Best Eyebrow Shapes to Flatter Your Face

What is the Best Eyebrow Shapes to Flatter Your Face?

Women's eyebrow styles have gone through many stages through the decades. The 1920s were known for extremely thin eyebrows, but that changed in the 1950s with Audrey Hepburn who ushered in the more natural and thicker eyebrow shape. A few decades later saw a new fad where women shaved off their eyebrows and then pencil them back on for a more uniform look. This current decade has seen a move back to thicker eyebrows with Hollywood and Bollywood actors such as Keira Knightly, Kristen Stewart, Sushmita Sen and Deepika Padukone sporting almost caterpillar-thick arches! Eyebrows may be of little or no consequence but they definitely play an important role in beauty and aesthetics. Eyebrows have the power to make or break your entire look and so it is important to choose well.

How to Choose the Right Eyebrow Shape for your Face

While the shape and size of your eyes do play a small role in determining the eyebrow shape that would suit you, the shape of your face remains the most important factor. So here's how to get perfect eyebrows:

• The best eyebrow shape for oval faces: If you have an oval face, count your blessings! It is almost impossible to go wrong with an oval face as almost all eyebrows shapes suit the oval face. You can opt for angular arches or go for the classic balanced brow. The only thing that you should pay attention to is the start of your brow, which should be at the bridge of your nose. You can keep the brow tail a little longer so that it is

  in line with the outer corner of your eye. This will accentuate your eyes and give you a well-groomed look.

• The best eyebrow shape for round faces: If you have a round face, you should shape your eyebrows so that they are angular at the outer corners to create a vertical counterpoint on your face. The sharp angle of a high brow provides the perfect balance for faces that are curvy. While precise and severe brows seldom look good on most face types, you can get away with trimming the ends of your eyebrows with a pair of contoured scissors. The high peak of the brow will help to create a more elongated effect so that your face appears more oval in shape. Tweezing would be a better option as compared to threading, as it will allow you to remove individual strands for a more sculpted look. Eyebrows with a high arch will also help to define facial bone structure that is lacking highlight your cheekbones.
• The best eyebrow shape for heart shaped faces: A heart shaped face can be particularly attractive - just look at Rani Mukerji and Reese Witherspoon! Unfortunately, people with a heart shaped face might have difficulty finding the perfect eyebrow shape. It is best to avoid heavy shaping and instead go with a low and almost straight arch that hugs your brow bone. A slightly rounded arch is also a good choice as it helps to soften a pointed chin. Women with heart shaped faces have a delicate jawline and so it is important to make sure that the eyebrows are not too thick or this will just draw more attention to the upper portion of the face. You can use a brow pen to create a more defined and smooth look. While bold brows may be in right now, you would do well to steer clear of the craze if you have a heart shaped face.
• The best eyebrow shape for long faces: A long face is gorgeous as it shows off your high cheekbones and jawline. However, it is important that you shape your eyebrows properly as flat and heavy brows will not compliment your face shape. You can opt for a high or a low arch as long as you extend the length of your eyebrows. Since your face shape accentuates your vertical features it is important to highlight your horizontal features such as your jawline as this will prevent a more "horsy" look! Do not extend your eyebrow tail downwards as this will make your eyes droopy. To show off your angular features, you can complement your look with retro curls or a side sweep to create a softer silhouette.
• The best eyebrow shape for square faces: A square face is one that has approximately the same width and height and women with square shaped faces tend to have a more angular chin. This face shape is ideally suited for strong arches and you can even darken your brows if you like. Threading is a good option as it will give you a neat result that is not overly well-defined. Since a square face already has a strong appearance you would do well to complement it by aligning the peak of your brow with the widest angle of your jaw. A softly groomed shape can also help to define your cheekbones and if required, you can use a little eyebrow powder to add depth to your arches. You can also tint your eyebrows to add lasting definition. The cardinal rule for women with square shaped faces is to avoid very round rainbow-shaped brows.

How to Shape your Eyebrows According to your Eyes

When choosing the perfect eyebrow shape, you need to consider your eye spacing - whether they are close set or wide set. A professional eyebrow shaping session might be a good place to start, as this will provide you with the basic shape you should use. You can then continue to keep your brows well shaped with regular grooming at home. You can also ask the beautician for tips on how to shape eyebrows at home.

Eyebrow Shaping for Close-set Eyes: Trim back a few of the strands of hair that are closest to your nose to help draw attention away from the inner corners of your eyes. You should also have a long wide arch that follows your brow bone and you can even extend it a little with a pencil. Do not opt for very sharp or very thin brows as this will not complement your eyes. Jennifer Aniston has close-set eyes so you can follow a similar brow shape to highlight your eyes.

Eyebrow Shaping for Wide-set Eyes: Wide set eyes can draw attention to one's nose which is not particularly pleasant. The best way to deal with this is to not over-trim the area between your brows as this will help to extend your eyebrows a little inwards. Ideally, the starting point of your brow should be in line with the crease of your nostril. Go for a slightly angled shape that is rounded on the outside. This shape is also very feminine and gives you a more youthful appearance. Women who have wide-set eyes need to spend less time plucking and more time trimming their brows in order to maintain their shape.

General Tips for Shaping Eyebrows

Now that you never again need to wonder "what is the best eyebrow shape for my face", it is time to learn the three golden rules to shaping eyebrows.

• The starting point of your eyebrows should be at the bridge of your nose.
• The arch of your eyebrows should never be in the centre but instead it should be after approximately two thirds of the length of your brow.
• Don't get rid of the tail of your brow. Cutting your brows short is a big non-no and you should extend your brows with a pencil if necessary.

While eyebrow shaping has always been a predominantly feminine grooming routine, more men have now started to tweeze the odd strands of hair to avoid the dreaded "unibrow"! Eyebrow shaping for men should be kept to a bare minimum as thin eyebrows can look very unnatural and ever downright unpleasant. Threading and tweezing should focus simply on defining the existing shape of the brow. A small pair of scissors can be used to trim wayward strands of hair. Trim the arch of the brow at a 45-degree angle and use tweezers to get rid of the single strands of hair at the edges of your brows for a clean and professional look. Pluck the strands of hair from between your brows but make sure that the head of your brow is in line with the ridge of your nostril. Over-tweezing from the center can lead to a large "bald" spot that is easily noticeable. If you are unhappy with the idea of regular tweezing and plucking, you can consider permanent eyebrow shaping. This is done with electrolysis, which is precise and gets rid of unwanted hair permanently.