Sex goddess or girlie girl? What your brows are saying about you

SINGAPORE — The day of candy hearts and Cupid’s arrows is approaching once again. And especially if it is the first Valentine’s Day you will be spending with a special someone, you will want to make sure your look on that date conveys all you want to say — without you having to say a single word.

One of the most intimate and powerful ways you can send subliminal messages to your date is actually through how you wear your brows.

Eyebrows, because they usually contrast starkly with your skin and are capable of dramatic movements, communicate recognisable non-verbal, emotional messages.

That is why it is important to make sure your brows are saying what you want them to. Styling missteps can result in your eyebrows mimicking a specific facial expression, even when your face is neutral. For example, if you have drawn your brows too close together, you may unintentionally end up looking irritated, confused or disapproving. And if you have created an arch in the wrong position, you may end up looking sad and droopy.

That is why brows are an important focus for make-up, and why there are so many products and techniques out there to help you achieve the perfect shape. Cosmetics brand Benefit, for instance, has just rolled out its online Brow Translator service, a fun microsite that allows users to upload photos of themselves and see what emotional messages they are sending.

We all have an ideal image of our true selves that we want to present to the world — and to that hot date we scored for Valentine’s Day, of course. So, how do we go about making sure our brows reflect the real us?

We enlisted the help of celebrity make-up artist Clarence Lee, as well as Benefit’s Global Brow Expert Jared Bailey (who worked with a neuroscientist to develop the Brow Translator) to find out how we might prime our brows to send out five unmistakable messages.

1. Brows that say: 
I am cute, 
innocent and girly

If you want your date to be overcome by protective and nurturing feelings towards you, a light touch will get you that ingenue look. “Brows shouldn’t be too arched or heavily filled in — just groomed so they look soft and natural,” said Lee. “Lightly fill them in with brow powder, then brush through to tidy them.”

Bailey recommends that you achieve a cheerful vibe by paying close attention to the arches. “When filling in your brows, measure from the outer portion of the nose, across the centre of the eye, and that will show you where your brow is naturally the highest,” he said. Fill them in as naturally as possible slightly above that natural hair line, using a micro-lining pencil such as Benefit’s Precisely, My Brow pencil, which has an ultra-fine tip that makes hair-like strokes. This will add height to the arch.

2. Brows that say: 
I am a sex goddess

For that look of suggestive confidence, Lee recommends you go for “nicely tweezed, arched, long-ish brows filled in to look full but not too thick”. And if your brow hairs are obedient enough, “brush them upwards for a bit of that wild child feel”. When doing so, you can either opt to use brow gel or wax, or just brush them naturally.

Bailey thinks that in order to give your arches sex appeal, the key is to make sure their perimeters have smooth lines. To do that, it is 
important to use the right product. He recommends one with 24-hour waterproof wear, such as Benefit’s cream gel, Ka-brow! Ka-brow!. Also, highlighting under the brow with champagne or gold colours is “a must”, he said. “It’ll open the eye and give those ‘subtle eyebrow raises’ a big impact.” 


3. Brows that say: 
Don’t mess with me — unless you know 
what you’re doing

For that look of power, Lee said, go for “full brows that are slightly lifted at the ends. Your brows can be a little on the dark side, too” — but not too dark because the last thing you want is for them to look heavily tattooed.

Bailey recommends straightening out the arches, then using a cream gel to fill in your brows by brushing the formula upwards through the hair. “In areas that may be a bit weak, such as under the arch, stipple the product over the skin to simulate a bit of texture,” he said. 


4. Brows that say: 
I’m hard to get 
and high-maintenance, 
but worth it

If you are classy and you know it, Lee says to make sure your brows to fall into the Goldilocks zone: You should have “slightly arched brows that are neither too dark nor too light; too full nor too thin”. Keep it simple by using either coloured or clear brow gel or wax to give your brows a groomed finish, he added.

Similarly, Bailey says the effortlessly polished look is what it is all about. “Try to enhance the natural shape of your brows. This is where grooming becomes key. Those stray hairs around the brow can make you look less confident and more careless,” he said. “Next, grab a filling and shaping pencil such as Benefit’s Goof Proof Brow Pencil to help create a wash of colour across the brow without looking too harsh. Simply use small, hair-like strokes over the brow and blend to create that perfect balance of cute and confident.” 


5. Brows that say: 
I am the mother 
of your future children

If you are aiming to be the girl he takes home to his mother, Lee says to go for soft brows that are straighter on the base, but with an arch on the top, so that you look friendly and fresh. “Not too straight,” he cautioned, because then “you’ll look droopy. Many girls are sporting this look”.

If you bring your brows a tiny bit closer together, Bailey said, you will make your eyes appear closer together, which will give you a constant smize. “Chances are, there will be a lack of hair, so a combination of wax and powder works best when you’re trying to create a shape that’s not quite there,” he said. “Just remember to create a gentle fade by blending the product through the entire brow. You don’t want anything too harsh.”

Try out Benefit’s Brow Translator at 
https://www.benefitbrowtranslator.com/en-sg