Eyebrows are those funny furry things above your eyes that indicate you are not to be messed with this morning. And while blogs and Instagram photos praise celebrities for “the best eyebrows,” there is no brow shape that is perfect for every woman. Think about this – the wrong shape could make you look permanently angry!
Therefore, even if you admire celeb Angelina Jolie’s perfectly arched brows, they may not be for you. Eyebrows beautifully frame your facial features and they have to match with the dimensions and shape of your face.
In fact, Psychology Today shares that a study by MIT behavioral neuroscientist Javid Sadr found that eyebrows have remained on our faces because “they are crucial to facial identification … they not only identify who you are but how you’re feeling.”
So, since eyebrows are so important, shouldn’t you make sure your eyebrows are right for you? Whether you do your own brows or get them done, here are recommendations for finding the shape that works best with your facial structure.
Your cheekbones are pronounced and angle down to the point of your chin, creating the tip of your “heart” face. Rounded eyebrows look best with this face shape and a low arch creates a natural look.
For a more dramatic look, the Eyebrowz website says you should make your arches higher. Be careful, however, that you don’t make your eyebrows too thin. Thick eyebrows will give the illusion of a smaller forehead.
If you need help visualizing this, you can look at Naomi Campbell, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
For this face shape, you have two options.
You can take this chance to make a statement with your eyebrows and go Cara Delavigne for this one. The Eyebrowz website suggests keeping your eyebrows thick and darker in color with a “defined sharp peak,” as this balances against your jawline.
Or, you could do as Joey Healy suggests and have softly rounded brows to offset the angularity of your face. “But beware of making brows appear too round; you don’t want to over pluck and create rainbow-shaped brows!” Healy warns.
For inspiration, take a look at Lucy Liu, Olivia Wilde and Raven Simone.
Here we want to create the illusion of a longer face, so go for high arches since they elongate the face and draw attention to your eyes. Vertical lines and angles are better than rounded eyebrows. To create these beautiful brows, follow a straight line until the peak of the eyebrow, than do a sharp angle diagonally vertical to create an elegant arch.
In fact, Jo-Anna Lynn of the Sally Hershberger salons in New York City tells Allure that round-faced people can get away with trimming wiry ends with contoured scissors like Tweezerman Brow Shaping Scissors. “Usually I advise against trimming because that extra heft gives the brow softness, but in this case it’s OK to go precise and severe,” Lynn says.
If you need some examples, you can look at photos of Chrissy Teigen, Mila Kunis and Mandy Moore.
Women with oval-shaped faces look great with eyebrows that angle upward, have a gentle curve, then angles back down. No sharp arches or points for these trendy brows. Oval faces are considered the ideal face shape and eyebrows are a mechanism for other face shapes to create the illusion of an oval shape.
In order to help you shape balanced brows, Style Caster says you should follow celebrity eyebrow stylist Joey Healy’s golden rules:
1. Make sure the head of the brow begins at the bridge of your nose.
2. Create your eyebrow arch two-thirds of the way out from the head of the brow – no centered arches!
3. Don’t cut your eyebrows too short. The tail of your brow should “end on an imaginary line from the corner of the nose to the corner of the eye.”
For examples, look at Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Cameron Diaz.
Which eyebrow shape have you tried? Or rather, the better question is – have you ever over plucked and regretted it? Let us know in the comments below or Tweet us @entity_mag!
