How to Get Great Eyebrows.
If there is one piece of advice that I could give my younger self (well, besides study hard and don’t worry about what the cool kids think), it would be to leave my eyebrows alone. For whatever reason (much to the chagrin of my mother), I obsessively plucked my eyebrows during high school into a super thin arch. Ooph. I am still paying for it today.
So now, here I am… fifteen years later, in my thirties, wishing for the fuller brows I hated so much when I was a teenager. It’s really very sad. What’s also a little bit sad is how much time I’ve spent (especially over the past year) trying to improve my eyebrow situation.
I’ve been growing my brows out for the past year and a half and have probably tried every brow pencil, pomade, tint, or powder under the sun. I told you, I take this stuff very seriously. Alas, during a recent Target Style" target="_blank">Target online shopping spree, I picked up two products from Pixi by Petra that have made my whole eyebrow obsession a little bit more easy.
The first product I use is Pixi by Petra’s Shades of Brows brow palette. This is the first step in my brows routine and it’s amazing because it works on everyone (I’ve tested it out on several of my girlfriends too) as you can combine the six different shades to get the perfect custom shade.
When applying the powder, I start at the arch and define that first, using the angled brush of the double sided applicator. The arch is really the most important part to focus upon as it defines your whole face. A great arch frames your eyes and will completely change your look. I wrote more about finding your arch here, but I really think it’s worth getting your brows professionally shaped at least once. To my New York readers… go see Sabria on the Upper East side! She helped me figure out where my arch should be, and now I just tweeze every day to maintain it.
So, start with the arch… and work outward… and then go back and fill in the rest of your brow. I typically start with one of the two lighter shades and then build up the color as I go, blending in the two middle shades. I have to give my inner eyebrows a little extra love as I over plucked that area when I was younger.
Lastly, I use the lightest powder in the palette under my arch to define highlight that area. I learned that tip when I had my makeup professionally done and now I always, always apply a lighter shadow or highlighter underneath the arch. It makes your brows pop – especially if you are like me and don’t like wearing eyeshadow.
The next step is to use Pixi’s Natural Brow Duo, which is a fun little two-in-one product. First I use the spooly brush and tinted gel to brush the powder in and hold my brows in place (I don’t know about you but my eyebrows can get a bit unruly – before I found this product, I’d use clear mascara!) After that, I use the pencil on the other end to fill in any holes.
And voila. It took a bit of time to explain the process, but it takes less than two minutes to do the whole thing. My eyebrows certainly aren’t perfect but they’ve come a long way since my younger years!
This post is brought to you by Target Style. Shop the new Beauty collection in stores and online.
(photos of me by Lydia Hudgens; all other photos taken by me.)
