This week, our Beauty 101 series is all about the eyes. You had questions, and your fellow commenters have the answers:
As always, I’d like to thank everyone for their submissions: unfortunately, due to space constraints, I can’t use them all, but I appreciate every single one. And now, a few tips on everything from plucking brows to prepping lashes:
On Brows:
From Callie, via email:
If you have brows that are not hugely bushy but need cleaning up around the edges (especially the bottom of the outer half of your brow), the best way to know which eyebrow hairs to pluck is to get a toothbrush (unused if you’re particular, the one you currently use if you don’t care) and use it to brush your brows straight up your forehead, like you’re some kind of animal, or Andy Rooney. Magically, all the eyebrow hairs that do not belong underneath your brow will stick out like sore thumbs. Seriously, you will notice the dividing line between brow hairs that fit into your ideal arch and those that are outside the lines you just can’t tell with your hairs brushed into place.
The other benefit of this tip is that you will get a result that looks totally natural. You will not get an overplucked look.
From HW, via email:
Threading! Threading is the absolute best for grooming and maintaining eyebrows. It lets you remove an entire (straight!) line at once, and can get every hair that gets tangled up in it. It is a cheap service you can have done at salons, but I do mine myself at home. Just make sure you use a 100% cotton thread! Synthetics won’t have the right kind of grip.
From commenter ManicPixieNightmare:
Eyebrow Grooming 101:
You need: an index card, eyeliner, tweezers, small scissors
1. Stand in front of a mirror, holding the index card so that it looks like a thin line. Line it up with the end of your eyebrow closest to your nose. Swing it out in an arcing motion to the other end of your eyebrow. Looking dead ahead, arc it slowly back until the line of the index card cuts through your pupil.
2. Make a mark with the eyeliner. This is where your arch should be.
3. Using your tweezers, pluck unwanted hair from the bottom of your brow and the side of your brow farthest from your nose only. If you pluck from the top, you lower your brow line and look frowny. If you pluck from the side closer to your nose, you’ll ruin the arch and make your brow too thin.
(NOTE: Please pluck one hair at a time. Also, pluck in the direction the hair grows.)
4. Use your judgment for when you’ve plucked enough, but be generous the first several times. It helps to have someone experienced do it the first time so that you know what your shaped brows should look like.
5. Scruff up your brow a bit. Lay the index card along the top of the brow line. Use the scissors to cut off the little bits that stick out.
6. Moisturize. When you do a make-up job, use brow gel for a more polished look. (Personally, I rely on my snipping. I hate the feel of brow gel.)
For Glasses-Wearers:
From Victoria, via email:
My advice is to get the two sided handheld mirror that has one regular
mirror on one side and a magnifying mirror on the other. Make sure
there’s really good lighting, or if you can, get the tweezers with the
little flashlight in between the tongs. Tilt your head upwards and
look down into the magnifying mirror while you’re plucking. When
you’ve finished half an eyebrow put your glasses back on to make sure
you’re on track. Once you’ve finished both, make sure the proportions
match up – use your tweezer as a line and make sure the highest point
of your arch is at a 45 degree angle to the pupil, and that the edge
of your eyebrow is at a 45 degree to the outside of your iris. Of
course, the easiest way to maintain your brow while being near sided
is to just do it more often, so you can pluck less each time. I pluck
mine every two weeks or more!
For those nearsighted folks, I REALLY recommend getting a round 10x magnifying mirror that sticks to your regular mirror with suction cups. They are not expensive, and you can get them at Target.
From commenter katienator 5000:
I am a bespectacled gal and have only very recently ventured out of my safety zone of mascara and eyeliner.
One day I was trolling YouTube and found some really good video tutorials for people with glasses. I can’t remember her name or find the link but here are the things I learned:
1) Concealing dark circles is an important first step because shadows from frames and lenses can make them look even darker and obscure the look you were going for. An even skin tone all around the eye makes for a good pallet.
2) Since most people wear their glasses not-right-at-the-top-of-the-bridge-of-the-nose, the lower lash line is a little more important than the upper. She featured an almost reverse smoky eye, with the color and shading blending down from the lower lash line and the upper lash line very defined but clean. You can do bright colors here, too, which I very much like.
3) Mascara is your friend, as well as that scary-looking eyelash curler. Falsies look even better with glasses, not as fake and totes glamorous. There’s no need to wonder “Am I putting too much on?” because there really is no such thing as too much mascara (unless, of course, your lashes turn into one giant clump of black. that is too much).
4) The Attitude Sells It. Ok, that wasn’t in the videos but it’s true. We’re here, we wear glasses, we are damn fine, get used to it!
On Fake Lashes:
From commenter winemedineme:
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