Eyebrow 101

For my eyebrow upkeep I generally use 4 tools:

• Slant tipped tweezers
• Spooly brush
• Scissors
• Small angled brush

I find all of these interchangeable in brand (within reason) except the small angled brush. I use the MAC 266. I love this brush. LOVE IT! I use it for filling in my brows and applying gel or shadow liners, as well as blending my liquid liners. I've included a picture of both the spooly brush and the 266.

For product I've used powders, pencils, waxes, and gels. It's all in what you are comfortable using and the look you're going for, but personally I am loving the brow wax right now, and my old stand-by is a matte brown shadow. The wax that I use is duo-ended, one end being a thin stick of brow wax, with a thicker stick of highlighter on the other end. It's called Revlon ColourStay Brow Enhancer in "Medium Brown/Soft Rose." I'm not a fan of the highlighter colour. I wanted to try the champagne coloured one that comes with the blonde wax. The highlighter itself is okay... but does not last on the water line and is kind of cakey. The wax, I love!

Brow Shape

Like any other feature on a person, each of us has a unique brow shape and your natural shape is most likely the one that suits you best. If anything it might just need a little defining or fine-tuning. One sight that is especially sad to me is an over plucked eyebrow, especially on a young girl. They don't always grow back! Please take my advice. This is one thing you do not want to learn the hard way.

There are three parts to the brow. The inner corner (beginning), the arch, and the tail (end.)

The easiest trick to take your brow pencil or brush, as illustrated in the diagram. If you like, you can use a white eyeliner to mark your shape and angles. Place your pencil/brush at the side of your nose and straight up to the inner corner of your eye. This is where the brow should start. Then take the pencil and hold up along the outer side of the iris, which is the coloured part of your eye. That is where the highest peak of your arch should be. Now take your pencil/brush and hold it in a diagonal line from the side of your nose to the outside corner of your eye. This is where your eyebrow should end. As a general rule, you would pluck beside and under the brow shape, not above. In makeup artistry no rule has gone unbroken, but I wouldn't recommend getting too experimental with the upper brow line. You could end up with a rather unrealistic shape.

Face Shape

In general (of course) certain brow shapes tend to look better with certain face shapes. The six face shapes are:

• 
  
  Round
• 
  
  Oval
• 
  
  Square
• 
  
  Heart
• 
  
  Rectangle/Long
• 
  
  Diamond

Round: If you're looking to de-emphasize the roundness of your face, opt for a more angular brow with a more defined arch.

Oval: This is considered the most desirable face shape, giving you more freedom to play with your brows. Any shape should work for you.

Square: If you are looking to balance and play up the angular jaw of a square face, use a strong and angular brow. If you are seeking a softer face shape, opt for a rounder brow shaded lightly.

Heart: To emphasize a heart shaped face use a rounded brow which curves subtly and softly. A higher arch will lengthen this face shape, creating more balance.

Rectangle/Long: To make a longer shaped face appear shorter, use a thicker, straighter brow shape. Again, a stronger colour will add balance with this shape.

Diamond: A rounded brow with a higher arch will soften this face shape, making it appear less wide.

Grooming

Some of you may wax or thread your brows. Never use a razor! I find waxing causes my skin to break out. Threading is something that appeals to me, but I have yet to find a place that offers this service locally. That leaves me with one option: Tweezing. I find an angled tweezer gives me the best precision and prevents me from pinching the delicate skin of the eye area. 

First I wash and exfoliate my face with warm water. The warm water will relax the pores and hair follicle, making tweezing easier and less damaging. After drying my face I apply a moisturizer and make sure I rub it into my brow area as well. I then comb my brows upward with my spooly brush. I start below the brows, hold the brush horizontally (diagnolly for the tip, in accordance to your brow shape) and wiggle the brush upward, holding scissors in my other hand.

Once the tip of the bristles are alined with, or slightly above your brow line, you may hold the scissors angled up towards your arch, and carefully trim the longer hairs. Sweep the hairs from your face and brush your brows in place. Now you can do your shaping. When working on the shape itself it's best to go one hair at a time. That makes it impossible to take a chunk out of your eyebrows accidentally. 

