April 6, 2021

Shall we talk about eyebrows for a minute?

Yes, after a slightly introspective post, we are back to the inane.  (As an aside, if you want a deeper, more introspective post regarding returning to "Normal" you just need to click this link.)

So, I called you all here to talk about the exciting topic of eyebrows.  Riveting, I know.

Here's the deal, up until December I had never really given any thought to my eyebrows.  Other than knowing that I was not a fan of the thick, overly defined, square eyebrows that was a recent fad (I think this fad is over, I hope).


This version is not as extreme as some I witnessed.

Years from now younger women everywhere will cringe at the fact that this particular fad is all over the internet for eternity.  Whereas, the ridiculous fads those of us who are older dabbled in as teens will only show up on the internet if we post them.  That's one perk for us Gen Xers.

At any rate, back to the eyebrows in question...mine.  I have never given mine much thought.  I will tweeze them to keep them from becoming quite unruly.  But I've never been an over zealous tweezer.

My mother, on the other hand, used to tweeze ALL of her brows, leaving only a "starting point" from which she would then draw on her brows every single day.  This practice seemed overtly tedious to me from the time I began to worry about such things.  I figured I had brows so there was no reason to pluck them off and start over - besides my drawing skills aren't the best.

As a result, for the majority of my life, when applying my "face" for the day my brows were either ignored or, at most, might get "brushed," if I was feeling extra fancy.  Although, in truth...why was that ever a thing?  Your brows grow the way they grow.  You either tweeze out the unruly ones or not.  I might be wrong but it seems brushing them really does nothing for them.

Anyway, sometime back in November or December I was watching an Instagram Live after the fact and the woman doing the Live was answering questions as she waited for whoever to join and someone in the comments said something about how nice her brows looked.  And I was like, "Wait...what?  She does something with her brows?"  Because honestly, I would have never guessed she penciled in her brows. 

You should note - this Instagram Live had absolutely NOTHING to do with eyebrows. 

So I paused the video and examined her brows closely...as one does.  And then I compared a still shot where her brows were NOT done with the shot where they WERE done (yes, I realize after typing that out I sound completely crazy.  And you aren't completely wrong.) and there was a difference - it was subtle but it was there.

Shortly after that I began to notice other people talking about eyebrows and hearing at least two people say something along the lines of you don't HAVE to do your brows but they are kinda important and make a difference (neither of these people have the exaggerated brows visualized above).

One day, as I was putting on my make-up, I took a hard look at my eyebrows (because, obsessed much?) and determined they were okay BUT I did notice a few white hairs - which couldn't/shouldn't be removed because of placement - were making my brows look "patchy." (Also, as an aside, white eyebrows and eyelashes?  Really?  Like dying my hair isn't enough maintenance?  Not to mention the blow to my dignity?)  I then ordered an eyebrow pencil immediately.

What have I learned from this experiment?  Those ladies were right - you don't NEED to do your eyebrows but if you do it you WILL see a difference.

So - have you studiously ignored your brows all these years?  Or has this been a thing that I have obviously been oblivious to for all of my make-up wearing life?  Dish in the comments.



10 comments:

  1. Oh, eyebrows! Remember that old Seinfeld where Elaine and Jerry are trying to set George up with Elaine's friend, and the discussion turns to eyebrows? "She has great eyebrows!" "Who cares about eyebrows?" I have naturally super thick, like Martin Scorsese eyebrows, and so I pluck them to keep them in line. Years ago I had posted a photo of myself on instagram and a total stranger told me my eyebrows were really ugly. WHO SAYS THAT ABOUT A STRANGER. I still laugh about it. I mean, honestly. Eyebrows! I never thought I would need an eyebrow pencil but I do use one now, as I've aged my eyebrows have gotten less full, and even though I pluck the errant hairs, I still want my actual eyebrows to look nice. I've only just started using one though. Oh! And my nieces went through that super thick pencilled in phase of eyebrows, and I'm really glad that trend has passed. Who cares about eyebrows, I guess I do! I have a lot to say, apparently.

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  2. I am a natural blonde who has to highlight my hair to be natural anymore. I tell you this because I have no eyebrows. I mean, I have SOME eyebrows, but they are very light. Both of my daughters (ages 21 and 13) are very focused on this. Gen Z is all about the eyebrows. And yet, I have no idea how to care for them.

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  3. Interesting that I noticed last night on the BBC NewsHour that Catty Kay had done something to her eyebrows. I don't like dark brows, and mine are just fine, wispy and barely there. :-)

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  4. I am the wrong person to ask about eyebrows, I think. I barely wear makeup (I've even ditched mascara since the pandemic). I'm not one to know how to use most makeup items. My eyebrows are probably a bit on the bushy side, but not overly thick - just sort of fluffy? I've never touched them and don't plan to start. My aunt plucked or shaved her eyebrows as a teenager or young adult and they've never come back. Is that normal. She always has to draw them on.

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  5. I pluck only stray eyebrow hairs, so my brows are mostly a natural shape... BUT I color my hair a dark brown and my eyebrows are light brown like my hair is naturally. So I use eyebrow mascara. If I leave the house, I am usually wearing eyebrow mascara and regular mascara. Simply because I think my face looks bald if I omit them.

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  6. So my mom grew up in the 40s-early 50s where over plucking was a thing. Now she has little to no eyebrows. She told me once not to pluck because I would end up like her. As a kid, this scared the eff out of me so I didn't touch them. Luckily, I'm blonde and have baby hair so no risk for mono-brow
    I had them done once and that was enough for me. I trim them when I cut my hair or notice unruliness.I am with you: would have not thought about it if you didn't bring it up (:) (smiley with mono-brow lol)

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  7. Lady, I just colored my roots for the first time since last March.

    That said I'm debating going to have my eye lashes and brows tinted and shaped. being blond and gray, they disappear into my face. My sister was saying something about tattooed ones... might be something to look into. Because seriously, I have literally no definition to my face nowadays.

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  8. I used to have mine waxed into a nicer shape, but they started thinning a few years ago. AGE.
    I do know that if I don't add in a little pencil or colored gel (I prefer that) mine don't show up in photos and do look better with them 'done'. I do feel bad for the ladies who apparently followed suit with their moms and over plucked, to now NOT have any eyebrows.

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  9. I routinely ask the barber to trim mine otherwise I look like Groucho Marx

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  10. I found you thanks to your helpful hint on Nicole's blog which still won't show me her photos. 🤷‍♀️

    I'm like Kari in that I'm blonde with no discernible eyebrows and the recent obsession with dark brows makes me feel like a freak. But fashion being what it is I'll just bide my time when the no brow look returns!

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