It’s funny to think about how much our idea of the perfect brow has changed over the past couple of decades. Those of us who grew up in the 90s and the early 2000s surely remember when the pinnacle of perfect brow-scaping was to pluck, wax, or thread them into the thinnest line possible.
The past few years have seen a huge shift in the way we do our eyebrows—namely, a move toward fuller, thicker brows. From 90s pop stars to the immaculately sculpted eyebrows of the Kardashians and Cara Delevigne, we’ve come a long way!
Fashions tend to come and go, so we won’t speak ill of the over-plucked arches of previous decades. But we do love the desire for fuller brows that frame and flatter your face and add a little drama to even the most neutral makeup look. Once we never would’ve left home without our favorite lipstick—now, we can’t go anywhere without making sure our brows are ready for the day.
A more recent trend we absolutely love is fluffy brows. They’re still full, flattering, and face-friendly, but with fluffy brows, it’s all about the texture. Rather than making sure your brows are sleek and perfect, fluffy brows are a bit more natural and personal to you and your look.
If your natural brows are more 90s teen magazines, you’re probably looking at this new trend with dread. But never fear—TatBrow is here to help you create the perfect, fluffy eyebrows of your dreams.
Step One: Prepare Your Brows
Fundamental to perfect, fluffy brows is a strong shape. There’s always the option of having your eyebrows waxed or threaded by a professional. If you have somebody who looks after your brows for a fair price, and who never makes you worry they’re going to take off too little or too much, we love it.
But if you’re looking to save a bit of money and time, we recommend the simple, time-honored combination of trimming and plucking with tweezers. If you’re new to tweezing your brows, or want a bit of a refresher, we have some tips on how to pluck your brows!
Of course, this kind of eyebrow maintenance obviously doesn’t need to happen every day, but making sure you’re up-to-date on your broader brow maintenance will make the next step much easier.
Step Two: Get Your Brows Into Shape
Don’t worry; the idea of drawing the shape of your brows can be intimidating, especially if your eyebrow expertise leans more beginner than expert. But it doesn’t need to be scary. In fact, the basics of figuring out the shape of your brows are pretty straightforward! All you need is a pencil, a mirror, and your lovely face.
- Hold the pencil along the side of your nose, and angle it toward the inner corner of your eye. The place where the pencil meets your brow line is where your eyebrow should start.
- Hold the pencil on the side of your nose, and angle it so it crosses through the middle of your eye. The place where the pencil meets your brow bone will be your arch!
- Hold the pencil on the side of your nose, and angle it so that it passes over the outer corner of your eye—this will show you where the end of your eyebrow should be.
Once you’ve determined these three key points, it’s all about preference, really. You need to decide on the overall shape you’d like to achieve, whether you’d like a more architectural, sharp arch, or a flowing curve, or something in between. Generally, it helps to consider your face shape when deciding what style of brow is best for you.
The conventional wisdom is that your brow should be opposite from your face shape. Round faces might be best complemented by stronger strokes, whereas angular features might be highlighted by a softer shape.
That said, it’s really up to you! If you’re not sure what shape will suit you best, we’d recommend taking a page out of your childhood playbook: do a makeover. Try a few different shapes (and don’t forget to have fun with it) until you find the one that sings.
To outline your brow shape, you’ll want a brow pencil, or a very fine-tipped brush and powder that matches the brow color you’re going for.
Step Three: Brush With Greatness
This is key to getting the fullest, fluffiest brows! TatBrow’s Ultra Hold Brow Gel has the perfect brush to make sure you’re getting the most out of your brows. Brush your eyebrow hairs upwards with the brow gel, helping to set them in place and helping them to reach their fullest potential. Our brow gel dries quickly and doesn’t flake, so you don’t have to worry about it doing anything but its best as you move on to the next step.
Step Four: Attention to Detail
Now that your brows are in perfect shape and looking full and lush, it’s time to focus on the smaller things. Namely, adding in some hair strokes to give your brows a natural touch. The tool you use for this step depends on your personal preference! If you’d rather have more control, and more delicate strokes, our Micro Precision Pen will be your new best friend. Use it to draw in some extra thickness in any area where your brows don’t look as fluffy as you’d like, and to build into the shape that you’ve so cleverly built.
If you want something a little more heavy-duty, TatBrow’s Microblade Pen is exactly what you need. It painlessly and seamlessly draws multiple strands at once, in a way that looks incredibly natural. While we love precision, we recommend a microblade pen to get your fullest, fluffiest look.
Step Five: Fuller and Fluffier
Now that you’ve found the perfect shape for your brows, brushed them to their fluffiest state, and filled in the details, it’s time to add volume. A colored brow gel or powder, depending on your preference, will do the trick.
While a tinted gel will definitely darken your brows, it’s important to keep in mind that the goal is to make them appear fluffy, not incredibly structured. You might want to mimic the same upwards brush strokes you practiced in step three to keep your brow hairs going in the same direction.
It’s useful to think of this step a bit like applying mascara! It’s a finishing touch that really makes everything pop.
Step Six: Highlight
We often think of highlighter as more of a going out or special occasion thing. But it’s a super simple step to integrate into your brow-building process that has major payoff with very little effort. Your brows frame your face—all you’re doing here is returning the favor, and showing off your brows. We love a matte highlighter, but whatever one you prefer will be perfect.
Just dab that little bit of illumination under the arch and tails of your brow. No need to go overboard, and if you have an aversion to highlighter, you can skip this step! But adding a bit of sparkle to your brows will really make them pop, and emphasize all the beautiful work you’ve done on fluffing and filling out your brows. Besides, you can’t go wrong with a little bit of extra shine, can you?
Step Seven: Make Sure Your Hard Work Lasts
Any makeup aficionado knows the importance of setting your makeup so that it doesn’t run, wipe off, or otherwise look anything but its absolute best no matter what your day has in store. We tend to think this is especially important when it comes to your eyebrows! You wouldn’t necessarily think it, but our eyebrows make a big impact on the overall look of your face, so it’s important that your brows stay fluffy and full no matter what.
Using a brow setting gel or a makeup setting spray, take extra care to lock those brows down. They’re one of the most expressive parts of your face, so they’re definitely worth the effort.
That’s a Wrap
Over the past year, what we can do with our makeup has become somewhat limited by the need to wear a mask. Where once we would’ve rocked a bright lipstick, or maybe done a full face with contouring to go out, now, these are parts of our face that, in the day-to-day, most people don’t see. Eyebrows have become a bigger focal point in our makeup routine for years, but with the pandemic, they’ve reached a whole new level of importance!
With your brows being one of the only parts of your face that the world regularly sees lately, we love the idea of making them a bold, beautiful focal point by giving your brows the full, fluffy treatment.
Sources:
Eyebrow shapes: How to find your eyebrow shape | Good Housekeeping
Want Full, Fluffy Brows? Here Are 5 Pro Tips | Vogue
I Tried Geolift Brows for a Full, Fluffy Eyebrow Shape | Glamour