Solution: Conquer Your Arch Nemeses—Unruly Brows

Category: Beauty Eyebrows Fashion Solutions

They say your eyes are the windows to your soul. You wouldn't want ratty drapes blocking anyone's view, right? No matter how beautiful your eyes, or how meticulous your eye makeup, unruly brows can ruin the whole effect, drawing attention away from your peepers and making your face look unfinished or unbalanced. Luckily, there's lots of brow beating technology in the cosmetics world now, so worrying about misshapen, patchy arches becomes a thing of the past.


There are basically four tools to pick from if you want a quickie, one-step brow shape-up: pencils, powders, waxes or gels. Traditional pencils, like Dianne Brill's Eye Lingerie Dual Brow Pencil ($24) are easy-to-operate precision tools that let you fill in patches with small, swift strokes and allow you to trace along your natural arch. Stick to pencils if you've got a steady hand and if your arch shape is easy to identify. Don't go too heavy—drawn-on brows (especially thin, too-perfect ones) are just as bad as bushy brows.

Pick a tinted brow powder or wax, like Benefit's Brow Zings ($30), for the most un-made up look. Brow Zings' split palette contains a contouring wax and a complementary setting powder for a one-two punch of arch support. Choose a powder that's one shade darker than your hair color and pat it into your brows with an angled, stiff-bristled brush, following the natural direction of hair growth. You can get a long-handled brush from Bare Escentuals ($24) if the brush that comes with your kit is too stumpy and you want more control. Lorac Brow Wax ($16) is another no-nonsense option you can smooth on with your fingers or a Q-tip. After trimming brows (go easy—it's always better to trim too little than too much!), use your index fingers and smooth up and outward, starting at the insides of your brows by your nose. One quick slick and voila! Brow beauty.

Brow gels are another simple way to go. They're the best option for extending the life of salon-perfect brows after you've had a professional wax or thread job you want to maintain. Benefit's Speed Brow ($16) and Paula Dorf's Brow Gel ($19) work just like mascara for your arches. Sweep it on and let it set for a sleek look (think of what hair gel does for your ponytail). In a pinch, a bit of good old fashioned Vaseline will work, too.

If your brows are more of a mess than a single makeup product can cure, you may want to invest in a whole-hog brow shaping kit to clean up your arch act. Anastasia of Beverly Hills, browmaster to the stars, has cleverly packaged her tools of the trade into one chic Brow Shaping Set ($75) that includes two-toned brow powder, a two-ended shaping and filling brush, brow gel, a highlighting pencil, tweezers, and four foolproof eyebrow stencils. (Just need a little color-inside-the-lines assistance? Get Anastasia's Stencil Kit for $20). Tarte's Toolbox ($32) is a pocket-sized version of Anastasia's kit, with mini brushes, gel, tweezers, stencils and a pencil tucked into a tiny palette. And if you feel more comfortable leaving it to the pros, have a little touch-up kit on hand. Bliss Poetic Brow Shaping Sugar Wax kit ($40) comes with easy-to-apply sugar wax, muslin strips, and calming gel to target the little bite of waxing.

Sephora Tells Us What Spring Makeup To Buy

Category: Beauty Eye Shadow Eyebrows Hair Care Lip Gloss Fashion Trend Alert

I love those Beauty Insider emails that I get from Sephora every once in a while. The most recent one was about this Spring's big beauty trends, so I definitely have to share it:

1. Bright Lids: Channel the '60s flower child brights with a Sephora Brand Colorful Duo Eyeshadow Palette ($16). 

2. Stained Lips: A subtle cherry stain is really chic for spring. Stila's Cherry Crush Lip & Cheek Stain ($24) gives great long-lasting color.

3. Rosy Cheeks: We're not talking hard core blush or anything but just a little pink can really make you look alive. If you're nervous about applying color to your cheeks, try a little SuedeBlush by Cargo ($24) which is a mixture of three blush colors to make it look more natural.

4. Thick Brows: I'm glad the full brows trend is sticking around. I'm tired of seeing so many girls walking around with super skinny, over-plucked brow lines. Don't let them go completely wild, though; keep them maintained with the Anastasia Tweezers Anonymous Set ($55). 

5. Straight Strands: I guess the pancake-flat look is back again (personally I think curls are more fun for spring but hey, who am I to question the trends). If you don't have a flat iron already, the T3 Mini ($119) is a great compact tool for sleek and frizz-free locks.  

