Hello friends! Today’s post has been requested by several readers and I hope I’m up to the job! I’m going to show you how to shape your eyebrows with methods like plucking as well as how to fill them in if you so desire. If you’re interested in the fine art of the eyebrow read on!

The pictures above are of my eyebrows with absolutely nothing done to them yet. I have a few hairs to pluck on them and I will also fill them in like I do every day. Obviously this is not my natural brow shape. If I let them grow out completely they would be a uniform size all they way across (and very unruly I’m afraid). I’ve had my brows done professionally a few times in order to shape them and then maintain them on my own. I recommend this strategy if you’re interested in a changing your brows for the first time. If you still want to DIY the shape for yourself, I’ve included a section on that below.

Most of this tutorial is focused on my right eyebrow because it is easier to tell what’s going on with that one. In the left picture I used my eyebrow comb to brush all the hairs upward. My eyebrows love to grow very long hairs and so I usually start off by trimming them with baby scissors. DO NOT over-trim the brows. Less is always more. Same with plucking. I’ve ended up with some sadly patchy brows from going crazy with the scissors. Just trim the really long ones to match their neighbors. After this step I plucked any stray hairs well below my brow line. I wouldn’t work too much on the brow line unless you are reshaping the brow. Mine looks how I want it now so I just cleaned things up a bit in the front and underneath. The right picture is the plucked brow.

If you’re interested in shaping your brows, or are just ready to fill them in, it is important to know how a brow is normally shaped. You should never pluck your brow further in than your inner eye corner as shown in the first picture. From there the brow goes almost straight out until the last third. To figure out where your arch should be use the pencil you used for your inner corner and angle it about 45 degrees, or over the center of your eye. Finally, angle your pencil so that it goes from your nose to the outer corner of your lower eyelid. This is where the brow should end.

Again, I preach that less is more. Start slow if you are shaping your eyebrows. A good pencil or powder can do a lot of work for you if you don’t want to pluck too much. I’d recommend keeping your brows as close to their original height and width as possible. The front of my brow is the exact shape and size as it was originally, I only tapered the end. Trust me, growing back thinned brows is really hard and not recommended.

In the first photo I used my NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Expresso to fill in the right brow. You can also use shadow and a stiff brush. Use short strokes to imitate brow hairs and fill the sparse areas. Don’t color in the brow for a natural look. If you’re looking for something bold go all out, but I like to enhance the brow, not draw it on. The second picture shows the difference between my filled brow and the unfilled one.

This second step isn’t necessary for everyone, but I finished my brow with a brow gel. I used the NYX Brow Mascara in Expresso. I mentioned before that my brows can be unruly. Using a gel keeps the brows in place all day, which is something I’m interested in. I put on a light layer so that brows didn’t look too dark.

I also want to show the filled in effect on my second brow because it has a bald spot in the front. It’s fine to leave spots like this if you’re comfortable, but I like to even the two brows a bit by filling it in. I am much more careful with my pencil to make the front look like it has hairs. I also draw upwards to match the hair growth in that area. The undone brow is on the left and the finished on the right.

I chose to leave a little bit of baldness near the front in order to keep the look of my face from changing completely.

There you have it! Those are my steps for having some awesome brows. A good eyebrow look really enhances the face in my opinion. If you’re worried about thick brows remember that the Cara brow is in right now! So work the natural look! And if your brows are thin you can enhance them with a pencil if you so choose. You might not want to change anything at all! I hope this tutorial helps the brow-confused. Comment below with your favorite brow products!

-Kate