Have Crazy Eyebrow Trends Finally Gone Too Far?

We use the word “trend” like Oprah once gave away cars at tapings of the Oprah Winfrey Show: generously. But we rarely stop to ask what truly constitutes a trend, rather than something you just happened to see on social media once or twice. Is it celebrity fans? A dedicated Instagram hashtag? A certain number of YouTube tutorials? Hard to say.

Yet somehow, while we weren’t looking, “eyebrow trends” became a thing, and not in the way you think. Not stereotypical, ‘90s plucked brows, or today’s arched, too-perfect-to-be-real Instagram brows — no, those are downright tame.

First came the feather brows, and if there’s anything about the trend of eyebrow trends that’s particularly telling, it is perhaps the fact that the makeup artist who first shared the feather brow to Instagram did so as a joke.

“So I’m starting this new brow trend please recreate it and wear it every day and don’t forget to tag me like and subscribe and hit that bell button,” Stella Sironen captioned the original photo. Then, just days later, she returned with some newfound wisdom: “Note to self: when u make a joke about starting a funny brow trend people will take it seriously and…. Well. Start the trend.” Womp.

Next, the barbed wire brow. According to MTV, makeup artist Athena Paginton was patient zero of that trend, in which one uses soap or a gel-based product to direct sections of the brow up and down, à la barbed wire. Paginton noted its impracticality right off the bat: “Hashtag it, wear it, tag me in it. I'm just kidding lol.”

And then, the latest: the “brow carve,” as seen on makeup artist Alexa Link. This, perhaps, is the most unwearable of all. It looks like a racing stripe, or a Nike swoosh, and while it’s an interesting look, it also begs the question: Have “brow trends” gone too far? Were eyeshadow trends alone not enough to experiment with? Did we need to bring it up to the brows, too?

But if your preferred form of creative expression is working on pioneering the next out-there brow trend, then by all means, go for it. Just know that you’ll have to present a strong case for why we should buy in, and not just file them away under the category of “Instagram looks not to try.” The ball is in your court, Internet.