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3 Steps to Fuller, Natural-Looking Brows

January 8th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

3 Steps To Full, Natural-Looking Brows
3 steps to full, natural-looking brows

Brows — my sweet, sweet joy and my sweet, sweet pain.

I’ve reluctantly come to grips with the painful reality that I will very likely never be one of those lucky gals/guys who wakes up in the morning with immaculately lush, gorgeous brows, and I’m OK with that.

Because that’s what makeup is for.

Although, truth be told, I’ll always be jealous of my BFF Jen for being one of those naturally big-browed babes…

Let me tell ya, it’s really annoying, LOL!

Back in the ’90s, when everyone was plucking their brows into oblivion, Jen was constantly bemoaning her beautiful brows, saying that they were too damn full and sooo difficult to tame. 🙂

Yeah, what I wouldn’t have given for that problem. I’m always having to fill in mine (freaking Raul!).

On the positive side, at least I’ll probably never run out of new techniques and brow products to try. There’s an endless supply and lots of room to play.

Last year I was really into filling them in with eyeshadow for a full, kinda in-your-face brow look, and sometimes, let me tell ya, those big brows entered a room before I did, haha!

These days I’m more chill about my brows… I still like them big and full, but a little less blocky and more textured, so that they look more natural and real, if that makes any sense. I want brows that look like they just naturally grew out of my head that way.

There are different ways to get a full, but natural brow look, but here’s mine. I use a brow pencil, brow gel, and follow these three simple steps.

First, you’ll need the following…

  • A brow pencil with a skinny tip. I like Brow Wiz by Anastasia Beverley Hills ($21). It has a twist-up pencil on one end and a brow comb on the other.
  • A brow comb (if your pencil doesn’t have one; see above)
  • A clear brow gel, and my favorite of the moment is unsurprisingly called Clear Brow Gel ($22), also by Anastasia. I like it because it dries to a matte finish and has a very strong hold, so those little brow hairs don’t move a muslce once it sets.

3 Steps To Full, Natural-Looking Brows

Step 1

Begin by filling in your brows with your brow pencil starting at the inner end using short strokes, light pressure, and moving in the same direction that your brow hairs grow, with the goal being to go with the natural flow.

Step 2

Next, fill in the outer portion of your brows, again using short strokes, but here applying slightly more pressure than you did a moment ago. This way the hairs in inner portion of your brows (the sides closer to your nose) are a little lighter, where the hairs are normally more sparse, and darker in the outer portion, where the hairs normally grow denser.

Step 3

Finally, brush a clear brow gel through your brows, then gently comb through it to break things up. That way your brows don’t look too solid or blocky.

Tada! Full (but still pretty natural-looking) brows.

A few pointers…

  • If you find that you seem to apply a lot of pressure when you’re filling in your brows, try holding your pencil parallel to the brow, instead of perpendicular to it, or straight on, like you’re jabbing the point at your brow, and use the side of the brush head more than the tip.
  • With your brow gel, try to get it just in the hairs, and not on your skin, basically just because when I get brow gel on my skin, it always breaks up the product too much and leaves me with blank patches.
  • But even if you do end up with a few blank patches, don’t worry. Wait for the brow gel to dry, then go back in with your pencil to touch up those areas.

Your friendly neighborhood brow-loving beauty addict,

Karen

3 Steps to Fuller, Natural-Looking Brows / Originally published January 8th, 2015

There are 22 comments on this post. Leave yours.

