By Gyan Yankovich, Women's Health
In
today's beauty world, it's hard to imagine a time when we wanted
anything other than the biggest, baddest, boldest brows in town à la
Cara Delevingne and Lily Collins. So to keep this hot trend from looking
like a hot mess, we reached out to brow expert Maribeth Madron from
Maybelline New York for six ways to you might be ruining your fabulous
arches.
[post_ads_2]You Wax or Thread Your Brows
Apparently, these methods are generally not right for your face. "Waxing
and threading are a fantastic method for cleaning up body hair or chin
hairs—but not brows," says Madron. "Waxing rounds your brows, which in
turn can make your face appear older. As for threading, when one thread
is in the technician's teeth when they're pulling the hairs, they end up
looking over their shoulder—so they can't even see what they're doing."
You Only Tweeze Once A Week
So, wax and thread are out. But if you think a quick tweeze every now
and then should be able to keep you in top shape, it's time to
reconsider your brow-maintenance strategy. "A couple of hairs should be
pulled every single day," says Madron. "It's the only way to maintain
your arches. If you wait a week or two, you're going to have hair
sprouting everywhere, and it'll be hard to know what's new growth and
what needs to stay." The best solution? Tweeze between taking a shower
and putting on your makeup.
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You Match Your Arches to Your Hair Color
The only people who can really get away with this simple option are
ladies with dark hair that’s all one shade. But if you're a brunette and
have highlights, you should be matching your brows to those lighter
strands. "By making your brows lighter—with a brow mascara, for
example—your eyes will really pop," says Madron. If you're a blonde with
fair to medium skin, it's the opposite rule. "Anyone with light
everything needs to go a little bit darker," says Madron. "Look for the
absolute darkest lowlight of your hair, and match that."
You Do Your Brows First, Then the Base
Considering how brows are the frames of your face, it's understandable
why you might do them before applying blush, bronzer, and the like—but
that's a major faux pas. "It's important to finish your complexion
first," says Madron. "If you're washed out, with no blush or color,
you're going to totally overdo the brows. It's similar to the way ladies
always end up overdoing liner and mascara if they've left their brows
until last." The formula for success: base, bronzer, blush, brows, and then everything else.
[post_ads_2]You Use Just One Brow Product
Remember how proud you felt when you bought that very first brow pencil?
Well, imagine that feeling times three—because that's how many brow
products you should be using daily. "Pencil for structure, powder for
color, and then a gel to settle the hairs and keep them in place," says
Madron.
You Start from the Outside and Work Your Way In
Logic would say the best place to start anything is, well, at the start.
However, beauty logic often disagrees. "What you really want to do is
start in the middle of your brow, where it's naturally fullest," says
Madron. "From there, work lightly toward the tail. When you're done, go
back to the start of your brow and add a few fine flicks so the inner
corner is lighter and more natural-looking than the outer one."
