Anastasia of Beverly Hills Beauty Express Brow Kit

Over the years brows have really gotten alot of whole lot of attention. I would even go so far as to say that the second most important detail of someones face that needs to look flawless (after skin) are the brows!

Shaping them at home takes years of experience... Well it did in my case, since I began tweezing in my teens. See, for some reason I absolutely refuse to go to a random place and let them do my brows. No, I'm much more of a do it myself kinda gal.
Getting gorgeous brows is so much easier thanks to kits and stencils created by Anastasia of Beverly Hills. She is known to have shaped the brows of some pretty famous faces, including Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah as well as hip up-and-comers like Diana Agron, Selena Gomez and Kristen Cavalari.

I've already tried the Anastasia Brow Fix Wax Pencil which I absolutely fell in love with! And for the longest time I've been wanting to try the Beauty Express brow kit. My fellow ladies with dark hair and brows, know that filling them in can be so tricky. Getting the shape right and NOT overfilling are the biggest challenges for me.

Solution?

The Beauty Express brow kit (retails for $39.50) is an all-in-one kit with step-by-step instructions that will guide you to the perfect brows. The kit includes brow wax cream, stencils, brow powder, eyeshadow powder and an angled brush. Simply select the stencil that most closely matches your natural shape, apply the wax cream, then the brow powder, remove the stencil and voilà! It’s that easy!

Don’t believe me? Check out the video below where Anastasia herself will show you how to use it:

"Beauty Express" brow-kit instructional video from Anastasia Beverly Hills on Vimeo.

Before I get carried away by the results, let me also mention that the brand recently also expanded to include more colorful make up like eyeshadows, bronzers and lipglosses.

Step by step tutorial on how to thread your eyebrows

Foolproof tips for perfect eyebrows

I have black eyebrows. So if you're like me, you know things can easily go from pretty to scary and hairy when brows are filled in too much. At the same time, not filling them in may cause them to look straggly and untidy. Brows are one of the most important factors that shape your face and complete make up looks.

So take my advice ladies:

1. What looks hot now may be your cup of tea a few years later.

It's best not to pluck eyebrows too thin, since it may not grow back in certain areas and you may be left with patches of hairless skin. More importantly, make sure not to pluck above the brow line- unless it's stray hairs which are not part of the natural shape.

If you can find a good threader definitely try it out. Most celebrities who are known for their flawless brows use this technique for brow shaping (e.g. Kim Kardashian, Aishwarya Rai)
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Need more tips on shaping brows? Check out this detailed video:


2. Use a brow gel.

These can be really inexpensive (you can get some clear mascara for $3 at your local drugstores) or more expensive (Anastasia Brow Gel $21) and help keep brows in place. I haven't felt the need to buy the expensive ones and so far I have no complaints about the budget friendly versions. Lately I've even been trying out a smidgen of hair gel which works out better then any brow wax or gel I've bought so far. Just comb thru with a spooly.

3. Filling in
Brush your eyebrows down. Now you're ready to fill in the empty areas. After that just brush brows back into place and use clear mascara/brow gel- which will blend out harsh lines- and you're done!

I use my Elizabeth Arden eyebrow pencil, which comes with an eyebrow brush attached- I've had the same one for years.

Another alternative to pencils (which can look harsh if done with a heavy hand) are brow shadows and slanted eyebrows brushes to fill them in. Read more here.

4. Use a brow highlighter to highlight the brow bone. This will really make a difference.

5. Before applying make up, applying foundation around the brow area will help give brows a neater and more defined look by camouflaging stray hairs. (I usually skip this step.)

How do you feel about your brows? Or do you not really pay much attention to them and leave them natural?

Do you have any eyebrow related tips? Share them.:)

Eyebrow fixes

Overtweezed?



Yes people. Even though I've posted numorous eyebrow tutorials, the whole concept of filling in brows with eyeshadow is a new to me, but I definitly plan to do it more often. Specially since the make up artist in this clip makes it look so simple and you hardly need many make up tools. All you need is some eyeshadow in the desired shade to fill in your brows instead of spending $18 on a compact.

Dual Perfection Brow Shaper & Eyeliner: Fawn S18.00 (Elizabeth Arden)

Hope it helps!:)

Must Have Make-up Items

Urban Decay - Eyeshadow Primer Potion - $16

You just apply a dab to eye lids and spread all over with your finger tips.

Like the name says it's a base for your eye makeup. This stuff is a pretty neat invention! It's strong enough to help your eye makeup stay smudge-free all day, which as you know is NOT an easy task. Great for clubbing and other events where you don't exactly have time to obsess over how your make up looks.

AND...

Instead of the usual eyebrow gel:

Anastasia - Brow Fix - $19 (Sephora)

What it is:

Brow Fix is a colorless brow wax you draw on to keep eyebrows in order.

What it is formulated to do:
Designed to keep brows in place with flexibility, Brow Fix is best used after applying brow color for a subtle defined look.