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Comments

  1. Agata says

    January 8th, 2015 at 6:16 pm

    Great tips, Karen. I think I need a clear brow gel because my right brow has been kind of unruly.
    Agata recently posted … The Palette That Will Make You Blush

    Reply
  2. Poo@beautyandmakeupmatters says

    January 8th, 2015 at 6:28 pm

    Awesome tips Karen.. I have fuller brows but I like to fill them up when doing makeup looks.. I have tried brow powder n pigmented gel but have to find a brow pencil now.. I wanna try it technique.:-)

    The pointers are bang on… :-*

    Happy Friday dear 🙂
    Poo@beautyandmakeupmatters recently posted … Best Toners For All Skin Types In India

    Reply
  3. Meghan says

    January 8th, 2015 at 6:29 pm

    Hi Karen,

    This is wonderful…thank you! I will take the brow tips to heart. What is the lipstick that you are wearing in these photos? It’s lovely!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 8th, 2015 at 7:51 pm

      Hi Meghan,

      It’s Too Faced Melted Strawberry. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Poo@beautyandmakeupmatters says

    January 8th, 2015 at 6:29 pm

    Forgot to ask which lippie are u using here.?? U looking amazing and the highlighter placement making u glow naturally :-*
    Poo@beautyandmakeupmatters recently posted … Best Toners For All Skin Types In India

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 8th, 2015 at 7:51 pm

      Thank you, Poo! The lipstick is Too Faced Melted Strawberry.

      Reply
  5. Debra says

    January 8th, 2015 at 7:24 pm

    I know this sounds weird but I like to brush the brow hairs up and then go against the grain of the hairs with the brow productl. Then I brush the brow hairs again and wipe off excess with a q-tip.

    Anastasia Brow Wiz is now a Holy Grail for me.

    I have tried too many brow products to name them. (Dear Daughter says it’s an obsession. I consider it more of a mild compulsion) —

    several different kinds of MAC pencils, MAC gels (the bright bronze one was a bit over the top), clear Anastasia gel, Lancome powder pencil (nice but not natural looking), Dior pencil (awful), Laura Mercier stuff in a pot (dried out)s.

    I used to really like MUFE Aqua Brow but that was too much work.

    Current favorite is MAC I Texture for my natural look, lower-key makeup and Armani Brow Maestro for a more dramatic look. For each look, though, the Brow Wiz in strawburn takes care of my heads — I’ve been losing my heads for a few years now

    Have to confess I did not use anything on my brows till I was well past 40! I have made up for lost time!

    .

    Reply
  6. snoopysteph says

    January 8th, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    I’ve been embracing a fuller, darker brow lately. I read somewhere that thin, light brows age you and since I barely escaped the 90’s with any brow hairs intact I need a lot of help in that department! Currently I’m loving Dior’s brow pencil but if I’m feeling lazy I reach for my Anastasia powder. The biggest challenge for me is filling in while maintaining a good shape that looks natural.

    Reply
  7. tirurit says

    January 9th, 2015 at 12:53 am

    If I have the time I like to play with my brows: powder, pencil, gel, …

    But more days than not, it is just a brow tint and out the door I go!
    tirurit recently posted … Unconventional lipsticks: Kiko Luscious cream in 523 and 524

    Reply
  8. Alison M says

    January 9th, 2015 at 3:39 am

    Love your tips! I am in love with Senna Sketch-A-Brow right now. So fabulous and natural looking. I’ll use either Anastasia Brow Gel in Espresso or Senna Brow Fix X (which holds better) to brush through and give more definition. It also sort of…tousles my brow hairs at the front end, which I really like. Tousled brows. It’s a thing, I swear! Think Cara Delevingne’s perfected out-of-place-but-not-unruly brows 😉
    Alison M recently posted … Cover FX Natural Finish Oil Free Foundation Review, Swatches, and Demo

    Reply
  9. LindaLibraLoca says

    January 9th, 2015 at 3:46 am

    I own a sample of Anastasia Clear Brow Gel and didnt like it at all. It dried down and started to flake after about one hour. Maybe mine had gone wrong?

