils
· Maybelline Define-A-Brow Eyebrow Pencil, $5.50, walmart.com
· Too Faced Brownie, $18.50, toofaced.com
· Valerie’s Brow Pencils, $25, valeriebeverlyhills.com
Brow Stencils
· Ardell Brow Perfection Stencils, $4.49, sallybeauty.com
· Anastasia Classic Stencils, $20, sephora.com
· Valerie’s Brow Stencils, $25, valeriebeverlyhills.com
Brow Powders and Gels
· Maybelline Define-A-Brow™ Gel, $6, walmart.com
· Ardell Brow Powder Soft Taupe, $6.99, sallybeauty.com
· Valerie Brow Powders, $22, valeriebeverlyhills.com