It’s no secret, our brows are one of our most important facial features, but also the most challenging to get right. Let’s face it, we’ve all experience one (or many) make up melt downs due to overplucking or overlining our arches. After all, all it takes is single stroke to go from matched to mismatched…
To ensure you always achieve a sister set, here at Cult Beauty we’ve done the hard work for you and answered all your most commonly asked questions on how to do your brows. It’s time to finally conquer your beauty archnemesis.
WHAT IS BROW MAKE UP
In short, brow make up emphasise your arches, which in turn draw attention to your eyes while frameing your face. Whether your arches are naturally sparse, you’re wanting to grow your eyebrows, or you’re missing a few hairs from overplucking, waxing, or threading, this edit of cosmetics helps you achieve your ideal look within seconds.
WHAT TYPES OF BROW MAKE UP & TOOLS ARE THERE
When it comes to defining your brows, the possibilities are endless. With so many types of products and tools to choose from, we’ve decoded which ones to use when and defined each and every make up bag essential below…
Brow Brushes –From spoolie wands to angled tips, brow brushes come in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, featuring stiff bristles and ultra-fine liners, they all have one thing in common – their purpose. Designed keep brows tidy and brush them into your desired shape, they’re a trusted tool needed in every cosmetic case.
SHOP ALL BROW BRUSHES >>> Brow Gels – Typically clear or tinted, fibre-infused eyebrow gels temporarily thicken the look of your brow hairs by coating and locking them into place. While the clear gels lift, set and separates your brows, tinted iterations add a hint of colour while providing a firm, durable hold. Plus, formulas that feature long-wear polymers create a waterproof seal– making them both smudge-proof and transfer-proof too.
SHOP ALL BROW GELS >>> Brow Growth Serums – While technically not make up, brow growth serums are just essential as the pigmented products themselves. While they won’t necessarily make your brows grow quicker, they strengthen and condition your hairs to give them a thicker, healthier appearance.
SHOP ALL BROW GROWTH SERUMS >>> Brow Pencils – Arguably the most classic eyebrow product to date, brow pencils can be used for everything from filling in your brow line to creating faux freckles. Defining your arches without having to blend or blur, they’re easy, efficient and provide precision, thanks to their ultra-thin tip.
SHOP ALL BROW PENCILS >>> Brow Pomade – Brushed onto your eyebrows to help shape and add concentrated colour, pomades are thick, creamy mousses that help define or create a new silhouette. Typically housed in a small glass pot and paired with an angled brush, they can transform barley-there brows into bigger, bolder arches.
SHOP ALL BROW POMADES >>> Brow Powders – Acting as a multitasking marvel, brow powders are highly pigmented to not only fill in sparse spaces, but to also aid in setting your hard work. Creating dark shadows beneath your brow line, they give the illusion of a thicker finish and can be used over your pencil to maintain your look.
SHOP ALL BROW POWDERS >>> Tweezers – Specially shaped with slanted tips to grip the tiniest, teeniest hairs with ease, tweezers can be used for everything from tidying up your arches to keeping stray strands at bay.
SHOP ALL TWEEZERS >>> Brow Wax – Aptly named, brow wax freezes your hairs in place when looking for a full, fluffy and feathered finish. Specially designed with a bristle brush, it evenly deposits a light layer of wax throughout your arches before drying them with a clear, matte finish.
SHOP ALL BROW WAX >>> HOW TO SHAPE YOUR BROWS
Now we know the ins and outs of the best brow make up and tools, it’s time discover the not-so-secret secret of how to shape your brow line. Cue: brow mapping – AKA the skill of pinpointing the start, arch and tail of your brows.
- Start by identifying where your eyebrows should begin. To do this take your brow pencil or finger and draw a faint line straight from the ball of your nose right up to your brow line.
- Then, place your pencil on the tip of your nose and angle it diagonally towards your eyes – marking it wherever it meets your pupil, right in the centre of your eye.
- Next, to mark where your brows should end, you’ll need to angle the pencil diagonally from the outside corner of your nostril to the outer corner of your eye – this is called the tail. It’s important to not overextend this point, as long tails can drag the eye down.
BEST BROW MAKE UP
Putting you back in control of your unruly strands, Benefit’s 24-Hour Brow Setter Clear Brow Gel boasts a long-lasting hold that is both flexible and strong. Perfectly paired with a dual-sided wand, it seamlessly coats your hairs from root to tip while sculpting, shaping and sticking them in place.
