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8 Great Brow-Perfecting Tips From Beauty Guru Anastasia

As any beauty junkie knows, having properly groomed brows is a constant balancing act, but when done right, those furry fellows can be the perfect permanent accessory. To get schooled in the art of brow-taming, we chatted up famed arch expert Anastasia Soare (she counts Penélope Cruz, Reese Witherspoon, and Kim Kardashian as clients), on her recent trip to S.F.’s Nordstrom. Check out her eight simple secrets on keeping brows proportional, polished, and pampered below!

Top left and right: Backstage at Nicole Miller and Behnaz Sarafpour, both courtesy of MAC; Bottom right: Backstage at Michael Kors, courtesy of Shiseido; Anastasia brow kit, courtesy of Anastasia Beverly Hills; Anastasia scissors, courtesy of Nordstrom.
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve seen women make when it comes to brow-grooming? “They over-tweeze in-between their brows. What that does is makes your nose bridge too wide and makes your eyes look too far apart. So don’t over-tweeze! A bad eyebrow wax or tweeze is not like a bad haircut because sometimes you destroy the hair follicle and eyebrows don’t grow back. Another issue is shortening the eyebrows. You don’t have a perfect frame to your face if the eyebrows are too short. Too-short eyebrows look as bad as too-long eyebrows and maybe worse.”


What can you do if you go overboard and over-tweeze?

“You can use an eyebrow stencil and by using that, you see where you’ve over-tweezed. If your eyebrow doesn’t end here or start there, you’ve done something wrong. We actually have a protein serum that stimulates hair growth that you can use. And we also have a brow pen that’s almost like a marker for the eyebrows. A lot of people who have alopecia or have undergone chemo use that.”
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What are the rules for tinting your eyebrows?

“If you have blond hair, your eyebrows should be one shade darker. If you have dark hair, your eyebrows should be one shade lighter. If you have dark eyes, you can go with darker eyebrows. If you have light eyes, it will look a little too harsh. Overall, it’s really a balance between your eyebrows and your eyes. You see totally dark eyebrows at fashion shows right now, but if you do this at home, you need to remember to not wear a lot of makeup on your eyes, since the statement is with your eyebrows. And vice versa, if you want to make a statement with your eyes, you need to go lighter with your eyebrows. The advice I give to every woman is to take a picture of themselves and study it. That way you can be very objective.”
Clockwise from top left: Backstage at Catherine Malandrino, Donna Karan, and Erin Fetherston, all courtesy of MAC; Anastasia's Go Brow pencil and Brow Enhancing Serum, courtesy of Nordstrom.
How do you know what shape is best for your face? “Your eyebrow should start straight above the middle of your nostril. The outside corner of your nose diagonally to the outside corner of your eyes should be the end of the eyebrow. And the tip of your nose diagonally to the middle of your iris should be the highest part of the brow.”


How often should you groom your eyebrows yourself, and how often should you get appointments?

“Every three weeks we instruct clients to get their eyebrows shaped. In between they should clean and try to maintain the eyebrows. But they shouldn’t try to shape the eyebrow because they may over-tweeze that way. And it’s very hard to trim your own eyebrows. If you have extremely long eyebrows, try to cut very little. The upper line of your eyebrows should be covered with hair. You should leave it to the aesthetician because it’s easier and safer.”
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How do you feel about tweezing versus waxing versus threading? “It doesn’t matter what you use as long as you know what hair to pull. In eyebrow shaping, three hairs could ruin your eyebrows or make a big difference.”


Are there any brow products or tools women should invest in?

“We have everything you need in our brow kit: A dual-ended brush, a powder custom-made to your own shade, a perfect-caliber precise tweezer, five stencils, a brow gel to set the color and hold the hair, and a highlighter that defines the eyebrow and highlights the brow bone. Also, a bunch of instructions that are very important!”



Last question: Are there any brow trends that you are loving right now?

“Thicker eyebrows! In my opinion, thicker eyebrows and long hair is so elegant.”

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