In the 90s, thin structured eyebrows were in style, picture Drew Barrymore and Kate moss. Of course, I had to be right there on trend with them, so one day, I gave it a shot with my tweezers. Curiously, my eyebrows never grew back as full. I always consider this to be a blessing, I never have a single stray that needs to be plucked and nothing is ever out of place. This was all fine and well until now, as it seems we are in the era of the eyebrow. Now every time I find myself with an esthetician, they recommend I grow my brows in so they can reshape them for me. (Insert irritated glare here.) this is almost always followed up with “don’t worry they look good,” except for that one time when a lovely eyebrow gentleman voluntarily told me that my brows made me look a little cross eyes. Thanks for that buddy.
I must admit that the thought of two patches of hair placed in center of one's face weirds me out sometimes, especially if I stare at them long enough. Then again, I’ve seen pictures of people with no brows, and I'm pretty sure that's not for me.
I know that eyebrows are functional, and that we benefit from that functionality, but that’s not what I wish to discuss, I’m into the superficial here. I’ve finally started testing my hand at this "bigger is better" trend happening north of the eyeball, and I have to admit, it has taken me time, patience, and a better understanding, for me to get it right. For me, this means NOT looking like Bert from "Sesame Street," with all due respect to ya Bert. I sampled different brands, different textures, different techniques (Bert, surprised Bert, evil Bert).
I still can’t fully admit to myself that there might be an area of beauty I couldn’t do right, I mean, I can do a winged eye in the back of a NYC yellow cab, the perfect red lip while jumping up and down in heels, why can’t I draw a line and get my eyebrows right? This can’t be my fault, nothing is ever my fault! Defeated, I caved, with tail between my legs, and asked somebody at a beauty store for assistance. After my rambling monologue with detailed trials and tribulations about my journey to her, which she clearly was not interested in, she directly ushered me to Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, a brand I love for their contouring kits. I looked at the selection of pencils and turned back to my new therapist to find she had run away, far and fast. Great, here I go again on the road to Bertsville. With a pout, in a new fall maroon color, I picked it up, matched a shade of brown to my brows, and gave the left side a go. Look to the right, compare to the left, up, down, straight ahead, back to the left. Not too shabby Kira.
To the lovely 16 year old girl in Sephora on 86th Street last month, thank you. You were so kind to take part in my 10-minute guessing game of which eyebrow I had pencilled in, which eyebrow looked better, why it looked better, if it made my arch look higher, if my face looked thinner, and if my college boyfriend was lying about that spring break in Cabo. Too bad you had to take that emergency phone call from your mom, I hope her neighbors cat is ok, because I think we could have been really good friends. TTYLBFF!
Being a believer that, generally speaking, we look best working with what we were born with. (My natural curls do not apply here). This is probably the reason I did not look very good with voluptuous Brooke Shields brows. That’s not to say filling in spots and adding a little length to your natural shape shouldn’t be done. It absolutely should, as it can really enhance your face.
Like everything else in life, brows have rules too that should be followed.
For starters, stick to your natural arch, a deer in head lights can be a negative expression to some, let’s say...your boss. Also the length of your brow needs to be considered, they should end where your eye ends, brows and sideburns do not cohabitate. Importantly, your brow should start directly above the inner corner of your eye. And lastly, the end of your brow should never be lower than the start of the brow. It’s also said if they are too short, your nose will appear larger, a request I have not yet hear, but to each their own. Break out the ruler ladies, geometry is about to come in handy.
If you are an amateur eyebrower, like me, or weren’t born with the gift of eyebrow hand (also me), then trust me when I say this pencil is the "no fail" way to better brows. That being said, since I’ve been brow babbling lately, it’s come to my attention that I have many friends, to whom I was clueless about their natural brow, or lack there of, thanks to their dedicated daily use of Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz.
For now, I plan on enjoying the results of my new found talent, to fill in my brows with a natural look. I’m sure as I revel in my success, while taking selfies, it will all go to my head, and in no time, at all, I will be banging down the door of my friend with the worlds fiercest brows, demanding the number of that goddess who does her microblading. Or I could come to my senses, that "go big or go home" isn’t for me.
By Kira Cohen.