Eyebrows: The Windows to Your Soul

They are the ones that really portray your emotions best. Imagine trying to look angry or surprised without eyebrows. The right brows can be an incredible beauty asset, while the wrong ones can spoil the look of an otherwise pretty face. Many women make the big beauty mistake of overlooking the humble eyebrow.

Well shaped brows balance the rest of the face, bringing your best features into focus and downplaying flaws. In fact, changing your brow shape can change the way people perceive you, giving you a more sexy, smart or confident look — without even switching lipsticks!

The next time you are in a restaurant or another public place, do the brow test. Take a good look at the face of every truly gorgeous woman there and you’ll notice something amazing.

While they may or may not have big eyes, or high cheekbones or full lips, there is one thing they are certain to have in common: beautiful brows. And, chances are, they were not born with them.

You don’t have to be born with great brows either. Perfect brows are just a few tweezes, a little brow pencil or brow powder away. This is true even if you have never tried to shape your brows before and they are running wild, or you’ve tried too hard and tweezed them into oblivion.

What is the first tool make-up artistes always take out of their kits? Tweezers!

The pros know that a pair of perfectly shaped eyebrows can do more for your face than almost any cosmetic.

In fact, by correctly shaping and colouring your brows, you can make your eyes appear larger, your face appear slimmer and shapelier, show off your best features and minimise flaws. Don’t you dare get an eye lift without seeing what a little brow shaping can do for you.

Hopefully, you are really convinced and can’t wait to get your hands on a pair of tweezers to start fixing those brows. But wait! Your ideal brow depends on a number of factors:

1. Your face shape

2. Your dominant features

3. The best strength of brow to balance your face

Once you have determined these three critical points, then you can create the perfect brows for your face.

The importance of

your face shape

You have probably never thought about your face shape.

However, knowing whether your face is round, long, square, heart-shaped, diamond-shaped, oval or some combination is extremely important.The shape of your face will not only determine which brow shape will look good on you but also which hairstyle will be the most flattering for you.

For instance, a high forehead on a long face is helped tremendously by bangs. Or a square jaw can be softened with a shoulder-length mane. Although, some people feel that the oval face is the perfect shape, no one shape is better than the other.

The trick is to find out as much as you can about your own face and then use this information to enhance what you were born with.

Finding your face shape

Pull your hair back from you face, remove all make-up and take a good look in the mirror. Here are some clues to your face shape:

Round

Your face is as wide as it is long and widest at the cheeks, it is probably round.

FAMOUS "ROUNDS" - Cameron Diaz, Marilyn Monroe, Rani Mukherjee

Long

Your forehead, cheekbones and jaw line are all about the same width, it is probably long.

FAMOUS "LONGS" - Cher, Sonali Bendre, Jennifer Love Hewitt

Square

Your forehead, cheekbones and jaw line are all about the same width and your jaw is square, it is probably square.

FAMOUS "SQUARES" - Demi Moore, Kareena Kapoor, Brooke Shields

Heart

Your forehead is wider than your chin, your cheekbones are the same width as your forehead and your face tapers to a pointed chin, it probably heart shaped.

FAMOUS "HEARTS"- Julia Roberts, Madonna, Aishwarya Rai

Diamond

Your face is widest at the cheekbones or temple, your forehead is short and narrow, your face tapers to a pointed chin and your features are angular, it is probably diamond.

FAMOUS "DIAMONDS" - Sophia Loren, Katherine Hepburn, Linda Evangelista

Oval

Your forehead is slightly wider than your chin, your cheekbones are prominent and your face tapers to a narrow oval, it is probably oval.

FAMOUS "OVALS" - Jewel, Jennifer Aniston, Elizabeth Taylor

A simple test if you are still unsure about your face shape.

A: Take a ruler, measure the length of your face from crown to chin.

B: Divide the answer by three.

C: Measure the distance from the bottom of your nose to the bottom of your chin.

Results:

If the answer to B is greater than the answer to C, your face is probably long or square.

If the answer to B is less than C your face is round or possibly diamond.

If B and C are equal or close your face is most likely oval or heart-shaped.

It is oval if you have a round chin and heart-shaped if you have a pointed chin.

Now that you know you face shape, you are one step closer to shaping the perfect brows.

Next Week: The Perfect Brows for your Face

Crysande H?chst is a professional make-up artist. If you have any beauty questions you can send them to Crysande@gmx.de . Call 646-0666 or 689-1527 to schedule your make-up consultation.