How to Fill in Your Eyebrows Like a Pro, According to a Brow Expert
Let’s be honest: Learning how to fill in your eyebrows can be tough. So often, we find ourselves laboring over our arches, spending extra time every morning trying to make them look identical. Ask any makeup artist, though, and you’ll be told that eyebrows are sisters, not twins. This means that, while it’s totally okay to try to make them symmetrical, it’s alright if they each have a bit of personality of their own. Heck, it’s normal!
Nevertheless, you're still likely to try and make your brows look as perfect as possible every time you peer into the mirror. So, to help you nail the process, we spoke with Benefit Cosmetics Global Brow Expert, Jared Bailey. With the power to transform even the sparsest arches into the appearance of glorious brushed-up brows—not to mention the fact that Benefit Cosmetics is one of the top-rated, most sought-after makeup brands when it comes to this area—he's the top expert to heed advice from when it comes to all things brows. So, without further ado, keep reading to discover his step-by-step process and tips for filling in your brows like a pro. While some of the steps are optional, they’re all geared toward teaching you how to achieve the brows of your dreams.
Establish Your Brow Goal First
Before you can fill in your eyebrows, you must first determine the type of arches you want to create. “Are you feeling a fluffy, natural look or something more defined and bold?” Bailey asks. “Deciding on the look you’re going for will help you choose the right types of brow products to use.”
Pick the Best Brow Products for You
Once you’ve chosen your shape, you’ll be able to narrow down which products to use. If your goal is to create believable, natural-looking arches, Bailey says to reach for a pigmented micro-liner that’s capable of hairlike strokes a fiber-based gel to help add shape (like Benefit Cosmetics's Precisely, My Brow Pencil), and a quick-drying gel to set the shape.
If, on the other hand, you prefer a super defined brow, just a pencil will do. Conversely, if fluffy brows are your shape of choice, a brow soap (try Jason Wu Beauty’s The Bush Tamed Eyebrow Soap) and life-like brow pen will help create the look (like the Kevyn Aucoin True Feather Brow Marker Duo).
While making your picks, don't forget to choose the right shades of each. “As a rule of thumb, the shade of your brow products should coincide with the natural color of your hair at the roots,” Bailey says. “Additionally, you should choose a shade that matches your hair's undertone.”
How to Fill in Your Eyebrows: A Step-by-Step Guide
Once you have all your products ready, you’re ready to get the show going. Follow along with these step-by-step instructions to learn the best tips, from creating shape to adding texture to highlighting your arches.
Apply a Clear Brow Gel to Define the Shape
“First, apply a clear brow gel to brush hairs upward and outward towards the temple, and let the gel dry completely,” Bailey says. “Doing this step first will allow you to easily identify any holes or sparse areas in the brow.”
Add Texture
No matter the brow look you're aiming for, having a micro-pencil or pen on hand will help add texture to your arches. For the best, most natural-looking results, Bailey says to flick through areas in the brow that are a bit sparse. “There are two things to remember while doing this,” he points out. “First, make sure the strokes are in the same direction you brushed the hairs. Second, make sure to leave pops of skin between each stroke, rather than filling your brow completely, as this is key to creating a textured effect.”
Add Density
Don’t stop at texture alone. If the ends of your brows are more sparse (which is totally normal), Bailey recommends creating a 3-D effect by using a "stipple and sweep" technique with a pigmented fiber gel. “On sparser areas of your brow, stipple the tip of the wand onto your skin to add a bit of formula, then sweep the bristles of the wand over that exact spot to create a natural, hair-like texture with a bit more bulk than you could get with a pencil,” he instructs.
Touch Up Any Mistakes
Once you’ve finished filling in your brows, you may notice that you went outside of the lines in a few places. No worries though, Bailey says that’s where concealer comes into play. “If you get a little carried away, or feel like you may have made some of the strokes too long, use a full-coverage concealer on a hard angled brush to ‘erase’ any of your mistakes,” he instructs.
Highlight Your Arches for an Extra Lift
If you wish you could lift your brows for a more wide-eyed appeal, Bailey says that a highlighter will help do the trick.
“Highlighters are great to brighten up the eye area and make the brow bone look more prominent,” he says. “Make sure to concentrate the highlighter along the exposed areas of the brow bone and blend outward towards the temple. The lighter color pulls your features forward and makes your face appear more contoured and your brow to appear slightly higher than before."
