MANILA, Philippines - “I’ve had it,” an international makeup artist once vented over a dinner meeting, “with these crazy eyebrow trends.”
The LA-based makeup maven, who has worked with celebs like Madonna, Nicole Ritchie, Fergie and more, isn’t a fan of the new brow. “I’m not even gonna touch it.”
There are two factions when it comes to brows — the anorexic brow, which is pencil thin and chola-licious, and the sculpted, thicker brow, which embraces a full-figured, thicker line.
In the ’90s, waif was big. Whether it was Kate Moss’s anemic, boy-hipped figure, minimalist dresses or Greta Garbo brows, thin was in.
Enter the aughties. The post-Tom Ford era, with down-to-earth heroes like Alexander Wang embracing a younger, more lowkey aesthetic, is a call to our earthier roots. Women are embracing the more natural browline. Thick yet immaculately groomed, the new style harks to Brooke Shields’ statement-making arches.
Makeup artists recommend a thicker brow because of its youthful appeal. A thin line perched atop your eyes can make you look drawn, haggard or — the kryptonite of all women of a certain age — older.
Sporting what appears to be drawn-on brows on the cover of this month’s German Vogue (a friend of mine snickered upon first spotting it and referred to it as “Kiwi brows” after the, um, shoe polish), Victoria Beckham is at the center of another brow discussion, earning the ire of anemic brow enthusiasts. Now, the question is: How thick is too thick? And what’s the line between natural, groomed brows and cartoonishly sharp?
Whether you’re in the more-is-more or less-is-more camp, the best route —as any AA vet will tell you — is that there’s safety in moderation.
Don’t drink and pluck is all I’m saying.