color
Brow Grooming Product How To’s
BROW GROOMING
Do your brows look great without any product added? Do your brows look even in color through the brow? Then you can skip all the color products and go straight to grooming, or the easiest part of beautifying brows.
Much like how you would use products in your hair. Thicker, coarser hair needs strong gels and waxes to hold, while thin hair needs a lighter product to keep in place without weighing it down.
Two products that make your brows look even better are
Products Show:
Brow Tamer (clear wax)
Brow Ware (Clear Brow Mascara)
1. Brow Gel
Brow Gel is the lighter of the two and meant for eyebrow hairs that are thin. In a mascara wand format, just brush on through brows in the direction you want the brows to go and then let dry. Best Brow Gels are ones that don’t turn gray after they have dried, and do not leave a crunchy, or stiff feel to the brows.
Application: For the brow gel, apply your brow colors (shadow or pencil) first, and then apply your brow gel after, to make the color water resistant.
2. Brow Wax
Brow Wax is for thicker, coarser, and wavy brow hairs. Since these hairs are usually harder to keep in place, you need a product with a stronger holding powder.
Application: To apply, use a clear wax that will not interfere with any colored brow shadow or pencil. Apply either with your finger tip, or my favorite, apply with a clean spoolie brush and brush through.
Tip: You can apply your brow wax either before or after your brow color, for different results. For a stronger color, apply brow wax first through the brow hairs, then apply your brow shadow with a straight or angle brow brush. You’ll notice that the brow color goes on a tad darker and with a sharper line since you mixing the brow color into the wax as you apply. For a softer look, apply your brow color first, then set with your brow wax on top to seal in the color.
Makeup Artist Trick: What I love to do is pick up the clear brow wax with my clean spoolie brush, then dip the brush into my brow shadow, and then brush through. Do this lightly and after a few tries, you’ll know exactly how much of each you need to get the right mix for you.
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The Easy Way to Apply Brow Makeup
The #1 question I get from my clients is how to apply brow makeup. And with all the brow products out there, it can be a bit intimidating. So let’s make it simple.
BROW MAKEUP
Brow makeup consists of colors that can enhance, darken or even out the color of your brows. Brow makeup comes in :
- Brow Shadow
- Brow Mascara
- Brow Pencils
Brow Shadow is the easiest to apply to create a softer brow.
Brow Pencils help darken sparse areas in the brow.
Brow Mascaras help to color and darken the actual hairs, great for gray hairs in the brow.
Color Swatches: From Elke’s Brow Collection
FINDING THE RIGHT COLOR
1. Find a brow color that’s 2/3 shades lighter than your brow/hair color. Matching it to your hair color will always look off. Why? You’re putting a color in a color that makes it look darker.
2. Not sure why the brow color you have doesn’t look right? It’s usually the undertone that’s in the brow color that’s showing up and giving an overcast color to your brows. The #1 undertone to avoid is Orange. How can you tell? Swipe your brow color onto a piece of white paper. You’ll be able to see exactly what undertone shows up.
Common undertones are:
- gray: seen in blonde brow colors
- red: seen in brown and dark brown brow colors
- black: seen in very dark brown brow colors
- green: seen in blonde brow colors
- orange: seen in brown and auburn brow colors
Try to find a brow shadow with the least amount of undertones in it, or a true, clear shade. You’ll have the least amount of problems with it.
HOW TO APPLY:
You’ll need 2 tools to get the best results with brow makeup application.
1. Brow Angle Brush (either straight or slanted)
Elke’s Multi Task Brow Brush / Highlight & Shadow
The thinner and the shorter the angle brush, the better. Why? This is what gives you a tight line when drawing on your shadow.
2. Brow Spoolie Brush
Elke’s Brow Spoolie Brush
The spoolie (or mascara wand) brush gives you an easy way to apply your brow shadow as well as blend it.
Step 1:
Take your spoolie brush and brush up your brush. This lets you see exactly the line that your brows does along the bottom of the brow.
Step 2:
With your brow shadow and angle brush, draw a straight line from the beginning of the brow, to the arch of the brow, going along the bottom of the brow.
Step 3:
Now with your same brush, but with no product added to the brush, brush the line that you just drew into into the brow, going upwards, from beginning to arch.
Step 4:
Now draw a new line, with shadow, in the middle of the brow from the arch to the end of the brow. Then blend outwards filling in the brow going along the line from arch to end.
Step 5.
Now take your spoolie brush, and brush through the brow. This is what blends and softens the color that you just drew, making it go from fake and harsh to soft and real looking. Make sure to brush up from beginning to arch and then sideways from arch to end. Keep the brush in the brow as you brush, otherwise you’ll be brushing the color into your skin along the forehead. Keep the color inside the brows.
shown below: Elke’s Clear Brow Ware Gel / Brow Tamer Pomade
Step 6.
Look good? Then your next step is to set your brows with either a brow wax (for thicker brows) or brow gel mascara (for thinner brows) to make your color water resistant.
Extra Optional Step:
If you need a little extra color in your brows, or after applying brow makeup, you can still see sparse areas through the shadow, then take your brow pencil, and apply after the brow shadow. You’ll find that you’ll have an easier time applying and it will look much more natural.
Brow Tip #8 Blend, blend and blend.
8. Blend, blend and blend some more.
You always hear about blending your eye shadow or foundation, right? But what about your eyebrows? Yep, they need blending too.
After every application of shadow, and/or pencil, always blend the color with a spoolie or mascara wand to blend and even out the color. By blending into the skin, you’re softening the product and making your brows look like yours, not made up ones.
So what’s the routine?
1. Apply brow shadow.
2. Blend.
3. Apply brow pencil (if needed)
4. Blend
TIP: The more you blend with your spoolie brush, the softer the color gets and the more real it looks. Applied too much or color too dark? Just blend away until you get the desired result.
Brow Tip #7 Brow Shadow or Pencil?
7. Use brow pencil to fill in brows, use brow shadow to even out color.
Pencil and shadow have 2 different purposes. And by all means, avoid filling in your brows with just brow pencil. It can look harsh, severe and too dark. The goal is for your brows to look better, but real.
From The Brow Collection: Shown top to bottom:
Dark Brunette / Blonde / Ash Brown / Auburn
Apply brow shadow first to color the brow and make the color even from beginning to end. If you have a lot of holes in your brows, always apply your shadow in the lighter areas of the brows first, and then blend into the rest of the brow.
Then, if needed, use your brow pencil to fill in any areas that are too light or thin. Brush though with a spoolie brush to blend and soften to the correct color for you.
TIP: The more you brush, the softer the color will be.
Tarte Brings eyebrows to FW
At Tarte the focus was ALL about the brows, and while their version was a bit extreme, you can still get the look, with just a touch darker brow shadow. To fill in, use our Blonde Eyebrow Pencil, (no matter how dark or light your brows are.. you’re using this just to fill in ares of sparse brows…) and then take a darker Brow Shadow (like our Ash Brown or Dark Brunette Day Brow Shadow) thats 1-2 shades darker than your brow color (not your hair color) and fill in. You’ll get a more dramatic brow that works, without the drama.
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Elke’s Brow Collection
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