High Brow Know-How: Give Your Out-Of-Shape Brows A Lift

Category: Beauty Eyebrows

You may do a killer job lining, defining, highlighting, and otherwise setting off your gorgeous eyes, but if your brows are scraggly or out of shape, all that artistry on your lids is for naught. We found three double-whammy products that will get your brows in shape and deliver an added bonus.

 

Sexiest: Just reading off the names featured in Dianne Brill's Eye Lingerie line is enough to make us blush a little. Her sensual, powdery pencils ($24)—with names like Black Silk Lace—are long, lean, and easy to operate. Perfect your come-hither arches with the opposite end of the pencil: a mascara-like brush for grooming and polishing.

 

Most Practical: Makeup artist Susan Posnick  must have taken a peep inside our overstuffed makeup bags. She obviously knows the beauty of economy, as she's paired basic black mascara with clear, refining brow gel in one ingenious little tube. Swipe your lashes with lengthening, separating, and volumizing mascara, then give your brows a sweep of the taming topcoat-like gel for a complete eye look.

 

Best Buy: Two-fer and BOGO sales are the best, so when we find a deal like Wet n' Wild's Ultimate Brow Color & Set Pencils  (just $3) we have to jump. Fill in those unsightly patchy parts of your brows with the pencil end, then whip those arches into perfect shape with the tinted fixer end for setting and shaping. 

Meet Olga, She Pulls Hair Out of My Face

Category: Beauty Eyebrows Hair Removal Embarrassing Rant and Rave

_What:  Lady Tweezers, $23

Why, Oh Why: Every once in a while, I run across a product that makes me go, "Oh my goodness, I want that, it's so cute!" Sometimes it happens and is immediately followed by, "Whoa, I'm totally going insane." These lady tweezers are an example of this phenomenon. Although they may provide an adorable way to remove unwanted hair, do you really need your feminine beauty devices to look like cartoon women? Would using tweezers designed to look like attractive women make my boyfriend more or less creeped out when he sees me pulling out the hint of a unibrow?

Seriously… tell me.  Because I can't exactly figure it out. Part of me wants to buy them as stocking stuffers while the other, more rational half of me says to steer clear. Tell us in the comments if you think this is creepy or clever!

SheFinds Solution: Do-It-Yourself Eyebrow Kit

Category: Beauty Eyebrows Fashion How To Solutions Grooming

There are certain beauty processes you know not to do yourself: plastic surgery, haircuts, extreme changes in hair color. Most women are also afraid to pluck their own eyebrows, fearing they’ll over-pluck them or wind up with mismatched shapes and sizes.

Fear this process no more. Anastasia Soare, the “Queen of Brows”—and the only woman to touch Oprah Winfrey’s arches—has created the perfect at-home solution with the Anastasia Five Item Brow Kit. The kit comes complete with different stencils (because not all brows are for all faces), brow powder matched to your hair and skin tone, complete with an angled application brush, tweezers and brow gel to hold those new brows in place.

Here’s how you do it:
Step One: Do not panic and do not do other things while you perform this process. This is not the time to multi-task.  
Step Two:  Choose the appropriate stencil.
Step Three: Put the stencil over your brow and brush brow powder into the stencil. 
Step Four: Remove the stencil and pluck anything outside the stenciled area.
Step Five: Apply brow gel in an up-and-out motion (same as with mascara) to the groomed area.
Step Six: Repeat on the other side by flipping the stencil. Be sure to use the same one for both brows—we’re not kidding, we know someone who didn’t do this.

Voilà! Fab new brows! Want more tricks and tips? Check out our Solutions page.

Get Better Brows: Nordstrom.com

SheFinds Asks You: Bushy Brows, Hot or Not?

Category: Beauty Eyebrows Hair Removal Fashion Trend Alert

The Topic: Bushy, Caterpillar Eyebrows

The Debate: In August of 2006, when the bushy eyebrow trend was in full force and so completely in the spotlight that even the New York Times covered the style, I had my misgivings. Now, almost a full year later, it seems to be back in full force and bushy brows are bigger than ever.

