Eyebrows set the trend. Just as with hairstyles and makeup, fashion has evolved over time—from ultrathin to very dark brows—but in recent years the prevailing style is natural.
But eyebrows are not just a fashion concern; they can change our expression profoundly and can even age or rejuvenate the face. There are easy tricks you can apply at home with a little makeup that can help you a lot to rejuvenate your look.
How eyebrows change the look
As we age, and especially from around forty, eyebrows lose density and thin as the activity of the hair follicles wanes. This isn’t just about eyebrow hairs; scalp and body hair also diminish. Additionally, the colour of the eyebrows can also change as there are fewer hairs and greys may appear.
On the other hand, the shape of the eyebrows changes. The loss of skin elasticity and muscle tone often causes the outer end of the brows to sag and the arch to flatten.
All these changes affect the look and can make you appear more tired or even less cheerful.
There are serums and natural products such as castor oil that help to strengthen the hair, but they may not be enough, and that is when techniques such as microblading come into play. Makeup can also help more than you might think.
How to define the eyebrows
“Thin or overly marked eyebrows harden the features, but defined and textured brows soften and visually lift the gaze,” says makeup and beauty expert Susana Marín (@redcarpetsecrets), who proposes a very simple and practical method to define the eyebrows and rejuvenate the look: the Anastasia Beverly Hills technique.
The technique Susana Marín recommends, who shares numerous tricks on social media for applying makeup to mature skin, involves taking three reference points on the nose: one at the centre and the other two at the sides which will help to mark the brow’s structure (the start, the arch, and the outer edge):
- To mark the outer boundary of the brow, draw an imaginary line from the outer points of the nose to the outer corner of the eye.
- To mark the highest point of the brow, the imaginary line should originate from the centre of the nose and pass through the centre of your eye.
- To mark the start of the brow, draw a vertical imaginary line from the outer nose area passing through the tear duct to the brow.
These three points you’ve marked on the brow are the ones you’ll use to draw it well. For this, Marín recommends using a ultra-fine, waterproof pencil to imitate the hairs of the brows. By contrast, makeup expert Isabel García advises that the eyebrow pencil be a shade lighter than the natural colour of the hair to define and fill in the brows without looking artificial.
What you need to do is fill in the gaps with tiny hair-like strokes in the direction of how the natural hair grows. “If necessary to re-populate some sparse areas, one can use fibre gels specifically designed for this,” says García and adds, “they help create a fuller and more natural appearance in the eyebrows.
Other techniques to rejuvenate the gaze
Besides defining the eyebrows, there are other tricks that can greatly help to rejuvenate the gaze and the face:
Brightening the gaze
This is, according to Marín, “one of the simplest tricks to open up the gaze without makeup”. It involves using a skin-toned pencil on the lower waterline to reduce the tired-eye effect.
Additionally, with this shade brighten the whites of the eye and disguise the redness that can cause the eyes to look tired.
Mascara for a lifting effect
The application of mascara is key to lifting the gaze. “A well-applied mascara,” according to Marín, “creates a natural lifting effect on the eye.”
Apply the mascara from the root and twist the wand to curl the lash further and open the gaze. It’s best to focus especially on the outer lashes, which are the ones that will lift the lid.
