6 Common Brow Problems—Solved
With the right makeup and tools you can fix minor issues yourself.
1. No Arch
The fix: You can create the illusion of one with this simple trick: Brush the brows up and angle out with a spoolie brush, like Trish McEvoy Brow Groomer ($14;
Bloomingdales.com). Then apply Anastasia Matte Highlighter ($21;
Anastasia.net) under the outer half of your brow. Never overtweeze the tail ends—without them, you can't create an arch.
2. Gaps?
The Fix: If your hair doesn't grow in certain spots (or you've overplucked an area), a natural-looking way to fill it in is with a matte brow powder and brush, such as MAC Brow Shader ($16;
Nordstrom.com) and Angled Brow Brush ($19.50;
Nordstrom.com). Be sure your brows are dry and free of moisturizer; otherwise the powder goes on unevenly.
3. Wrong color?
The fix: A tinted brow gel can temporarily change the shade of your brows. If they're too fair, try a taupe gel; too dark, try one in a warm chocolate, like Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Brown ($7; drugstores), which has a pencil (to add shape) on one end and the tint on the other. Don't push down on the brush too hard: You want to color the hair, not your skin.
4. General Unruliness?
The Fix: Use a light touch to whisk a small amount of clear brow gel or conditioner over hair in an up-and-out motion. Eliza's Eyes Brow Shaper Gel ($28;
ElizasEyes.com) hydrates with glycerin while giving your brows a sleek, polished look (instead of a shellacked, flaky one).
5. Too Thin?
The Fix: Put down the tweezers for at least a month, says makeup artist Brett Freedman. With a matte, powdery (not waxy) eyebrow pencil, draw short, feathery strokes throughout your brow and in the same direction as hair growth. Brett recommends Lancôme Le Crayon Poudre ($23; department stores), which comes in seven shades.
6. Too bushy?
The Fix: Use a Tweezerman Slant Tweezer ($20;
Tweezerman.com) to clean up the shape of your brows by removing hairs high above or below the arch, says Sania Vucetaj, owner of Sania's Brow Bar in New York City. Then brush your brows up with a spoolie and carefully trim
only the tips with small, straight-bladed EcoTools brow scissors ($10;
Target.com).
From the
June 2009 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
