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The human race have been plucking out, drawing and waxing off their eyebrows since Ancient Egyptian times, so wanting to learn how to shape your eyebrows isn’t something out of the ordinary. However, grabbing the nearest pair of tweezers and styling your eyebrows at home can have disastrous results. If you don’t want to end up looking permanently surprised, or as though you walked straight out of a 1920s talkie, read on.
Why shape your eyebrows?
It’s often said that, after your teeth, your eyebrows are your most important facial features. From an evolutionary perspective, eyebrows are just there to stop sweat rolling into our eyes. Aesthetically, they communicate our emotions to others and can make look more polished. Therefore, it’s worth learning how to perfect your brows, or finding someone who can do it for you. An eyebrow style that suits you can benefit you in the following ways –
- It fights fatigue – You could have been up all night working on a project for your boss, but the best brow shapes won’t give you away.
- It’s a subtle change– If you’re sick of the current trends and want to try something different, changing your eyebrow shape is a low-cost way to shake things up.
- Stylish eyebrows keep you youthful – No matter if they’re thick or thin, if your eyebrows are on trend then you’ll look up to date with all the hip young things.
- Good brows mean less makeup – Do you ever see Duchess Meghan with long, unkempt eyebrows? No you don’t, and that’s not just because she’s royalty. If you take the time to keep your eyebrows in check, you don’t need to wear a whole lot of makeup to look put together.
Eyebrow Shapes and Face Shapes
Ideally, you want to find an eyebrow shape that is different to the shape of your face so that both aspects of your appearance compliment each other. You don’t want a brow that is too harsh for your face shape, you want everything to work together so you can put your best face forward (is that a thing? It is now!) Take note from the images of the celebrity girls we’ve gathered below.
Heart-shaped Face
Pictured: We heart Ruby Rose, and we heart her face shape too!
Heart-shaped faces are characterised by the following:
- Cheeks wider than hairline
- Narrow and pointed chin
- Widow’s peak
A brow with a low arch works best for those with this face shape.
Square-shaped Face
Pictured: Is there anybody out there more powerful than Angelina Jolie? We think not.
People with square-shaped faces will usually have the following features:
- Width of hairline and jawline are even
- Face is equally long and wide
A soft angled, rounded brow suits a square face.
Round-shaped Face
Pictured: Move over John, all of us love all of Chrissy Teigan too!
Think you have a round face? If you do, you’ll have:
- A face is equally long and wide
- No major points or angles
- A rounded jaw and chin
Sharper, pointy brows give more definition and lift to those with round faces.
Oval-shaped Face
Those with oval faces will have:
- A face shape comparable to an upside-down egg
- A face length that is 1.5 times longer than width
A soft angled brow suits most oval-shaped faces.
Does Eyebrow Care Differ Between Men & Women?
Pictured: Australian male makeup artist Dom Skii setting the gold standard for brows.
Once upon a time your brow shape might have been totally dependant on you gender, but not anymore. If you like the look of a certain brow shape, it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl, a boy, a little of both or a fabulous alien from outer shape – you go right ahead and rock that shape! Don’t let small-minded people hold you back from living your best life.
Methods For Shaping Eyebrows
Threading
Threading is a very ancient form of removing hair and it is a method commonly used to shape eyebrows.
Waxing
Getting your eyebrows waxed is another way of keeping them under control, especially if your natural brows are fast growing.
Microblading
Microblading is a specialised form of tattooing. People with thinner eyebrows, or just those who want more volume, often opt to for this procedure to up their brow game.
Tweezing
Tweezing is the most basic form of eyebrow shaping, as it involved manually plucking out rogue hairs one by one.
Shaping Your Brows At Home
Let’s preface this section by saying that just like attempting to bleach your hair at home, doing your brows yourself has the potential to go horrible wrong. A rush of blood to the head is all it takes for you to get way too pluck-happy, and before you know it you look like the Mona Lisa (i.e just like the famous painting, you have no eyebrows either!)
The key tips to shaping your own brows are to go slow, keep standing back from the mirror to assess the look as a whole, and know when it’s time to stop! With these tips in mind, here’s how to map out your face so that you know where to shape your eyebrows.
- Look straight ahead into a mirror and hold the base of makeup brush or chopstick at the dimple of your nose. Align the other end of your measuring instrument with the start of your eyebrow. Make a mark here, because starting at this point will give your face balance
- Keep one end of your measuring instrument at the base of your nose, and this time angle it so it passes over your pupil straight up into your brow. Make a mark here, because this is where your natural arch point should start.
- Finally, keeping the end of your measuring instrument in the same position, angle the other end so it passes over the outer corner of your eye to the end of your brow. Mark a mark, because ending your brow here will open up your eyes.
The Top 3 Eyebrow Shape Designs
These 3 eyebrow shapes never seem to go out of style.
1. The Brooke Shields
We like our eyebrows thick and fluffy à la Queen Brooke. This look will suit women like Brooke and model Cara Delevingne who have strong jaws. You can achieve it yourself by going to town on your brows with a spoolie brush before using a clear or tinted brow gel to add dimension.
2. The Natalie Portman
Suitable for those of us with heart-shaped faces, Natalie’s eyebrows are rounded with a soft, subtle arch. Although they may look straight, there is a slight bend to Natalie’s brows which means her face looks perfectly balanced.
3. The Megan Fox
Megan Fox’s diamond-shaped face has us all envious. The best brows for this face shape are ones which will shorten and soften the face. You do this be lengthening your brow and giving it increased curve (within reason of course!)
