Feeling Plucky Today?

Many women pluck their brows way too often, while others let them grow wild. Here's how to find a happy medium

(CBS)  Ever wonder why only models and actresses have well-groomed, well-behaved eyebrows? It's not about genetics - its about having access to someone who is able to create the ideal brow for your face - one that frames your eyes without overpowering your other features.

The Early Show beauty consultant David Evangelistsa dropped in to show us three samples of brows on the brink - too bushy, too plucked and too scant - and how they can be improved.

According to Evangelista, there are five things to remember when cleaning up your brow line:

The incline of the brow should always be longer than the decline.

The inner edge of the brow should line up with the inside edge of the nostril (and not the outer, as most people assume).

The peak of the arch and the outer end of the brow should be along an imaginary line drawn from the center of the tip of the nose through the middle of the pupil (to the peak) and through the outer corner of the eye (to the end of the brow).

The closer to the eye the incline of the eyebrow, the higher the arch you will be able to achieve. Avoid plucking too much from the inner brow.

Your inner brow should be no thinner than the radius of your iris, to keep the brow from looking too surprised.



Here's Evangelista's advice for the three brow types:

THE BUSHY BROW: If your brows are overgrown or too bushy, they can really close up the eye and make it look droopy. To fix, start by combing the brow hairs straight up with a brow brush or a toothbrush. You'll see the natural brow line when you brush the hairs up, so take a brow scissor and trim any hairs above that line (don't go too crazy at first - remember, you can always go back and trim more). Using a thin, angled tweezers, start cleaning up the underside of the brows, taking to heart the rules above about arch and length. Another option: use a brow stencil to get the perfect shape for your brow. Put the stencil up to your brow, fill in with a dark powder, and when you remove, you can tweeze and trim everything outside the darkened areas.

THE OVER-PLUCKED BROW: The key here is to fill in the brow where you've plucked too much subtly, without looking like you've painted on your brows. Use a brow pencil in a shade that matches your brow hair (or try a taupe pencil which works on nearly everyone), and draw pencil onto bald spots and over the existing brow hair using short, light strokes (applying pencil to the existing brow makes the brow look far more natural). Most important, don't go near your tweezers if you've over-plucked - let your brows grow back in, and when you've enough hair to create a good shape, THEN you can start tweezing again.

THE BARELY-THERE BROW: Whether your brows are so blonde that they disappear on your face, or you just weren't blessed with a lot of brow hair, barely-there brows can be incredibly frustrating. The good news is that they're fairly easy to fix and make beautiful (without being too prominent on the face). Use a tinted brow wax for barely-there brows (wax will adhere to the skin and ensure a long-lasting color), brushing it on the brows using a stiff, angled brush (like an eyeliner brush). Again, with short light strokes, apply the brow color lightly. To blend, brush brow hairs up with a brow brush or spoolie. Note: the best advice for women is NOT to permanently dye your brows. Chances are the color will be too harsh against your skin, and when working with waxes or powder, you have complete control over how much color you get on your brows and the exact color itself.


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