Eyebrow trends have changed a lot over time. The current brows of choice are thick, bold brows, with Cara Delevingne being the undisputed eyebrow queen. There’s a reason why brow extensions are now a thing. Another brow look that we have been seeing more and more of at Fashion Month and in ad campaigns is brushed-up brows.
(Related: A Brief History On The Changing Shapes Of Eyebrows)
When it comes to brushing our brows, the general rule we have been following is to brush them up and then out, so they appear neat and groomed. Brushing your brows straight up and leaving them goes against all the beauty rules we know.
Eyebrow hairs sticking straight up were previously thought of as a beauty mishap. They were the sort of brows your grandpa had, but they weren’t a look you actually wanted.
Now, it seems like the beauty world has changed their stance of brushed-up brows. I decided to test the lookout to see if brushed-up brows really work in real life or whether they look ridiculous.
For people whose brows naturally grow straight up, they will love that they don’t have to even touch their brows with a spool brush to get the look. My brows naturally grow out and down. Here’s a shot of what they normally look like:
I used an eyebrow brush and a bit of clear brow gel to get the look. To my surprise, my eyebrows we not wanting to cooperate at all. Several attempts to get them to stand straight up just resulted in them angling slightly up at the ends.
After a few more attempts and lots of gel, I realized that my brow hairs will never be able to stand perfectly straight up, and my version of brushed-up brows would have to be the angled ones.
Honestly, it would have been easier to contour my face than to get my brows to stand perfectly straight up. If I had continued trying to coerce them to stand up anymore, I wouldn’t have had any eyebrows left to brush. This is what they looked like after my attempt at grooming them:
I was envisioning something more like the model’s brows, but my brow hairs aren’t long enough for that, nor are they going to cooperate. My brows just looked like I rubbed my eye area when I was tired.
I did test out the brushed-up brow look for the day to see what people would think about it. The result? No one noticed a changed. It isn’t that obvious unless you’re about three inches away from my brows, and even then, you probably need a comparison photo.
Verdict
If your brows naturally grow straight up, I think you should embrace the trend. If you have brows that tend to grow downwards or to the side, you can always try to recreate a proper brushed-up brow with a brow pencil, but that is a look I don’t think I’m ready for quite yet.