Tips for Eyebrow Grooming (Before and After)

Greetings from the Dark Side ^_^

I have a love/hate relationship with my eyebrows. But, I get a lot of compliments and comments from other people who really like my eyebrows. I like my eyebrows too, I do. They are dark and have a full-shape which I think compliments my features and make me look younger than I actually am. But, I hate the fact that if I don't constantly groom them, they look awfully wild and untamed. 

Today, I will share with your some of the things I do to make my eyebrows look more neat. These are pretty basic tricks that I have seem many other people do as well, so it is nothing revolutionary ;) 

                                                                                Before                                                                       

This is how my eyebrow looks after about 1-2 weeks of neglect. I have tried to grow them out as much as I can to show you how I groom them.

                                               My Tips and Tricks for Eyebrow Grooming                                         

1. Follow the universal eyebrow shaping guide (picture below).

If you have seen any post about eyebrow shaping, I am sure you have seem the diagram below. This is supposed to be the best way to determine the best brow shape for your face. You use a straight edge to align the edge of your nose to three points along your eyebrow. 

Point A is to determine the place your eyebrow should start. Align the edge of your nostril to your tear duct.

Point B is to determine where your eyebrow should arch. Align the edge of your nostril to the center of your pupil.

Point C is to determine where your eyebrow should end. Align the edge of your nostril to the outermost part of your eye.

You don't have to use this, but if you are at  a loss about how you should shape your eyebrows, this might be a great starting point.
(*A reader, Nagia, has also commented to me that this particular trick does not always work and will depend on your nose shape. She linked me to this video which is really useful) 

This is not my image. It was found through Google Images.

2. Trim 
Not everyone has to do this. I not only have very dark and full eyebrows, but my eyebrows hairs are quite long (that sounds so weird! I hope that makes sense...). I first use a spoolie to brush my eyebrows upwards. Then I use small eyebrow trimmers to trim my eyebrows slightly. This just creates a neater arrangement for my eyebrows. I don't know how much of a difference you can see in the photos, but in person, this alone makes a huge difference in the way my brows look. It makes the hairs on my brows fall into place better. Overall they just look better.
If you have very bushy or very unruly eyebrows, you might want to try this trick. Just don't go overboard! Make very small trims and make sure you don't cut too much.

3. Pluck Away! 
This is quite obvious right? When you want to groom your eyebrows, plucking is the first thing that should come to mind. But with plucking, less is definitely more. The less stuff you remove the better. When I was in high school, I used to over-pluck my eyebrows and it looked terrible (I should go back in time and smack myself!).
Nowadays, I tend to only pluck the stray hairs that really stand out. It makes your eyebrows look groomed, but still natural and effortless.

4. Conceal!
Yes, conceal~! For those days that you are too lazy to pluck those few stray hairs or when you have no time to deal with your eyebrows, use some concealer around the edges of your eyebrows. This will emphasize the shape of your eyebrow while sightly concealing any stray hairs. This trick will also help to brighten the area around your eyebrow and give you a mini-lift. If you love the look of a bright and "awake" eye,conceal both your under-eye and eyebrow area.
*Make sure not too get the concealer on your eyebrow though. This can make your eyebrows look ashy and weird. Trust me, it has happened to me too many times >_<"

First outline your eyebrows...

 ...then blend it out!

5. Fill in Your Eyebrows
I would say I don't need to fill in my eyebrows at all. But sometimes I like to go that extra step to make my eyebrows look even more neat. Also, sometimes I have a few sparse areas or the ends of my eyebrows need a bit of extra help.
If you have dark eyebrows like, DO NOT use a brow color that is the same shade as your natural eyebrow color. This will make your eyebrows look super dark and really unnatural. Of course, if you are going for that type of look then go ahead. But for a natural looking color, go for something that is 2-3 shades lighter. I prefer using a light brown color because it will look more natural.
Again, with this step, less is more.

                                                                          Before and After                                                            

I hope this is helpful ;) Of course, everyone has different eyebrows so do whatever suits you best. This is what I do and what works for me~

Which of these steps to do you use? Do you have any other eyebrow grooming tips/tricks that I failed to mention?