About £20
I used to occasionally read in magazines about products for “unruly” eyebrows.
“Who”, I thought, “has these ‘unruly’ eyebrows?” My eyebrows were not unruly. They were basically the opposite, they lay flat and were quiet and did their homework and did not whine for snacks.
Occasionally I plucked them a bit if I was home alone and didn’t have anything better to do.
But recently they have become unruly! They refuse to be ruled! The individual hairs leap and plunge from their designated pathway and I guess it might be my imagination, (or just an habituation to the current fashion for very dark eyebrows), but they seem to be getting paler with age. Or perhaps I’m spending more time in the sun.
Whatever the reason, my eyebrows need attention. And if mine do, yours do. I don’t mean colour them in with a crayola, you do not have to channel Frida Kahlo (unless you want to).
I had a couple of photoshoots where the otherwise sane-looking and genial make-up girl went at my eyebrows like they were an insult and the results were horrendous. There is no anger like the anger you feel towards someone who has made you look ugly and stupid shortly before you have to have your picture taken for a national newspaper. This is why I don’t do photoshoots anymore!
Where was I?
You do not have to make them very dark, just perhaps a shade darker. Before you get a special actual eyebrow product try with any brown eye pencil you have lying about and shade your eyebrows in a bit to see if it makes your whole face look any better. It might. It really really might!
Then buy this, from Blinc – it’s absolutely tremendous – a very subtle colour and also broadly holds any crazy Dad-brows in place – it is also, like all Blinc products, sweat-and-smudge proof.
Mine is Light Brunette – I can find a range of colours on the Feel Unique – none of them is Light Brunette but I wager Light Blonde would work fine on me, too.
I’ve read somewhere that your eyebrow pencil needs to be a bit greyer than browner; I disregarded that/read it after I’d bought one and agree – my warm brown pencil doesn’t look quite right BUT the overall effect of just evening up the brows is startling (you know, in a good way, not in a Groucho Marx teenager way). Think mine are going paler with age too. Also muck about with Vaseline/Eight Hour Cream and an old toothbrush to see what you can achieve. I love the Bourjois brow highlighter pencil which I use to pleasing effect all over the phizzog.
PS Esther, I am SO jealous of your quince glut!
Last year we had about 40… that was a bit too many – with any luck we won’t have quite such a bumper year
I discovered that you can freeze them for tagines: boil and slice and lightly fry as per recipe (La Belle Roden, of course) then freeze flat and bag/box up, then thaw with care and add right at the end of the recipe, just enough to heat through. Obviously and confiture de coings, membrillo, grated into pies ….
I’ve got weird thin patches in mine so I fill in the gaps as subtly as I can at 6 in the morning and then use Kiko’s (so cheap and brilliant) Eyebrow Fibres mascara to tame the unpatchy bits that have gone wild. Does anyone else suddenly have one single blonde (or, horrors, is it actually grey?!) wiry hair that grows madly long?
Got my lashes done recently and the woman took a photo afterwards for her Instagram. I was very smug as they looked great, but when I saw the photo all I could see were my eyebrows … in my mind I was Cara Delevigne, but in reality I was Liam Gallagher’s hairier and less groomed sister. Why did it take a photo – more side on, maybe that’s why? – to alert me to the truth? They’ve always been unruly but as my mum has hardly any eyebrows she’s always told me to leave them alone: they used to be all over the place but as I’ve got older they are now standing up for some reason – basically pointing outwards. What’s that about?
I have a terrible brow and lash problem because I was born with one eye black lashes and brown brow, and the other white blonde lashes and half blonde/half light brown brow – don’t laugh!! – unless the blonde side is recently dyed, I look like I’m auditioning for a Clockwork Orange remake. Anyway I’ve recently discovered a thing from Eyelure which is called a “brow designer”- it’s v g for defining brows and is a great quick fix in the mornings when I haven’t got the time to dye the albino bit.
Hen that’s the craziest thing I ever heard!!! I want to see a photo now x
Haha NO WAY sorry!!!!! I have a face for radio/the circus and nobody needs to see that!
Oh my goodness! I thought that was just me! I have one dark brown eyebrow/lash side and the other side a dark brown eyebrow (with some white blonde hairs) and white blonde eyelashes. I also have a Mallen streak in my hair. Let’s immediately form some sort of comedy or crime-fighting duo.
Esther I’ve just recently been having mine done professionally, threaded, plucked etc. and wondering if I should go the whole hog with permanent inking. I love my brow lady – she’s from Mexico and so friendly. Can’t recommend as I’m in Amsterdam and may be a tad too far for most folk! But having them done properly really does make all the difference, especially if you have dark brows and eyes. Everything looks good again with this tidy up …
I have pretty good eyebrows, Esther. I’m one of the very few people who don’t have to really touch them. I’ve tried the odd eyebrow product, but my natural brows with a layer of mascara on my upper lashes, plus foundation and lipstick is good enough for me. Also, my eyebrows are pretty thick, so as long as I wear some sort of eye makeup (on my eyelids/lashes) it balances my eye area out.
P.S. Only just discovered I could leave a comment using my Twitter profile! (Yay!!!) xxx
For your information, I often see you in newspapers and magazines and on no occasion have you ever looked ugly and stupid. In fact, you invariably look radiant and for this, I truly hate you. [Deadpan emoji thing if I knew which emoji that was or if it even exists]
Pippa you are mad I am calling the police. [CHEQUES IN THE POST]
Obviously Pippa is correct. You have celebrity good looks, which disconnects you from the rest of us.* Embrace it, you’ll be old soon.
*albeit that you are connected via the highs and lows of mothering… EAT MY BIRDSEED
URGHGHGHGHGH I am still not over birdseed
Ps old and hopefully not celeb level crazy with the fave fillers and the injections…
I am definitely having stuff done to my face though just watch. I’ll have all of you at it too!!!!!!!!
I found a grey eyebrow hair in the same week I found a grey pube. My life is over.
Ah, I knew we’d eventually get round to having the old collar and cuffs debate. Starter for 10: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brown-Betty-Colour-Hair-There-x/dp/B001DKK2KO