In partnering with Beauty 360 and the CVS Beauty Club, I’ve received product samples and/or compensation for my time and effort in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #sponsored #Beauty360atCVS
Girl, I don’t have much to say about green lip gloss (other than this: if you can pull it off, WERK IT), but I can talk forever and a day about brows.
Because there’s just so much to say about brows! — and not just about brows, but don’t you think that brows also say a lot about us?
They’re very expressive and revealing, like, you can tell when someone is mad, glad, surprised or sad by the angle of their brows.
Aaand they can also tell you if someone follows Instagram.
You know what I’m talking about. 🙂 The famous “Instagram Brow”? Sculpted arches with a razor sharp tail and a subtle ombre effect that transitions from lighter on the side closer to the nose to darker as it goes out?
I see so many gals who can rock that look, but man, oh, man! — I’m not one of ’em. On me, they’re a no-go. I tried them once, and I looked like an evil villain plotting to blackmail someone for a billion dollars…
It’s just not the look for me, but that’s perfectly OK because brows are so individual. They’re like fingerprints.
And just like there are dozens of different brow shapes and styles, there are also many ways to maintain them. You can get them waxed or threaded or shaped by a brow specialist. Or, you can do what I’ve always done, and take care of them at home.
Yup, I pluck (and I’ve always plucked) my own brows.
I’m kind of a weirdo control freak, and the thought of putting my brows in someone else’s hands kinda terrifies me. Plus, I saw a woman walk up to a makeup counter looking for help in tears once because she said that she went to a brow specialist, and they removed half of her brows!
The incident traumatized us both.
I also just like doing it myself. It’s one less appointment to keep.
My brow maintenance process is pretty simple. First, I brush them with a brow comb like the Beauty 360 Brow & Lash Perfector at CVS ($5.99). Then I fill them in with a brow pencil or a brow powder, and I start to get an idea of the final shape. Then it’s easier to tell exactly where I need to pluck any stray hairs.
Tweezers. I start with a pair of slanted tip ones first to remove the big hairs then use a pointy tip one to whisk away the smaller, finer hairs that are harder to grab. The Beauty 360 Ultimate Brow Definer ($4.99) and Dual-Ended Precision Tweezers ($6.99) do the trick, and I always pluck from underneath (never, ever from above) so that I don’t mess with the highest point in the arch.
The budget-friendly Beauty 360 line is exclusive to CVS and includes a wide range of beauty tools for brow maintenance, nail grooming, skin care and hair.
Lastly, if there are any long hairs that extend beyond the area I’ve filled in, I trim them down with beauty scissors or Precision Razors ($4.99).
Have your brows changed over the years? Mine totally have. When I started MBB in 2007, I was going through what I call my “Hawaii brows” phase.
Let me explain…
So, El Hub (my husband) was born and raised in Hawaii, and I noticed when we’d go to the islands for visits that a lot of the women in his family were rocking these super skinny, high arched, very ’90s brows at the time, which, yes, I started rocking too.
The evidence: my “Hawaii brows” heyday, circa 2007.
This was a pic I took for an author bio headshot for a freelance article I was writing, and the piece, coincidentally, was a travel article about Hawaii (no, brows were not mentioned, haha!).
Mind you, this was after years of plucking my brows almost into oblivion in the ’90s, so I’m surprised I still had any brows left to work with. I have friends whose brows never grew back after that era, and come to think of it, mine didn’t fully recover either. I still have a bald patch right at the bottom of the arch in my left brow that I affectionately refer to as Raul, aka my nemesis/arch enemy/the bane of my brow existence.
BLAST YOU, RAUL! You MONSTER!
It’s kind of crazy how much brows can change because mine look so different now than they did back then…
These days, I’m into fuller, straighter brows, and the brows I have now took me two years to grow out.
Oh, that was a hoot, let me tell ya. There was a lot of hiding in-between brow hairs with concealer involved.
Now I’m pretty happy with the current state of my brows, buuut I still wouldn’t mind if they were a little fuller, and if by some miracle my right brow’s tail end decided to sprout more hair (it’s shorter than the one on my left), I’d have no problem with that at all. 🙂
So let’s talk brows! How would you describe your current brow situation? Are you growing them out, or leaving them alone? And how do you maintain them?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I love your Hawaii brows! Thanks for the info on tools at CVS. I’ll have to check them out.
I just started to do my own again this past week. I’m so picky about them when I go into a salon. I know they must talk about me when I leave cause I’m just a lil demanding and particular. Annnnd, they never get it right. Urg! So, on my of my sleepless nights, I decided to trim my overgrown eyebrow hairs and plucked away the strays and gave them a new arch. I’m so proud of how the came out. I don’t know why they grow so long!
I maintain them myself, after many a bad experience at the counter. Luckily, they are easy to keep in shape, as they aren’t very thick nor thin and have a decent shape. Some bold patches, some stray hairs, but that´s it.
I’ve been doing my own eyebrows for about 2 years now, using a similar method to yours above! I used to get them waxed since 14, and also had your Hawaiian brows (we call them Chola brows – no offense to anyone!)
