Top Left: natural brows/ Top Right: one brow done with Gimme Brow/ Bottom Left: both brows with Gimme Brow/ Bottom Right: both done with Gimme Brow and a brow powder
I am a mostly hairless creature. I can get away with shaving my legs only 3 or 4 times all summer, I have smooth arms with little to no hair, and my eyebrows are practically invisible. They exist, but I joke that they are see – through. To those if you rolling you eyes and saying, “I wish I had YOUR problem”, I get it. I know that I am fortunate in this area and have little room to complain. But I look like an alien without my eyebrows!
Natural brows
I learned early on in my beauty career that defined eyebrows can make a HUGE difference on my face. If you see me without them, you might not be able to tell that they’re missing, but you will notice that something is a little off, not quite complete. There’s too much forehead or too much eyelid… just something doesn’t make sense.
For years I have been an all out full glamour brow diva. I liked it strong and with a retro appeal. I have had two children since 2012, and my beauty routine has suffered a little. I am not walking around naked faced or anything, but I had to find some ways to compromise and shorten my application process. I have discovered that I actually prefer the results from some of these short-cuts.
Simply Magic
Now, my new go-to for a natural yet finished brow is Benefit’s Gimme Brow. This is a brush-on “fiber gel” and comes in what looks like a little mascara tube. It is so weird and awesome – the fiber gel is applied with the tiny mascara- like wand and it adheres to skin and hair to create the look of hair. It builds up what you already have and adds volume, and fills in where you don’t have hair with realistic looking magic. You will notice that when I do not fully understand how something works or if something is simply too awesome to explain I will refer to it as magic.
The brush itself is tapered and lets me brush on flat in the fuller part of my brow and use the pointier tip to apply to the outer area. So speedy. So awesome. So magical. This baby is water resistant, natural looking, buildable and long wearing. I seal the deal by brushing a spooly brush through my brows after the product has dried. This gives me a pretty significant improvement with minimal effort!
One brow with Gimme Brow applied
Spooly brush on top, angle brush on bottom
I often use Gimme Brow all by itself now and am pleased with how speedy I can apply it. When I want a brow that stands out even more, or an “evening” brow I will apply a brow powder over top of Gimme Brow to amp it up even more. I used to use just a brow powder alone before I discovered Gimme Brow, but it tended to wear off a little throughout the day. Gimme Brow is great alone but also provides a nice base for when I want to apply powder, so when the powder fades or rubs off I have a back up plan! For powder I like to use the lightest shade available, usually a taupe or a blonde. I found that even when I apply makeup on people very rarely does anyone require a dark eyebrow shade to fill in the brows. You need an angle brush with a very fine edge, and a spooly brush for this too. I tap the angle brush in the brow powder and gently sketch along my natural brow, and then build on my natural brow to make them fuller.
Gimme Brow and brow powder. Now you can tell if I am surprised!
Here are some brow powders that I have used and like:
- Benefit brow zings Brow Shaping Kit – Comes with a pigmented wax for shaping, a natural-shaded powder for setting (3 shades to choose from), mini tweezers, hard angle brush, blending brush, mirror, complete instructions
- Elizabeth Arden Dual Perfection Brow Shaper and Eyeliner – Six natural shades to choose from, this mirrored compact comes with two brushes for application
- Lise Watier BOÎTE À SOURCILS EYEBROW ESSENTIALS – Each mirrored compact contains two complementing shades to blend for perfect look and one dual ended applicator brush (I have also used both of these shades as a nice matte shade to blend into crease of eye for a natural smoky look, and as an eyeliner)
Here are some application tips:
- As mentioned before, almost everyone suits using a blonde or light brow shade. Unless you are really dark haired, stick to a lighter shade
- Realize that this takes a little practice, but once you get used to applying brow products it is really fast
- Start slow on just one eye brow and think about “sketching” – use light feathery strokes and avoid using a pressing motion or too much product on your brush
- Compare after you have done only one eye – do not get up close and scrutinize it. Anyone that close to you should be interested in something other than your eyebrows anyhow
- Do NOT use a magnifying mirror to do this. Those things serve mostly evil purposes
- When you go to do other brow keep in mind that your brows should like sisters but not twins, and not like distant cousins
- A spooly brush is super helpful to allow you to lighten the look, so do not freak out if it looks to dark or obvious. Spooly it! If you do not have one use a super soft NEW children’s toothbrush or an old but pristinely cleaned off mascara wand
- The first time you wear your brows out, don’t be surprised if nobody notices. They might say something like “You look well rested,” or “You look good. Did you get an eye lift?”
- Allow yourself to be uncomfortable for the first few times you see yourself with brows. It is something new. After a little while you will look back at old photos of yourself without brows and think that you look a little crazy
(One note that I really hope does not apply to you or ANY of my Foxy readers – if you are undergoing chemotherapy and stand a chance to lose hair, get used to drawing on your eyebrows BEFORE the hair falls out. That way you will already be used to following your natural shape and it won’t be such a daunting task on top of everything else.)
Ok Foxes, that’s my brow chatter. Tell me if you do anything to your eyebrows… what is your process? Lighten them, pluck, tweeze, sketch them on? I wanna know!
On of the most popular questions I get asked is, “How do I find a red lipstick that works for me?” This is not an easy question to answer as many people are really asking me to make them change their perception about red lipstick and who should be wearing it, and to make them see themselves in a different light in which they are glamorous and bold.
Once liner is applied, it’s time to put on the lipstick. There are several application methods – direct from the tube, applying with your finger, applying with a lip brush. Direct from the tube is fastest, but for ultimate precision a lip brush will allow you best control. You can either use the brush to get lipstick from the tube and then out onto your lips, or put some on directly from the tube and then use the brush to precisely fill in the countours. If you would like a hint of the colour rather than wearing it full blast, smudge a tiny amount onto centre of your lips and then spread out over rest of your lips with your finger.
Speaking of cuticles, I like to employ the use of a cuticle oil whenever I remember (not nearly often enough). This is a great way to prevent hangnails and cracks as the winter weather sets in. I am prone to the skin on the sides of my nails splitting if I neglect my hands, and this is a very painful and ugly thing to experience. The options are endless here too, but I like to use 