    But that aside, I will dedicate more attention to my brows in 2015. After doing some close up shots I realized that the color I am using is way off, so this will be the first thing to get right.
    LindaLibraLoca recently posted … Reactivating the youth of my skin? Lancomes Advanced Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate

    Reply
  10. Kiss & Make-up says

    January 9th, 2015 at 4:04 am

    Mother nature gave me plenty of fullness in the brow department. Which I am now thankful for, but there was a time when I hated it. I need to tweeze daily, ya know…
    Kiss & Make-up recently posted … Portable and affordable: three retractable powder brushes from bornprettystore.com

    Reply
  11. Heloisa says

    January 9th, 2015 at 4:25 am

    I like the Anastasia line too, specially the brow powder duo and the clear brow gel. Since I’m extremely pale and naturally blonde, I can look a bit ghostly if my brows are not well defines. To add a little more drama to the situation, although I’m 24 yrs-old, I’ve been through that over-plucking phase too in my early teen years, which is even sadder when I remember how amazingly full they were before! After a few years of growing (with the help of a medicine – kind of latisse but it’s actually an eye drop) they are much better. But I’m left with a nasty flaw I try to cover obsessively.

    A tip for ashy blondes or even pale brunettes: Maybelline’s color tattoo eye shadow in tough as taupe is the real deal! It doesn’t come off no matter what. Just be light handed because the stuff is strong

    Reply
  12. Kristina Vieweg says

    January 9th, 2015 at 5:07 am

    Your brows have been looking perfect lately, I love the natural shape! Mine have been over plucked and now I look silly if I attempt any shaping or filling 🙁
    Kristina Vieweg recently posted … Ethereal Zoya Mani using Anja & Opal

    Reply
  13. Kim says

    January 9th, 2015 at 5:30 am

    I’ve been a little frustrated with my brows and think I need to add gel to my routine. My brows still grow but just sparsely and not where I’d like them to, so I’ve resigned myself to a life of filling. They’re looking fairly limp by the end of the day, though, so gel might be the answer. Thanks for the tips! Oh, and your face looks flawless – love the blush. 🙂

    Reply
  14. gio says

    January 9th, 2015 at 6:08 am

    Great tips! I so need to take better care of my eyebrows!
    gio recently posted … Book Review: The Body Image Workbook For Teens

    Reply
  15. Kwmechelle says

    January 9th, 2015 at 10:00 am

    How you managed to type precise, perfectly accurate instructions on filling in brows is beyond me! OAN- such a cute lippie. I’ve been lusting after trying the Melted Lipsticks from Too Faced. Still kicking myself for not getting the holiday set full of deluxe size lippies. I mean, had I gotten that set, I’d be half-way home with only one or four more tubes to buy! And with a nicer price tag for my money. Bummer

    Reply
  16. Erin says

    January 9th, 2015 at 11:35 am

    I’ve not tried any clear brow gel in far to long!
    Erin recently posted … Spring 2015: Clothes in all the Pantone hues!

    Reply
  17. Tracy says

    January 9th, 2015 at 12:01 pm

    Someone told me to throw away my tweezers and get rid of your 15x mirror for at least 6 months. I didn’t want to listen but I’m glad I did because I finally have my brows where I want them to be. They have grown out enough so I could shape them properly. I used to spend so much time on them in the morning but now it takes about 2 minutes.

    I use the Anastasia brow wiz to slightly shape them along the top and bottom and then brush the Benefit Gimmee Brow through them to hold them in place. So easy!

    Reply
  18. Ankita@corallista says

    January 9th, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    Great tips Karen! Love your look here – the big lashes and bright pink lips look stunning on you!
    Ankita@corallista recently posted … NEW! Lakme Absolute Skin Gloss Facial Foam

    Reply
  19. fancie says

    January 10th, 2015 at 6:44 pm

    Really great tips! You always have such pretty, natural brows
    fancie recently posted … New Milani Rose Blushes + Color Statement Matte Lipsticks!

    Reply
  20. Alexa says

    January 12th, 2015 at 10:32 am

    Karen, thanks for the great tips! I’ve been wanting to try out a more natural look on my brows for a while now, and your tips will help me find that natural look.

    Reply

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About Makeup and Beauty Blog

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog
Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my four-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my torbie girl cat (Pretty Girl Rosie, a.k.a. PGR).

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