Then I discovered threading and fell in love! I had my set lady and would visit every two weeks. Before I went on a vacation in May 2013, I needed my brows done. My lady was out and I went with someone else. I came out with one short brow missing a part of my tail, and the other with no arch. I went home, did my best to even them out, cried and went to Sephora after. That’s the day I discovered my Anastasia brow wiz!
I mostly leave mine alone and fill them in. I, too, over plucked in the 90s and am paying the price with thin eyebrows and bald spots!
RAUL…HA HA HA!! I leave mine alone, have them threaded (a clean up) about every 3 months, and fill them in w brow pencil. I’ve never been able to achieve the 90s arch! 🙁 and I love arches! I don’t trust my brows in my own hands though! 😉
I naturally have dark, really full brows, that have a very slight, gradual arch. Until I was 40, I just let them grow au naturel and brushed them into place sometimes.
When I was 40, Id started getting them waxed and trimmed into shape every 4-6 weeks. I pluck the stray hairs in-between sessions. Now I usually fill in my brows with a little eyeshadow or brow powder, but sometimes I just comb them with a spoolie. It depends on the makeup look I’m wearing. Some looks are better with stronger brows, others not. I think the last couple years they don’t look quite as full as they used to, especially the left one.
Circa 2000 I distinctly remember standing in front of the mirror carefully plucking my brows into curious looking question marks. Then in 2006 or so I was introduced to waxing whereby the ascender was lopped off and was left with skinny, streamlined arches. After moving to Melbourne I was introduced to Romina who salvaged my brows after a near death waxing mishap. I now have fuller, natural looking brows gracing my face; gone are the days of having an ever-present surprised expression. I still have sparse spots, but that’s what Brow Whiz and Mac Mystery are for.
Amen to threading, btw. I’ve seen the light??
I have never let anyone else touch my brows. Lol. In high school my friend plucked hers half away. More than 10 years later we got together for a reunion and they were still half gone. I’ve gone from fairly slim to now where I just let them grow and give them a nice shaping from underneath, making sure to keep the strays away. I use Bobbi Brown’s brow gel to add color to the hairs that are starting to go gray.
I’ve never gotten my brows done professionally! I’m pretty satisfied with doing them at home. I used to take a tiny bit too much off (starting the brows a little too far from the center, taking a little bit too much from the bottom), but I used to not do anything, and with blond brows, it didn’t look very good.
I now tweeze just anything that’s not in the right spot, and use a the Glossier Boy Brow in blond to keep everything in place. I’d love slightly less arched brows, but I mostly keep them natural.
So many girls from high school are still doing these terrible sideways parentheses brows, that don’t follow the Brow bone at all. Thin and thick brows can look good, but straying too far from your natural shape just makes one’s face look a little off in terms of bone structure.
I used to get my brows threaded like once every two weeks. There was this awesome but cheap little hole in the wall place near my house I would go to. Now that I moved, I haven’t found a good place to get my brows done. I just maintain them myself (threading was nice because it was cheap and it was convenient).
I am all about my brows- before brows were the big trend. I have the general shape down so I just tweeze every once in awhile and trim them. I have always had thick brows and prefer to keep them that way. My brows can be kind of tricky because I have a large gap in one from stitches I got as a kid. I love my brows and I get sooo many compliments on them. I love when people ask where I get them done and I can tell them it is allll me! lol.
In high school and college…..a looooong time ago I had the gorgeous thick brows of Elizabeth Taylor. As time went on I plucked them with determination to have thin brows. Well I got my wish. So now I only pluck stray hairs or gray hairs (don’t laugh girlfriends you will get them too!) and fill in with Tarte brow powder in taupe. But that is one thing I insist upon doing before I leave the house. I will go without eye shadow and eye liner (since I can’t get the hang of it anyway) but brows and mascara are a must.
I am soooooo unhappy with my brows! I have large but sparse brows which are impossible to deal with because if I try to fill them in, they look even bigger but they’re so sparse that it’s obvious when I use a powder. I actually just majorly groomed them tonight and I’m just going to have to get into the habit of taking my time to make them look good every morning!
My brows are full but not bushy which I hate because in photos if I don’t make up them the outer half looks almost invisible.
I pluck them myself but mostly between them and a little up and down the tail, I’ve always thought about giving them a complete form but I’m afraid of looking like María Felix so I prefer them Au naturel.
For everyday I use Maybelline’s Brow mascara and if I want something more dramatic I use a pencil after the mascara.
where did you get your phone case? i love it.
To me, brows have the potential to make me late for work every morning if I let them! First I use a spoolie and brush them. Then I use an eyebrow pencil to lightly create an outline. Next I use MAC browset, the waterproof one. Then I use Brun shadow to fill in. But then I have to raise and lower my eyebrows making sure that everything is filled in properly but not too dramatic, possibly more browset… it goes on and on if I don’t stop the monster of the brow process!!
I don’t like those 90s skinny brows. Yours weren’t that bad though. Other than a bit of clipping and tweezing, and a little brow powder to fill things in, I don’t do much.
