Posted Monday, January 23, 2012 by Christina Marrale,

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I am a stickler of many things when it comes to proper makeup, but eyebrows have to be at the top of my list. Before I learned how to do makeup, it was not such a priority on my list to fill them in and make sure they were shaped correctly (although, I did grow up in an era of the 90’s where thin eyebrows were king, blah!) Nowadays, it’s at the top of my list when I am doing makeup for a client or myself.

I find many women do not know how to actually measure out their brows properly. This is priority number one my friends, and it will save you the hassle of going through a bad wax or filling them in incorrectly again. Begin by taking an angled eye brush and dip it into a darker brown eye shadow. Place the brush in the middle of your nostril and run an imaginary vertical line up to your brow; make a mark with the brush.  This is where your brow should begin. Next, place the brush at the tip of your nose and run another imaginary line running through the center of the iris and make a mark.  This is where the highest point (or your arch) should be. Lastly, place your brush at the outer part of your nose (where the nostril ends) and run a line through the outer edge of the eye; make a mark. This is where your brow should end.

Do not worry if you find your brows are short: that is a very common problem. Many will find their arch was in the wrong place for years, and others may have perfect measurements. Use this as a guide when filling in your brows and getting them waxed. I recommend purchasing a brow stencil and brow kit so you will have everything you need to fill in and measure your brows.

Eyebrows truly frame the face, create balance, and enhance facial features. It is important to pay attention to them, especially when being professionally photographed for your wedding. Getting them properly shaped is something you will not regret!

 Application Technique:

After measuring your brows to figure out the proper proportions for your face, you will need to fill them in. Pencil and Powder work best for filling in areas that may not have much hair growth. If you will be using a powder, be sure to lay down a wax in the area you would like to cover with powder first (NOT actual wax that rips your hair from the follicle.  Solid brow wax can be found in most beauty stores and are sold with many brow kits.) Solid brow wax grabs the powder allowing it to last long: without it the powder would simply not stay on the skin long enough. Use darker shades in areas where you do not have much hair and lighter shades in area where you do have a good amount of hair but need more definition. If using a pencil, use short, light strokes that mimic hair to fill in areas. Use a brow gel – lightly coat the brows with product to help keep them in place and tuck away any unruly hairs. Do not touch the brows once the brow gel has dried. It is similar to hairspray and it will flake and wear off.