Want Full, Fluffy Brows? Here Are 5 Pro Tips

This is a repost from Vogue:

Would it be overstating things to say our eyebrows have the power to make or break our face? Skinny brows are long gone; now we like them “fluffy in the front, full at the arch, and tapering down to a nice neat point” at the ends, explains Glossier make-up artist Celia Burton, who is as au fait with a gorgeously full brow as she is that much-sought-after Glossier glow. “A full, fluffy brow for me projects a relaxed confidence and natural beauty. There’s power and strength carried in an eyebrow – just look at Frida Kahlo!” Here, Burton shares her best tips for eyebrows that are unequivocally on fleek.

Brush them up

“Before you do anything, brush your brows upwards with a clean brush or spoolie and use this time to really look at them in relation to the rest of your face,” advises Burton. Most pencil brow products, like Christian Louboutin Beauty’s Brow Definer, come with a spoolie, so use this instead of buying a separate product.

Consider your look

Ask yourself what your face needs from your brows. It could be that your arch needs to be lifted to open the face up; or, you might want to elongate the brows at the ends to better frame your eyes. “Or, you might find they’re good as they are and just need some clear brow gel to hold them in place,” Burton says. We love BBB London’s Clear Brow Gloss or Bbare Brow Bae Kit to tame particularly unruly eyebrows. 

Fill in the gaps

If your brows do need some work, first fill in the gaps between hairs, “making sure to always use an upwards motion, mimicking the hair,” says Burton. An excellent new product for the job is Benefit’s Brow Microfilling Pen, which has a three-pronged tip to create hair-like lines for a natural finish. “Have a cotton bud and spoolie to hand, brushing up and out from the front of the brow, and cleaning up any unwanted product from underneath. Every so often, step back to have a look in a mirror, making sure you’re on track with the initial plan. When you build a brow slowly and mindfully, you can’t go wrong,” she says.

Deploy Boy Brow

If time is of the essence, look no further than Glossier’s cult Boy Brow eyebrow gel. “Boy Brow is great because it fills and defines the brows without any harsh or super-defined shape, so you get a natural-looking, full brow with just the one product,” says Burton. “Use the Boy Brow wand directly onto the brow, starting a third of the way in around the start of the arch, and use up most of the product on the brush in the area that needs defining the most – keep the front of the brow fluffy and not too dense in product.” She also recommends using short, upward strokes with the wand. Whatever your eyebrow colour, there’s a Boy Brow for you – the latest, Auburn, is for the redheads.

Use highlighter

To open up the eye area, look to highlighter: “You can use highlight and contouring techniques to manipulate any aspect of the face,” says Burton. “For smaller eyes, a pop of highlighter on the centre of an eyelid exaggerates the space; a highlight in the corner of the eye makes the eyes look further apart; and a pearly shimmer in the waterline opens up the eye completely. Have a play and see what works for your eye shape.”

BY HANNAH COATES14 SEPTEMBER 2020