Your brows frame your eyes and are crucial for maintaining facial symmetry and communicating emotion. Avoid these common mistakes to keep your brows looking their best.
[post_ads_2]
Creating a too wide eyebrow gap
 |
Because most women don't want a unibrow and risk looking like Bert from Sesame Street,
they'll veer in the opposite direction and remove too many hairs
between the eyebrows, which can look unnatural. There's nothing wrong in
wanting to tidy up shaggy ends, but do so with limits in mind. Hold a
makeup brush vertically next to your tear ducts. Hands off any hairs
from that line toward your eye; the middle area, however, is fair game.
Check out these seven tips to help you achieve the perfect eyebrows.
Filling with the wrong color of makeup
 |
While
your initial instinct may be to match your brows to your current hair
color, surprisingly, that's not always the best choice. That's because
you want your brows to complement your face, not overpower it. As a
solution, aim for a hue that's two shades lighter than your natural
color; this will help define shape without overwhelming the rest of your
features.
[post_ads_2]
Trying to make them completely identical
 |
Brows
should be sisters, not twins, so don't spend unnecessary minutes
obsessing over the mirror to make them into carbon copies of one
another. You'll most likely end up over-plucking in your quest to make
them look identical. Remember that brows aren't winged eyeliner—it's OK
to have slight differences. Speaking of eyeliner, don't miss these 12 eyeliner hacks that every woman needs to know.
Overplucking
 |
The
scary truth is that eyebrows take an awful long time to grow back, if
at all. There's not much you can do for them once you commit the deed,
so take heed in always plucking with a light hand. If this advice is too
little too late, your best bet is to step away from the tweezers for a
while—meaning weeks—and start experimenting with brow makeup to fill them in. Interested in other hair removal techniques? Find out the things you need to know before you try eyebrow threading.
[post_ads_2]
Having the wrong brows for your face shape
 |
Above
all, eyebrows are not a one-size-fits-all sort of accessory: Your
eyebrow shape should complement your natural face shape. Ultimately,
your features including your brow bone height, forehead length, eye
size, and cheekbone structure all factor into how those brows should be
shaped. That's right—there's a whole science to this beauty game. Here's
how to find the best brow shape for your face shape.
Misplacing your arch
 |
An
overly angled arch can make you look perpetually angry, while an arch
that's not angled enough will just appear flat as a horizon. How do you
find the happy medium? When shaping your brows, use the side of your
nose as a pivot point across the pupil. Angle the pencil so it
(hypothetically) cuts through the iris; the place where the pencil
intersects your brow marks your ideal arch location. Ultimately, your
face knows best what it needs, so don't stray too far from your inherent
arch. Check out these 12 other beauty trends you also avoid.
[post_ads_2]Keeping them sparse
 |
If
you can see skin in between your brow hairs, it's time to start filling
them in with a brow product. It only takes a few extra minutes and will
go an incredibly long way towards enhancing your appearance. If you're
using a pencil, short strokes are best, and avoid dragging the pencil or
pressing down too hard; otherwise, it will make them look strangely
stilted. And stay away from eyebrow stencils at all costs; their
preordained shape will almost always end up looking unnatural. Find out
the makeup mistakes that make you look older.
Neglecting the brow gel
 |
Although
it may seem like overkill to use brow gel in addition to the pencil you
used to fill them in, it's a necessary step. First and foremost, brow
gel will keep the hairs set in the same direction for a more groomed and
polished finish. But more importantly, spending all that hard work on
your eyebrows is ultimately useless if they're not going to stay in
place throughout the day. Don't miss these 12 other makeup mistakes that pros wish you'd stop making.
[post_ads_2]Not blending enough
 |
Blending
isn't just a mandatory regulation when it comes to face
makeup—forgetting to do the same for your brow filler will make the fact
that you drew them in incredibly apparent. The natural look is best
when it comes to eyebrows, so make sure to blend generously. To prevent
them from looking painted on, you can also use a spoolie brush to
further comb your brows after applying filler; this will lightly blend
everything into place.
Courtesy Reader's Digest
