Fe-BROW-ary

[ShortErica]

Hey all! I wanted to propose a challenge for the month of February. I tried to search BIC and couldn't find anything so hopefully this is a new idea. I want to encourage everyone and myself to share brows and their brow goals for February.

I'm sure there are plenty of options that can range from low maintenance for makeup minimalists to more creative for those who want to branch out.

Perhaps you want to:

• Try to do your brows twice a week
• Use a new type of brow product - you usually go with a pencil but will try a pomade
• Take care and strengthen your brows
• Find a new holy grail brow product for you
• Go wild with an attempt at an eyebrow trend

I hope you'll join along. Suggestions welcome!

[Ispend2much6]

I don't care about the Superbowl, so I'll post about eyebrows instead. 🙂

This is my favorite brow product, the Givenchy Mister Brow Filler Tinted Waterproof Brow Filler in Granite.  Do you see the bit of product sticking out at the end of the wand?  Those are the fibers that mimic brow hair once applied.  I usually wipe the end off to prevent clumping when I apply it, because that is really difficult to clean up.

It looks a lot like a mascara brush. There is a section of the brush that has longer hairs, which is what I mostly use to apply the product.

My left brow, my "bad" brow, untouched.  Some white hairs, sparse, hard to shape because they are thinning.  I leave the little hairs underneath the "main" brow grow so I can get a thicker brow by using the Mister Brow Filler.  Hey- my lashes look pretty good!  Yay!  Vitamin B-12 and HUM Nutrition's Biotin and hair and skin gummmies must be working.

After using the blunt end of the wand to add to my weak "front" of the brow.  Some of those hairs never grew back from years of tweezing.

Next, I used the same part of the wand to add to my "tail."

Finally, the finished product.  I used the longer, thinner bristles and ran them back and forth over the rest of my eyebrow to get the look I wanted, then smoothed the brow with the same bristles for the final placement.

I should have added a little more on the middle of my brow. And, I should have made sure the end was smoother, but I was in a hurry because the person taking my pictures was in a hurry. 🙂

So, this is a great start to a brow, and definitely okay for a casual look.  I'd like a brow that is a little more "filled in," so maybe I need to look and see if Givenchy has a shade to match this Brow Filler.

[RebeccaBT]

@Ispend2much6 That product works amazing on your brows! Thanks for sharing 🙂

Best,
Rebecca

[Ispend2much6]

@RebeccaBT   Thank you!  I'm so glad I took a chance and tried it.

[RebeccaBT]

@Ispend2much6 that is how I have found some of my favorite products! 

Best,
Rebecca

[Titian06]

@Ispend2much6 - Your eyebrow looks great!  That product makes such a difference, while looking so natural.

[Ispend2much6]

@Titian06   Thanks!  It is a wonderful product.  I don't want to look like I colored in my brows with a crayon, so this fits the bill.

[tsavorite]

@Ispend2much6 ,

This is very helpful information!  I like the looks of this Givenchy Mister Brow Filler on you.

Thank you for telling us about this!  And for the photos.  🙂

[Ispend2much6]

@tsavorite   You're welcome!  I wish I'd done a better job applying, but I think there's enough there that everyone can see what it does.

[ShortErica]

This is great information @Ispend2much6. I love seeing the series of pictures and how we can see the progress from beginning to end. It is so helpful!

And yep, super what?!

[Ispend2much6]

@ShortErica   LOL!  

[drbeat14]

Oh this sounds fun! I am SO lazy about my brows. I basically comb them everyday. I think the problem is that I *think* they look good until I get out and about and look in a mirror and find all these strays! Ok challenge accepted! My lash goal is to try to keep them looking awesome *every* day and to really master a shape that makes my eyes look more lifted.

[gingerleigh]

I felt pretty much okay about my brows when I looked at them in the mirror, but I had a problem with them that I got from looking at photos ... those sisters-not-twins looked alien and wrong to me when I looked at them in selfies. One looked higher than the other, and the spacing between them seemed weird. I thought, "well pics don't lie". I started doing a lot of experimenting with them. Tweezing from the top of the "too high" one, trying to delicately fill it in from below, plucking more off of the front of the "too far out from corner of eye" one, and so on. This went on, now and then, for the whole past year.