The ombre brow is ok but I think some people over-do it, and they end up looking overly made-up.
I never pluck my eyebrows, only shave them.
Dude! Feels like it’s been AGES since I last commented. Did a lot of traveling during my “December to Remember” as this month is my birthday month & I’ve been celebrating all month. As for my brows, they used to be hella thick & full. I didn’t look like I was related to Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans but our brows could’ve been distant cousins. I started getting them arched in college & they were perfect. Honestly, I look back at photos of me then, sans makeup, rocking a natural face that was enhanced by perfect brows. Sadly, I started plucking them & I overdid it (surprise, surprise). These days, I get them threaded & my right eyebrow has the lovely shape & fullness that I’m trying to get my left eyebrow to become. They’re nowhere near as full as they used to be, but they’re still relatively full. While visiting friends in the Raleigh-Durham area, I went to a brow salon & got my brows threaded. I absolutely loved the brow tech. She kept my brows full like I like them & gave them a nice shape. But most importantly, it didn’t hurt! Who knew brow threading didn’t HAVE to hurt. I’ve visited two brow techs here and it hurt like the dickens both times. Now I’m on a quest to find a place here where I can have the same experience. I shape my brows with a brow pencil from MAC. It’s good old faithful Spiked. I always have a back-up on hand & always have enough to B2MAC a free lippie 🙂 The pic of you circa 2007 is absolute stunning. You look like you grew up on that island. ☺️
After the great-waxing-incident-of-1994 (which involved an ER visit and months of burn recovery), my thick, lush Italian brows refused to return. Now I only have sparse little pathetic excuses for eyebrows that only look fake and overdone with any enhancement. I still enhance with powder, wax, GimmeBrow, pencils, and setting gel, though, because anything is better than barely there individual black hairs. Hawaiian brows look thick compared to mine. I wish the 90s had never happened. Sigh.
I know! The IG brow looks super fierce and I love it but my brows are toooootally different. They’re more rounded. But I think they suit me. I hope they do, lol… And yeah, they’ve changed a lot over the years as well, I guess that just happens with brows… they evolve 🙂
I didn’t do a thing to my brows for many years. Then suddenly I realized plucking would be, how shall we say, beneficial. Not quite a unibrow, but “full n lovely” has been displaced by”full n scraggly.” Since then, I’ve plucked daily to keep the shape and do a swish of Anastasia brow wiz. Occasionally I trim or pluck longer hairs and use those little shavers. I always liked them full, even in the 90s, but I do remember patting an extended shimmer of Mac Nylon under the arch back then!
I maintain my own brows due to my own traumatizing experience with a “brow expert.” About 12 years ago before the age of yelp, I thought it would be fun to get my brows shaped in Pasadena by an expert. I thought everything and anything was done right in Pasadena. Well, I ended up walking out of that place with my brows way too thin and too far apart. Now I have a major bald spot on the inner part of my right brow. I usually just tweeze them once a week and fill them in daily with either my Anastasia or hourglass pencils. That bald spot always makes me sad though.
Omg. Brows. I naturally had very, very thick shapeless brows. I was the only girl with crazy thick brows so once I put two and two together and I plucked the crap out of them (badly) for years. Then I grew them out again, and only in the past two years have I gotten serious about my arch and filling them in and what not. Overall I’m happy with them once they’re filled in but I do have these annoying bald spots in the inner corner which sucks and I wish my tails were naturally longer. C’est la vie.
I horrible at these sort of things I don’t even trust myself. I’ve been going to the same esthetician for ten years and she’s the only one who plucks my brows. I love her and she’s worth my money!
LOL @ “Hawaii brows.” I very much recognize them. Thankfully, I never was one to go too thin (because I saw what happened to my mom’s brows) or too thick (I don’t have enough brow to go that way). But there is a new version of Hawaii brow now. Lots of ladies are copying the thick & full brow look because they see it in IG or YouTube or wherever. But a full, thick brow seems to be out of balance on a face with more delicate features, to my eye. But I say nothing, because it’s not my face, and if a fuller brow makes someone happy, who am I to criticize, when I’m rocking seven shades of eyeshadow, two eyeliners, and maybe four lip products at once?
My poor brows are light in color and now I have some sparse areas and a few grays in there. But I love Anastasia products for the fill. I used to wax, but I know my skin is losing elasticity, so I started threading instead and love it. My girl is amazing and gave me more of an arch than I ever had, so that’s great!
When I first started with my brows, I got them threaded at a place at the mall. She did a nice job, but they were normally uneven and too thick for my liking. When I started doing them myself, I tweezed them at home into a thin, sort of strange shape: a dip down from the start to the arch, then a sharp arch and a tail that went down. It kind of looked like a sideways S – not a good look! After I fell out of that phase, I started making them more along the lines of ’50s arches, but thin.
Now? Growing them out, and when they’re sufficiently grown out, I’ll pluck them into a nice, gentle arch with medium thickness. ;P I can’t imagine letting anyone else do my eyebrows now, though. Just as I can’t imagine anyone else doing my hair or makeup!