"Why should I define my eyebrows? What’s wrong with them how they are?" is what you might be asking me. I’m sure they’re fine. I’m sure you have very average eyebrows. But why would you want them to be average, when you could have eyebrows that frame your face, draw attention to your eyes and ensure your make up looks polished, all for a tiny bit of extra effort? There are really two main stages in sorting out your eyebrows: shaping and filling in. Here, I’ll give you a guide on both, along with a few extra tips and the best products for the job.

Shaping

There are a few different ways to shape your eyebrows really, though tweezing is by far the easiest. The main thing to remember is to only pluck the stray hairs, and to leave any real shape changing to the professionals (unless you're feeling daring. Though I really wouldn't recommend it). Only pluck from under or between the brows - never from the top - and do not overdo it. Plucking a few hairs in a magnifying mirror then leaning back to view them both as a whole is always a good idea, tends to stop you going overboard. It's better to underpluck than overpluck! 

Okay, now how to know where to pluck? It's easy really. Grab a pencil (preferably an eyebrow pencil - you won't be using it to draw, but it's nice to stick with the theme) and hold it up against the side of your nose, completely vertical. The point where it meets your eyebrow is where your eyebrow should start - pluck anything that goes further towards the middle than this. For the second point, place the end on the corner of your nose, and angle the pencil so it passes straight in front of your pupil when you're looking directly ahead: this is where the arch should lie. This should be about two thirds from the start of the brow. And for the end, do the same as the last point but angle it up with the outer corner of your eye - pluck anything that goes further out than this point.

 

Ideally the brow should start a little closer to the middle of your face than your eyes do, and should extend a little further out the sides, too. When you've got this bit right, pluck any strays from under the arch to make them look nice and neat. They should always be thicker on the inside and get thinner as they go out - none of this rubbish please because you look ridiculous:

 

There are other ways to shape your eyebrows, but tweezing is the easiest to do at home. Waxing and threading are probably the most popular methods aside from plucking - you can do both yourself, but I wouldn't recommend it for beginners - you'll always be better off going to a professional at a salon or a department store. For waxing, you'll need to buy facial wax strips and cut them to size - you can get templates in order to get the best shape. And if you want to learn how to thread you're best off watching some videos to teach yourself, as it's much easier to show someone than to try and explain it through text (read: Kate is far too lazy to try and explain it).

Filling in

Filling in your eyebrows is key because it helps to make them look bolder and it emphasises the great shape you will have just created. There are a few different ways you can fill in your eyebrows after shaping them.

The first method, which is also one of the most popular, is using an eyebrow pencil. This is easy because you literally draw on the correct shape over your existing eyebrows, making them look thicker and more even coloured. It is best to keep the pencil sharp, and fill the brows in by using short, sharp strokes in the direction of hair growth; this mimics the hairs themselves and looks most natural.

Another method of filling the brows in is tinting. This is much longer lasting and will need to be done every 4-6 weeks, however as it involves dyeing the brows it can’t be reversed. You can get this done professionally in a beauty salon or brow bar (department stores tend to have these in, Benefit do a good one) or you can do it at home: I use Colorsport’s 30 day mascara (see below).

Wax and powder are two other good methods of filling in the eyebrows. These are often used together, and come in little kits with a brush. The powder is used to fill in the brows and add colour, and is very natural looking. You can also use matte brown eyeshadows for this: Buck by Urban Decay (in the first Naked palette) is a good one. The wax is used to add more colour – it is usually darker than the powder – and to hold the eyebrows in place throughout the day.

Extra tips

• Adding highlighter just underneath the arch, on the brow bone, makes them look even more polished and professional. 
• Never use a darker colour on the inside of the brow - either make it even all the way across, or have it darker/more defined from the arch outwards.
• There are a few different ways to fix your brows, coloured wax isn't the only way of doing it. You can buy special fixatives, though clear mascara/hairspray applied with a clean toothbrush do the job just as well. 
• Don't use anything cold to numb your eyebrows before tweezing or waxing - this will make the pores contract and it'll mean the hairs are much more difficult to get out. Man up and deal with the pain, people!

Products to buy

Tweezerman Wide Grip tweezer - buy here for £19.50.
Okay, so I know twenty quid is a lot for a pair of tweezers. But these are amazing, seriously. I've had mine for about 5 years and I don't think I'll ever need another pair. They offer a lifetime guarantee with free sharpening (not that I think mine will ever need it), the angled tip offers brilliant precision and the wide grip gives you ultimate control. Buy them, buy them now.

 

 

Mac is a cult make up brand, so of course they would have a great classic eyebrow pencil. This one is retractable so you don't need to sharpen it, and the fine point looks more natural. Comes in 6 shades.

 

bareMinerals is one of my favourite make up brands, and this eyebrow powder is no exception. It comes in 5 different colours, and is free of any rubbish like preservatives. It also won't build up on your brows. It has a creamy texture so won't make your brows look powdery.

 

Although this is technically a mascara too, I wouldn't bother faffing around with that side, I'd just use it to keep my brows in place after applying powder or pencil. This one contains conditioning agents (who wouldn't want, er, conditioned eyebrows?!), dries fast, keeps eyebrows in place all day, and it's £1.50. Need I say more? 'Like' E.L.F. on Facebook to get first pick of the discount codes they regularly post.

 

So I know it says that it's mascara, but you can also use it on eyebrows. It says so in the instructions. And I know that it says it'll last 30 days. But it lasts longer on eyebrows. And I know that it's fairly expensive - it's about twice the price of my hair dye - but it has about a million, billion (ish) applications in it. It takes literally about 3 minutes to do, you only have to do it around once every 2 months, and the results look great. I use it in black, but they do dark brown too which would be suitable for even the lightest blondes - I'm blonde, and this one's fine on me.

Videos to watch

For something like this, Youtube is your friend, seriously. There are countless guides on how to wax/thread/pluck/dye/remove/style/generally mess with your eyebrows, so if there's anything you're not sure on this should be your first port of call. But knowing which videos to trust can be pretty difficult, so because I'm such a good person (and brilliant at procrastinating, I should be doing uni work right now) I've picked out some decent ones for you. Feel free to find your own!

Hope you've found this useful, it's taken me a lifetime to write. But you're worth it ;)

- Kate