After I pluck the stray hairs I take my wax stick, pencil, or loaded brush (draw a line in your shadow and tap the brush a few times) and make small light strokes, starting at the inner corner, going out towards the tail. Sometimes I will do a fading effect so my inner corners are a bit lighter, making a very small but gradual build up to the colour. It's hard to explain but gives a natural effect. After filling in brows I brush them in place again.

Wax will generally stay put. If you're using powder or pencil you may want to apply a gel. I use a tinted brow gel when I do use a gel at all, but in a pinch you could spray a small amount of hairspray on your spooly brush and comb them into place. After this I will usually apply a soft highlight (almost always powder) under the arch, and I'm all set! With perfectly groomed brows you can easily leave the house with nothing more than a coat of lipgloss or chapstick and still look stylish and polished.

Are you brave enough? 

PS:
I "borrowed" these fun brow facts from the Veet website.

•Average size of female "eyebrow" ranges from 24.8 mm to 31.5 mm

•Fashionable women of the early 1700s wore false eyebrows cut from mouse hides to make themselves look perpetually surprised

•The average eyebrow boasts around 550 hairs

•Eyebrows help protect the eyes from dust particles, debris and excessive light damage

•Every natural eyebrow is different in colour, size and shape… just like a snowflake

•Hair transplant surgery for eyebrows is available and requires the patient to trim their new eyebrows once or twice per month

-H. Cat

Review: Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse

I purchased this in "Light 3.5." I am normally an NW20 with yellow undertones, but I've been tanning (mostly tan-in-a-can) and quickly grabbed this on a rush through the drugstore.

I was pleasantly surprised to see it blend and disappear into my skin like butter. I've applied with my finger tips, a sponge, and the MAC 187 "Skunk Brush," all with equally fabulous results. It feels smooth and light on the skin, compared to my staple MAC Studio Fix Fluid. I was finding the SFF a little heavy for the muggy sweltering summer we are having.

It has a faint smell, which isn't unpleasant but I wouldn't exactly call it perfume. The coverage is easily buildable and it does an impressive job with my fairer freckles. Not so much for the darker ones. I have fallen asleep with this on and my skin still looked good when I woke up. It didn't come off on my pillow, either, which was a plus. It sets quickly, and I have yet to experience it oxidizing or melting off of my face, as some people have experienced. My skin is not oily, or particularly dry, so that may make the difference.

When I want full coverage I will apply a pump of this, wait a minute or two, another pump, and then a light dusting of my MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation (which is now a loose powder, thanks to my boyfriend.) It gives my skin a flawless look and manages not to feel heavy... but does look a little bit "fake" on me. Too perfect? I'm used to seeing myself with a face full of freckles. If I don't apply a finishing powder, it leaves a creamy slightly dewy finish that I really like, but I usually top of with a light dusting of my HG- Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder. I'll be writing a rave review on that one soon enough.

I must also give a shout out to the packaging. It's a 30ml glass bottle with a plastic pump top, which turns to the right to open, and to the left to lock. One pump is just enough for the right coverage.

All in all this is impressive for a drugstore foundation. If you should happen to come across it on sale I would grab it. I probably would repurchase in the future, but I like to experiment so I'll be on to something else when the bottle is empty.

Greetings and Salutations!

Good evening, readers of stuff!
This blog will be focused reviews of makeup, hair and skin products, and things that fall into that type of category. A little bit on technique and opinion. Maybe a side of art and media, and the odd rant about general and piss-offs when it comes to autism, my child, Rhett, who has autism, "back seat" parenting, generally shitty parenting, fair-weather friends, trouble making family members, and social dysfunction.

I've got two boys and one Chad. My boys names are Rhett and Cailum. They are 3.5 years, and nearly 4 months. Rhett has a regressive autism, but Cailum is showing signs of engagement that point to a neurotypical little boy, who may or may not have asthma. Yikes! (No, I don't smoke.) I will tell you more about my boys, particularly Rhett, when I've got a little more time.

My biggest pet peeve is when we are in a store and Rhett his humming to himself or stimming, and someone behind us mutters something along the lines of "Shut that kid up" or "What the hell is wrong with him?" Unfortunately this usually happens to us at least 3 or 4 times a week. As much as this boils my blood, so far I've chosen to take the higher road and ignore it. One of these days some jerk will not be so lucky.

I've had a long day of joy riding, shopping, and too damn much time in the car, so I'm going to go for some rest and relaxation with my Chad.

Toodleu! <3
-H.Cat