Banish Those Frida Kahlo Brows

Yesterday I was sitting in a coffee shop sipping my favorite seasonal pleasure a pumpkin latte and people watching. I watched women walk past with every size, shape, color and style of  eyebrows imaginable. Some were works of art and some were horrible train wrecks. All this people watching made me realize one thing: Most women, and men for that matter, do not know how to properly shape, tint and maintain their brows!

When I think of eyebrows the first thing that comes to my mind is Anastasia Soare the Beverly Hills celebrity brow guru! She is the leading authority on brows, trusted by such celebrity clients as Oprah, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Naomi Campbell, Jada Pinkett Smith, Penelope Cruz and others.

Soare developed her own specific system for shaping and coloring eyebrows. I sat down with her to discuss some of the most common brow problems and questions women have.

Q: I see women with all kinds of brow shapes, everything from an arch to a comma and even uni-brows. What is the perfect eyebrow shape?
AS: The perfect brow shape is an individual concept, it incorporates your bone structure and natural growth shape in the process of creating the perfect brow for you. (See Anastasia’s Golden Ratio below)

Q: How does one determine the thickness their brows should be?
AS: This is comprised of two factors a) how much hair you have to work with and b) following the stencil cutout.

Q: After getting the perfect shape what is the best way to maintain your brows?
AS: For home use the safest way is to tweeze. It’s easy to go hair by hair and maintain a line, waxing is best for salon brow shaping.

Q: What color should your brows be in relation to your hair?
AS: Dark hair: one or two shades lighter than your natural hair color. Light hair: if your hair is dyed very light, maintain a shade that’s one or two shades darker for a natural look to your brows. You don’t want to look washed out and no one looks natural with platinum brows!

Q: What is the best way to “color” your brows?
AS: Brow tinting is difficult even from professionals, dark hair always wants to turn orange. I created a simple cosmetic product called Tinted Brow Gel that comes in six shades that cover all the hair tinting needs of my clients.

Q: I know many ladies that have had tragic waxing or tweezing accidents. What is the best way to correct this?
AS: This is the most common problem, and my theory is that great brows aren’t just about the shape they are also about the product. The majority of women you see with terrific brows fill them in daily with powder or pencil for their desired look. The same concept applies to over-tweezed brows. While you are growing your brows out fill them in for a polished look.

Q: Many men are either too scared to do some brow maintenance or they over-do it.  Any tips for the gents?
AS: I don’t blame them. I have seen some super arched brows on males that make them look feminine or cartoonish! For men less is more clean up the middle to start. The way to determine how far a man’s space should be cleaned up between his brows is by placing the thumb between the brows and marking the space between. Only remove the hairs inside the marks.

Anastasia’s brow systems are available at Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom and online at http://www.anastasia.net/home.php.

This week Anastasia has teamed up with me to give my readers some brow relief. One lucky winner will receive: The Kit for Perfect Brows and Eyes from Anastasia! (see image below).

To ENTER:

First, if you haven’t already, subscribe to this blog. Then leave a comment on this post between Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 telling me a crazy eyebrow story. This can be something you experienced or witnessed or even soemthing you saw in passing. For additional entries, repost this link on Facebook and Twitter. Good Luck!

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