In my opinion, this trend is getting out of hand. Runway shots of women sporting eyebrows bigger than their brow bones are getting painfully prolific. It’s gotten past the point of natural, and makeup is now being employed to fill in and expand on what is already garishly bushy. Is this actually sexy? The answer is crystal clear to me; a resounding and undeniable ‘no.’

In defense of my crusade against the bushy brow I bring you one of the worst caterpillar attacks of the season: Sienna Miller sporting huge brown slabs on her pale forehead. Red lipstick, blond hair, gargantuan brown eyebrows? Forgive me, but while some will follow suit with this horrible beauty trend, I choose to laugh from the sidelines.

The Verdict: Not hot. I’m all for getting away from the pencil-thin horrors of decades gone by, but this too much. Even if you do decide to grow your eyebrows in, I believe that moderate shaping or the plucking of stray hairs is still advised. Trim away the bush with illuminated tweezers and then tame and shape with tinted Anastasia Eyebrow Gel.

What do you think? Is it time to take a weed whacker to these things or what? Tell us what you really think.

If you’re going bushy make sure you stock-up on:

Benefit Brow Zings
Anastasia Brow Gel
Find out the secret make-up artist tip to using a Brow Filler.

Celeb Beauty: Steal Ginnifer Goodwin’s Fresh Look

Category: Beauty Eye Shadow Eyebrows Lip Gloss Fashion Celebrity Style

If I ever had to cast an actress to star in the movie of my oh-so-riveting life, I would without a doubt lobby for Ginnifer Goodwin. As fresh faced, new-to-the-game Margene on Big Love, she’s able to pull off perky perfectly, and her slightly more sultry off-screen style is funky and classy at the same time.

Copping Ginnifer’s brand of beauty is all abut capturing (or faking) a sublime inner and outer glow. LORAC’s Cheek Stamp in Coral ($22) is perfect for giving cheeks a natural-looking, even flush. Top off with Benefit’s just-sparkly-enough 10 bronzing and illuminating powder ($26) for a dazzling one-two punch of color.

To get Ginnifer’s natural, smoky eyes, try an easy-to-apply cream liner like Napoleon Perdis’ China Doll Eyeliner Earth ($25). Layer a tawny matte shadow under plummy colors with slight sheens to make eyes pop. A Stila Compact ($14) stocked with Barefoot Contessa, Nude, Shell and Ecru shades ($16) is a good mix-and-match option. And don’t forget how important flawless brows are. Anastasia Brow Ex-press kit ($32) has all the tools you’ll need to maintain star-worthy arches.

Finally, Ginnifer does right by her smoldering eye look by downplaying her lips. A simple, light gloss in a peachy shade, like Philosophy The Supernatural Lipgloss ($15), is a foolproof pick. Have Big Love for Ginnifer’s look? Stock up on her essentials at Sephora.com.

Deal Alert: Free Lorac Mocktail sample with any purchase. Enter promo code HOTLIPS at checkout. Offer valid through 8.16.07 or while supplies last.

Chicago Beauty Find: Fabulous Facials

Category: Beauty Acne Eyebrows

Where: Stephanie Welles Skin Care, Lake Bluff, Illinois

Why: Off the beaten path along Lake Michigan’s north shore is a gem of a spa: Stephanie Welles’ Skin Care. A trained aesthetician who has worked along side physicians, Stephanie doesn’t just slather on oils and pray that your skin responds. She carefully selects treatments to match not only her clients skin care needs, but also the results they are seeking. My dry, flaky skin which was a shimmery oil slick by the end of the day has never looked better… and it’s been a week since I relaxed in her office. An added bonus: She’s an eyebrow goddess who reshaped and redefined my squirrelly brows in minutes… and made me promise not to touch them without help ever again!

Ready for an appointment? Contact Stephanie at: 847.283.9101 for prices and treatments. Seeking other beauty treatments in the Chicago area? Check out ChicagoBeauty.com or PrettyCity.com

Recreate the Treatment at Home: For spa quality results at home, we recommend Bioelements. This company’s line of specially formulated skin care products and cosmetceuticals are made to help balance each type of skin (what they call ”Biotypes”). This Kerafole Mask is the perfect at-home indulgence to exfoliate, unclog pores, add moisture and tone the skin without encouraging overactive sebum production. Follow up with the Oil Control Sleepwear night cream, a highly nourishing restorative overnight treatment that won’t leave you with an oil-slick the following morning.

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