Thursday, December 6, 2012

Eyebrow Tutorial, Redux


First of all, thank you everyone who left me comments, tweets, and Facebook messages after my post on Tuesday. I did not expect to receive such an amazing outpouring of support and by the end of the day I was bursting with ideas and inspiration. I was so so happy reading your feedback. I can never thank you enough.

Back to business! I've always regarded eyebrows as the most important feature of the face (compare left and right of above picture). It frames and completes the face. If I had only one minute to do my makeup, I'll choose to only do my eyebrows. The unfortunate thing about my face is I barely have any, so it's up to me to fake one from (almost) scratch.

I actually wrote a brow tutorial ages ago, but have been wanting to update it for the longest time. I couldn't bear to link to it anymore because of how terrible my brows looked in those pictures (bat wings!) and I've learned new tricks through time and constant practice. For those who have not seen it, feel free to head over for a look – the basic idea of where the brows should start, arch, and end is the same, but come back to this post after for the fine-tuning.

Many of you already know this but I suppose it's worth repeating – I embrace the reality that is imperfection so I have a no Photoshop policy on Messy Wands. The only thing I change is color values to make it as close to "true" color as can be. I apologize in advance if the blemishes on my skin are distracting. Alright. On to the good stuff!

Things You Need


1. Draw on Brows



Grab your tool of choice (I use Shu Uemura's Retractable Brow Pencil in Seal Brown) be it pencil or powder and fill in your eyebrows following its natural shape. Remember to shade gently – it's much easier to add color than to take it away.

Tip: I tweeze my eyebrows after filling them in so I know what hairs to pull out.


I used to think this was enough but clearly not. It looks presentable but not refined.

2. The Two-Finger Guide

I am forever indebted to my Shu Uemura brow specialist for giving me this tip. She told me eyebrows should be roughly two fingers apart from each other. As you can see above, my measly brow hair growth is not an adequate guideline, so I place two fingers at the center of my face to gauge and shade the brows closer to each other.



Thing is, I'm just winging it while I draw both sides closer to each other. To make sure it's centered, I align my finger to the center of my nose, measure the distance of both brows against it, and adjust accordingly.


Tip: Brows are not square. Always remember to slightly round out the edges. Unless you're going for a specific look, of course.

3. Make It Look Natural

Not that I'm against dark, bold brows or anything, but to me they don't look natural. Finish up by running a spoolie (I use MAC's) through your lashes and following its natural direction, as demonstrated in the photo above. I also spool the front more because that's where we have the least hair and it should look that way.

Sometimes your spoolie may take away some pigment but that's okay. Just gently fill in the holes with your pencil/powder.


And that's it! It's very easy to manipulate your brow shape. Just add (or remove?) a little below and above the existing hair line and you'll quickly notice the difference. I personally prefer thicker brows because I find it frames the face better.


After three years of struggling, I'm finally happy with how I fill in my brows. I hope this tutorial comes in handy for you!

Also, because I know someone will ask, the nail color is RGB Copper.

41 comments:

  1. Oh yay, a brow tutorial! I use an eyeshadow (Bobbi Brown Sable), but I keep wondering if I need a brow pencil. Was looking at the new Hourglass one, but it's not yet available on Zuneta.

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    1. I think pencils are quicker but powder can be more natural. Whatever works, really!

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  2. This post sent me diving for my tweezers (covertly, natch, as I'm at work)! While I can't quite get two fingers between without throwing my face off balance, I did just tweeze back about 1/8 of an inch on each side and it's a major improvement. Anastasia's brow pencil in medium ash is my new fave to help me define my arch and fill gaps. Thanks, Xiao!

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    1. I've been trying to avoid tweezing so my brows will look thicker, actually! I also can never get the two fingers to balance, but I use the one finger trick to make sure I'm not too far off :)

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  3. nice post :) looking forward to more tutorials :)

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  4. Awesome! Thanks for sharing the two-finger trick. That sounds about right. :) I'm gonna try it.

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  5. Beautiful eyebrows! I'm currently using Anastasia Brow wiz and I'm loving it :-)

    Jo x amomentwithjo

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    1. Thanks, Jo! Another Anastasia fan here I see :)

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  6. so beautiful! I love this tutorial!

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  7. Very useful for me. Thanks.

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  8. This is the best eyebrow tutorial I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot). I never heard of the 2 fingers trick but Im so going to try this tomorrow morning. Thank you so much!!

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  9. "I embrace the reality that is imperfection" - I love this! I feel like real life imperfections are a thousand times more stunning than airbrushed/photoshopped images :) I keep photoshop to a minimum too, just cropping and editing colors (unless I get perfect lighting, which makes life super easy). This is such a great brow tutorial, and that nail color is just amazing

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    1. I can't Photoshop my face in real life after all! Might as well work with what I have :)

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  10. Love the two finger tip! Thanks!

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  11. You beautiful creature you Don't ever even think about not blogging! Oh, and great tutorial too :D

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    1. I wouldn't have not blogged! I will just blog different things :) Love you!

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  12. Love the tutorial posts! I agree about the brows framing the face. I actually found a Wet'n Wild (yeah, super cheap) brow kit that works well for me – I was finding it hard to find the right color since I'm asian and my hair is really dark. If I use black pencil it's too harsh, but using brown looks weird compared to my hair.

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    1. That's awesome! It'll be cheap to replace too. I'm on my 5th cartridge of Shu Uemura and they're not available in the US >< I have to get it flown in from Malaysia.

      Try a dark brown that's green-tinged. The brow color should be one shade lighter than your hair!