Finally after a recent and particularly brutal wait for regrowth, I tried taking a batch of photos that would reflect what I see in the mirror. Not sure if I am tricking myself (in that "photos don't lie"), but these photos make me feel like my brows are perfectly normal. So my next step is to find a brow tech I can trust for an opinion on whether they are spaced correctly and whether they are each the appropriate height and length. I guess I just cannot believe my eyes.

I have tons of brow products, but right now I am loving my Anastasia brush number 15 along with my new MUFE Aqua Brow. It is allowing me to do tiny brush stokes far more easily than any of my pencils, and the hint of glossy finish is what I prefer.

[Titian06]

@gingerleigh - I use the ABH brush 15 too.  It's perfect for gels and powders.  My first brow gel was the MUFE Aqua Brow.  The only thing I don't like about it is that it comes in a tube; otherwise, I would probably still be using it.

[gingerleigh]

I don't mind the tube, I just squeeze out a tiny drop, tiny as I can manage, onto anything I want to use as a palette...piece of paper, whatever. I never use all that I squeeze out, so I feel a little bad about that. But, I am getting better about dispensing very small amounts from the MUFE tube. And I get waste from other brow products that just bothers me more -- like from brow wands, mainly. Having to remove product from my brows is what happens to me with those, with all the brands I have tried so far anyway. @Titian06 

[ShortErica]

@gingerleigh I didn't do the super thin brow trend but I have been guilty of overdoing the more off of the front of the "too far out from the corner of eye." I am so happy your brows are how you want them.

It is hard to trust others with your looks especially when things take time to grow back. Best of luck finding a good brow tech.

[gingerleigh]

Thank you! @ShortErica  I went pretty thin in the 90s, and that is especially dangerous to do with blond brows. Luckily they seem to have a strong will to live and they have come back every time. 

P.S. I just got my hair cut and am planning to post in your Wave thread. I just haven't had any good hair days yet -- I think I need to break down and purchase that Devacurl Micellar Serum. Wish they had a medium sized bottle.

[ShortErica]

Can't wait to see your hair cut @gingerleigh! It is so hard to invest in full size when you don't know if it will work or not. Have you done apple cider vinegar rinses with your hair? It is supposed to have the same type of cleaning out the build-up function. That may be something to try and see how your hair responds. And definitely post in the wave thread. There have been many helpful BIC members - tastelikewater, loretta, bakeamuffin, etc.

[gingerleigh]

@ShortErica  I did try apple cider vinegar for a while a few years ago. I think the results were good but the smell was too much. I should give it another shot though, and try using less. I think I'm always using way too much of everything, and that can be a real problem in a lot of product categories. Including brow cosmetics! 🙂 

[ShortErica]

It does have a strong smell. Let me know how it works if you try it again.

And too much brow..

[gingerleigh]

lol at those, er that brow

[Titian06]

Great idea for a challenge, @ShortErica!  My brow issue is completely different than everyone else's.  I have trichotillomania and pull out my eyelashes and eyebrows.  Well, I used to pull out my eyebrows.  They stopped growing in years ago.  I draw on my eyebrows everyday (except when I'm staying home for the day).  I've tried everything, pencils, pens, gels/pomades/creams, powders.  I've even thought about tattoos--no way.

Right now I'm using KVD brow gel and ABH duo powder.  I'm planning to try the new UD brow pen/pencil and compact.  I freehand my brows.  Stencils don't come small enough (not even the petite size) and they're too awkward too use.

My brows usually look 1970''s thin, which is fine with me.  I used to have Brooke Shields' brows in mono brow form.

The problem I'm having is determining where to place my eyebrows vertically (how far above my eye).  Horizontal placement is a piece of cake, but some days my brows are way too high (I look surprised all day) and some days they're too low so I look grumpy all day.

Any suggestions for vertical placement would be great!

I'm sorry this post is so long, but this is a big-time issue (no eyebrows) for me that I can't find help for on the Internet or elsewhere.