How to get the best shape for your eyebrows

Eyebrows are unquestionably one of the most important features on your face, not only serving to frame your eyes and draw attention to them, but they are also a form of expression and can work towards showing exactly how you are feeling. Not everyone is born with beautifully thick and perfectly aligned eyebrows – sometimes eyebrows can be sparse and have gaps in them. So here are a few great ways to fill in your eyebrows to make them look thick, healthy and perfectly manicured.

1. Line them up- The first thing to do is to find the end of your eyebrow and make sure they are aligned symmetrically on your face. To find the beginning of your brow, take you eye pencil or some other straight object and place it against your nose pointing directly upwards. The starting point of your eyebrow should be in line with the pencil (and your nose!). If not, carefully tweeze any hairs before this point.

Expert tip! If you have sensitive skin, use some aloe or cortisone cream to soothe any redness after tweezing.

2. Find the end of your eyebrow-  To do this, place the pencil or eyebrow brush at a diagonal angle from the outside corner of your nostril to the outside crease of you eye. If you want super long eyebrows, extend the line to your eyebrow bone, slightly further up on your face. This is where your eyebrow should end. Remove any hair past this point with a pair of tweezers.

Expert tip! It is very important to only tweeze the small straggly hairs on the outside of your eyebrow. The thicker hairs that make up the eyebrow rarely grow back so if they are removed, you run the risk of having gaps in your eyebrows.

3. Find your natural arch- You want to find the natural arch of your eyebrow to ensure they look as natural as possible. To find the natural arch of your eyebrow, place your pencil or eyebrow brush on a diagonal starting from the outside corner of your nostril, to the outside of your iris, which is the colored part of your eye. Extend the pencil the top of your eyebrow and this will be the highest point of your eyebrow and the natural arch. Any stray hairs below this point, may be removed, but be careful to only remove small, thin hairs and not the thicker main ones.

4. Prep and trim- Before you start with the pencil, prepare your eyebrows by giving them a good brush with an eyebrow brush, brushing all the hairs in the same direction. Trim any unruly hairs with a pair of small eyebrow scissors, making sure not to cut them too short. Remove any stray hairs with a pair of tweezers.

5. Underline your brows- Use a brow pencil to underline the bottom of your eyebrow. Remember to use soft, even stroke without pressing to hard – you want to create a soft, subtle look which can be dramatized at a later stage. The underside of the eyebrow should look the most defined, while the rest will have a more natural look.

Expert tip! When choosing the correct shade of eyebrow pencil, always choose a lighter shade and not the same color as your eyebrows. Brunettes should go for a caramel or blonde shade of pencil.

6. Finally, fill In– Finally, using light strokes of the pencil or powder, gently fill in the eyebrow, following the arch of the brow from the starting point to the finish, as marked out at the beginning of the exercise. Stay within the natural margins of your eyebrow shape to create the most natural looking effect.

Expert tip! Always start with very light stroke and color and if a more dramatic effect is required, then press harder and add more color. It is far easier to add then to correct or remove!

7. Optional set– You can use a clear eyebrow setting formula to set your eyebrows once they are complete, to keep the hairs in place and maintain their look for longer. Tinted setting gels are also available, but be careful to choose the correct color so as to not to take the focus away from your eyes.