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  13. Or: get bangs and forget your brows exist. #fistpump

    Seriously though, this is wonderful. I have slightly different brows but I will try the two finger thing.

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    1. I have NONEXISTENT hair, Larie. The only thing I can get is bald.

      Giddy that everyone now knows the two-finger trick!

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  14. Gah, I wrote a long comment and my Internet connection decided to go kaput. Now I have to rewrite and I can't remember what I wrote!

    The gist: Great post and LOL at Larie's comment :P

    I wrote something about embroidered eyebrow tattoo too. Ah right, I have it, worst mistake ever. It's still here after 3 years. I can't cover it with eyebrow pencil without altering the shape of the brows (which would look weird). Huge lesson learned: just buy a damn eyebrow pencil.

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    1. I saw your tweet and was thinking "man. I wouldn't rewrite it if that happened to me." Oops :P

      re: embroidered eyebrow tattoo. Eep. Will it fade ever?

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  15. really love this kind of post! keep going, girl!

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  16. LOVE THIS, pinning the hell out of it. Also, I was absolutely mesmerized by your nails in that 2 finger distance demo shot hahahha, couldn't look away. Err, which polish is that, by the way?

    Also, just read your Tuesday post (gahh SO BEHIND IN LIFE), and what keeps me coming back to your blog is your voice and style, not necessarily the specific content, although the contents pretty damn fabulous as well. I think you could pretty much write about anything you found interesting, and you'd find a way to make it fresh. Also, LOL @ Larie's comment and it's SO TRUE. I accidentally took off half my eyebrow one time (long story) and side bangs totally saved my life.

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  17. Eyebrows are the one area of my face where I lucked out. I get them waxed and shaped every four weeks, along with the rest of my face, but they're naturally pretty dark and full, so I don't need to fill them in or define them or anything. I did, however, try the two-finger trick with my brows and determined I can *just* get two fingers between my natural brows as they're currently shaped!

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  18. I am so glad you don't edit your photos. I take the same policy as you. It may hurt us in some avenues because many PR companies applaud magazine quality editing, but it gives us more credibility. So I thank you for sticking with it. I'm ever so grateful for your two-finger measurement tip. My brows start at very different points from each other so I can't wait to try! I find that neutral taupe is the most natural filler color. Most recently I've been using MAC's Penultimate brow marker to fill, but it's a tiny bit warm and that bothers me. My best tip is using the Anastasia Brow Gel in Espresso to set brows after filling and brushing. It fills them ever so slightly more and leaves them looking crisp. I love it! Off to your Tuesday post! (How did I miss it in the first place. Not good!)

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  19. Brilliant tutorial and it's a strength that I saw a glimpse when I first stumbled upon your blog. I think it was your first eyebrow tutorial you wrote many moons ago. And lol at Tine and Larie's comments!!

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  20. Hello Xiao!
    I am a little behind the powercurve in responding to your post from Tueseday, but here's my two cents... I love this kind of post best! I like when you take stuff you already have (and some of us might already have, yeah!) and create a new or interesting look with it, showing us how you do it. You have a wonderful style about you - and your short hair is glorious. I like the tutorials, where you do a smokey eye... or a contoured look... or a look inspired by something you've maybe seen from a magazine or ad. And then you show us neewbies how you pulled it off. It's fun to see what you come up with in that quirkly, darling head of yours!

    I got interested in MdB because of your different posts. I went and bought some of the eyeshadows and have tried layering different colors. I don't look quite as glam as you... but it's a start, and it's fun. Even the blog where you combined glosses and showed how that deepened or changed the color inspired me. I think your blog is a lot of fun, so write about anything you like. But please keep writing!

    Cheers! Beth

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  21. I am wondering why don't you choose the stone gray shade of the Shu eyebrow pencil, or you just prefer the contrast of brown brows to your black hair?

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    1. The Shu SA chose it for me, so I just went with it. I think my best brow shade match so far is Suqqu Moss Green actually. I don't like gray-toned brow pencils

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  22. Hi Xiao! Another Beth here wanting to respond to your previous post. I, too, have recently been gazing with existential contemplation at my makeup collection, and I'd love to share my resolution. (It goes without saying that I am a makeup junkie, yes?) My crisis began suddenly. I had promised myself one of the holiday palettes as a reward for surviving a difficult couple of months, only to find myself at Nordstrom's a week ago so strangely overwhelmed with the absurdity of my interest in colored powders and waxes that I could hardly breathe. I left empty-handed, bewildered that a hobby that had once given me so much pure, squealing bliss had become so foreign.

    Then I had a breakthrough: A few mornings ago, I was playing with my eyeshadows of the moment and wishing that I had a really good rose gold shade, when it struck me to see what happened if I mixed together some Cargo Key Largo blush and some Burberry Pale Barley. There might have been a choir of angels singing in my bathroom--it was that glorious. Since then, I have been mixing and experimenting and trying to essentially play makeup alchemist, inventing my own colors and "formulas." I may not be buying makeup for quite some time--there are so many possibilities!

    If you need inspiration, try taking a look at what you've got, and asking yourself: "What happens if...?" And then, of course, find out. :)

    take care,

    Elizabeth

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  23. Personally, I think this eyebrow look way too defined. There are many Hongkongese girls who like such strong brows which at first after years of living in Japan I found simply astonishing. Getting used to it now.

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  24. That finger trick! Greatest thing I've ever seen! THANK YOU!

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  25. Hi

    I've just started drawing my brows and it really changes the whole look. Love it! :)

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  26. I have Bookmark your article waiting for next one Beauty Flash Discount

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