Trust the French to come up with two nifty tools for on point eyebrow enhancement. Not too much, not too little but just the right amount of nonchalant eyebrow given.
I find eyebrows the trickiest feature to master in terms of both makeup and maintenance. Possibly due to the fact that I had a blunt face curtain of a fringe until last year, but tweaking, defining and embellishing eyebrows has never come naturally to me. In the past it’s tended towards either go hard (angry dark exclamation marks for eyebrows) or go home (forgetting to tweeze them for nigh on a year, in more of a monobrow rather than grown-out Brooke Shields stylee). If I am going about some eyebrow DIY, I require some kind of step-by-step to hand in the manner of IKEA flatpack instructions, only minus the allen key, add in a spoolie and preferably with someone on hand to judge my handiwork, save I leave the house looking like Gru from Despicable Me.
Personal issues aside, I’ve found two nimble Sisley Paris brow “design” implements that make achieving structured yet convincingly real looking eyebrows beyond simple. They’re not cheap, but they take away the guesswork and any brow faux-pas, plus I’ve double tested on a brow mad mate to make sure that I’m not just easily impressed in the eyebrow department.
The plumper: Phyto Sourcils Fix, £40
Whether you’ve got sparse eyebrows to start with, you’ve over plucked or yours are thinning , this brow thickening gel isn’t a new concept, but it’s a one-step winner as far as creating the impression of hair where there isn’t any goes, not to mention defining and bringing to the fore your godgiven brow situation. Stroke it on gently, blend in a bit with a spoolie if needed and you’re left with a full and lush looking eyebrow- about as far as you can get from the dreaded marker pen effect. It does set for the day, but the polymer gel formula means that your eyebrows move with as your face does (honestly some brow fixers feel like glue). It does contain conditioning ingredients intended to foster hair growth, namely pro vitamin B5 and antioxidant plant extracts, but to be honest I can’t speak for these- it just makes your eyebrows look undone yet lightly polished. It’s available in two tinted formulas (light-medium and medium-dark) with a clear option if you want to avoid any shade matching gaffes. My brow bff approves to the extent that she’s using it to do her own makeup on her wedding day. I’d say that constitutes an A*.
The arch-itect: Phyto Sourcils Design, £40
This was my pick of the two- a three-in-one eye definer with a hidden browbone highlighter that suits every skintone and can be handily traced along the cheekbone, smudged into the inner eye area or smoothed over lids to justify a whopping price tag. Makeup artist Ruby Hammer MBE is a fan for highlighting reasons too, and because the sloping triangular pencil nib makes it hard to draw outside the line of the brows or press too hard. Definitely a good thing for clumsy brow artistes such as I. Soft, blendable and in no way blocky, the pencil fills in any gaps with precision and darkens what’s there ever so slightly, while the spoolie on the other end is handy for combing brows to start with and blending in your pencil. If you’re after a sultry but not too try hard arch, plus an eye opening sheen on the brow bone, it’s a masterful all-in-one that’s payday appropriate if you value a ‘just so’ brow.
After a more budget friendly eyebrow gel or tint? Right this way…