Forget expensive treatments – be your own eyebrow artist

Get in shape

Davies might be lo-fi, but by no means does she believe you’re stuck with what you were born with, in fact, she doesn’t necessarily follow the natural brow shape, “we can do better,” and she believes they can absolutely be twins. “What most people need, isn’t a tint, or wax, but to be given the right shape, something that’s unique to them. That’s what I do.”

“What most people need, isn’t a tint, or wax, but to be given the right shape, something that’s unique to them. That’s what I do.”

LIEN DAVIES, BROW CONFIDENCE

This means measuring (while you’re upright, not laying down), marking guidelines, filling with a brow pencil, plucking the hairs that fall outside the shape and trimming the ones that grow longer than it. Yep, she trims. Something women have been previously told never to do. “Trimming adds
neatness and fakes thickness.”

Watch your tail

In 2016, it was dictated that the high point of your brow arch should connect the tip of the nose to the middle of the pupil. “That highpoint overextends the brow, and often leaves you with a shorter tail, creating quite a tense expression. I tend to move the arch point a bit inwards to create a natural brow lift,” says Davies. Specifically, she recommends creating the arch point vertically in line with the outer edge of the iris.

Soap brows

2021 brows like their hair standing straight and tall to create the illusion of thicker brows. The look, created initially with soap, water and a spoolie, spurred the treatment, “lamination”. Brow lamination chemically straightens hairs so they are stuck up, literally. For it to look pretty though, brows need to be shaped first, otherwise the effect is less “modern” and more “mad scientist”.

Davies recommends the DIY version: soap brows – something she’s been teaching her clients long before it was all over TikTok. “Using soap is an inexpensive, safe way to hold brows in shape and train the growth direction,” she says.

To do it, you need a serrated butter knife, a spoolie, water in a mini spray bottle and soap, Davies’ brand of choice is Pears. Scratch the surface of the soap with a serrated butter knife, so the surface is rough. Then spritz it with three pumps of water to wet the surface. Swipe the spoolie along the soap surface, longways, once.

“That’s enough for both brows,” says Davies, “then flip it and use the clean side of the spoolie to make any corrections. If you have a stubborn tail, use the backing of the spoolie to roll it from the browline up, and set it there for a few seconds.

Colour correction

For more modern brow styling, ditch the powder and pick up a pencil, or pen (if you’re more dexterous). You want to create the illusion of more hair strokes and you can’t do this with powder. The most important part of tool-picking is the colour. You want to exactly match the colour of your brows, not the hair on your head or your skin tone. In Davies’ experience, most of us are buying products two shades too light. If you have grey or very fair brows, use a brow mascara.

More oomph

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If you’re interested in injectables, a Botox brow lift can open up hooded or oft tired-looking eyes by physically lifting the brow. The treatment involves the strategic use of a neurotoxin. “The eyebrow shape and contour is probably the most important feature of the female face so it’s important to use a small, careful amount of neurotoxin – two to six units, max,” says Dr Jeremy Cumpston of Ageless Clinics. “It’s placed just under the eyebrow and around the outer portion of the eye.” This relaxes the muscle that drags brows down. It lasts for as long as the toxin is active, usually three to five months and can also help with brows that are uneven due to the muscles on one side being stronger. Davies says that if it’s something you want to explore, make sure your shape is sorted first so the facilitator can lift the right arch points.

A half hour appointment with Lien Davies at Brow Confidence is $80.