How to use: to evenly coat brow hairs from root-to-tip, apply using the side of the wand with long bristles. Use the side with short bristles to sculpt and shape hairs into place. Wear alone or to set other brow products.
SHOP ALL BENEFIT >>> Allowing you to become your own artist, NYX Professional Makeup’s Micro Brow Pencil encourages you to create your own masterpiece with its mechanical nib and precise point. Not only does it allow you to draw and recreate your finest hairs, but it also fills in any sparse areas. The result? Arches Frida Kahlo would be proud of!
How to use:using short upwards stroke in the direction of hair growth, fill in any gaps and extend where necessary. Our top tip? Make sure to blend your arches with the brush for even, natural looking coverage.
SHOP ALL NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP >>> Looking to add some extra oomph to your arches? Enter: Kosas’ Air Brow Tinted Volumising Treatment Gel. Fusing castor oil, peptides and panthenol provitamin B5 to encourage growth, this featherweight formula optimises your hair health while enhancing a feathered finish. Oh, and did we mention it comes in ten covetable colours to match a range of strand shades too?
How to use: Simply brush through brows to fluff and add volume. For extra thickness, start by brushing backwards from the tail end of your brows to the inner corner, then brush through brows like usual.
SHOP ALL KOSAS >>> Locking in moisture, preventing damage and support hair renewal, Augustinus Bader’s The Eyebrow & Lash Enhancing Serum is the ultimate triple threat. Powered by the brand’s patented complex of amino acids, high-grade vitamins and synthesised molecules (that make up the unique TFC8 active ingredient), this formula has been clinically proven to bring about fuller, thicker brows and lashes. Plus, with a trio of red winter algae, peptide-rich turmeric and hyaluronic acid it improves density, prevents shedding and creates a protective barrier around the hair shaft for revived and refreshed strands.
How to use: Use morning and night on clean, dry skin. Apply a few strokes onto each brow using the flat side of the brush. Apply above the lash line, using the thin side of the brush.
SHOP ALL AUGUSTINUS BADER >>> SHOP ALL BROW MAKE UP >>> BEST BROW TOOLS
Holding on to its title of Allure’s ‘Best of Beauty’ for over ten years, Tweezerman’s Slanted Tweezers are an essential in every cosmetic case. Why? Well, firstly they’re designed with a 25-degree angle to grab every hair type – no matter how long or short. Secondly, their hand-filed tips are renowned for brow shaping. And last, but by no means least, they come in an array of striking shades to suit any vanity desk.
How to use:tweeze in the direction of hair growth to avoid breakage.
SHOP ALL TWEEZERMAN >>> Celebrating the brand’s signature style – ‘natural yet flawless brows’ – PATRICK TA’s Major Brow Dual Ended Brow Brush upkeeps your arches no matter your chosen style. Created with soft, synthetic bristles that are densely packed to deliver powerful pigment, this treasured tool flips from a sharply cut angled brush to a product-diffusing spoolie and can be used to apply a plethora of products (we’re talking powders, pomades and more).
How to use:use the angled brush to apply your brow product, before blending out with the spoolie brush.
SHOP ALL PATRICK TA >>> Understanding that an artist is only as good its tools, Ruby Hammer’s Magnetic Brush Set 01 is all you need to create your magnum opus. Allowing you to shape your arches with no limitations, each brush can be used with cream, powder and liquid formulas and features interchangeable heads so you can adapt your work anywhere at any time.
How to use: the crease brush can be used for powder or cream textures, eyeshadows or concealers. Suitable on the eyes or the face. The smudge brush is primed for blending on eyes or lips, applying lip colour or eyeshadows to the upper or lower lash line. Finally, the angled brush can be used for filling in eyebrows.
SHOP ALL RUBY HAMMER >>> With brow pencils being a classic phenomenon in all make up collections, it’s essential you care and cater for them. How? With Charlotte Tilbury’s Pencil Sharpener. Optimising your fine lines and colour pay off, it revives your go-to products – meaning you can continue to use them over and over again.
How to use: insert your make up pencil into the carriage and gently twist to sharpen. To ensure a pointed and precise pencil, empty out the sharper as soon as it becomes full.
SHOP ALL CHARLOTTE TILBURY >>> SHOP ALL BROW TOOLS >>> Et voila – now you have all the tips and tricks to acing your arches, it’s time perfect your signature shape and style. In the words of Jack Black “you must never underestimate the power of the eyebrow” …
SHOP ALL BROW MAKE UP >>> 
