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Makeup is one of the most versatile tools in your anti aging arsenal for enhancing your best features and smoothing over fine lines and wrinkles. While poor application can make you look older and highlight the areas of your face you would rather draw attention away from, artfully applied makeup can completely change your complexion and allow you to look years younger almost instantly. As you age, this is the one trick you need to employ into your daily makeup routine in order to emphasize the strong points of your face, leaving people guessing your age.
Your eyebrows, when done well, can allow you to look confident and put together while creating angles on your face without appearing too harsh. “As far as our eyebrows are concerned, one of the tell-tale signs of aging is a very sparse, or entirely absent of hair, eyebrow area. So, by putting some information back into the brow area, you can very easily take years off,” explains three-time Emmy nominated makeup artist, Kerrin Jackson. This is because your eyebrows add definition to your face, allowing your features to appear sharp and youthful in contrast.
Seeing as your eyebrows are so expressive, if they start to thin your face can appear sunken and sallow, making you look even older than you are. Because of this, it’s important to know the proper technique to fill them in. Jackson notes that the first step is to locate the beginning of your eyebrow, by holding your pencil vertically at the inner corner of your eye. Make a mark there and then shift the pencil so the bottom stays at your inner corner and the tip points along the outer edge of your eye. This is the back of your brow.
Once you have your guide, it’s time to fill them in. “Always upwards and outwards,” explains Jackson, who says that a light touch is going to be vital for achieving natural, youthful looking brows without dragging down your appearance. “Feather in short brushstroke motions with the pencil. In minutes, or seconds, your brow (and youthful looks!) will be back in business.” When in doubt, Jackson warns to start with a slightly lighter shade than your eyebrows naturally are so as not to overwhelm your features. Take your time to build up the color as you go so your brows don’t quickly develop a life of their own and overtake your features.
Properly filling in your brows can make all the difference in bringing depth and life back into your appearance, naturally allowing you to look younger and more vibrant with nothing more than a few strokes of a dark pencil. Highlighting your strongest features is vital for hiding your age as it helps to lift and enhance your appearance, drawing the eye upwards and away from sagging skin and other side effects of aging. If you want to keep everyone guessing your age while using as little makeup as possible, don’t skimp on filling in your brows!
