:: The Secret to Eyebrows That Look Like You Just Walked Out of a Salon ::

Super long title for a relatively short post.  I’ve determined what makes ALL the difference in the world when you are doing your own eyebrows!  Reeeeady?  Wait for it….

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Trim your eyebrows!!

“Say what?  Isn’t it enough to just pluck them?” you ask.  Well, whenever I’ve done only the plucking, my eyebrows eventually look shaggy, even though they’ve just been plucked.  The general shape may be there, but it’s probably muddled because there are longer stray hairs that don’t make a neat border.

So what do you do?  You get little eyebrow scissors like the ones below.

Eyebrow Scissors

And also an eyebrow brush like so…

Eyebrow Brush

When you’re done with your usual plucking, take the brush and brush your eyebrow hairs up. Trim the hairs that stand above the desired brow line.  Now take the brush and brush your eyebrow hairs down.  Trim the hairs that are below the desired brow line.  Usually then, you’ll even find some more stray hairs that were hidden under your shagginess, so tweeze those away.

And there you have it!  Brows that look like you just paid ridiculous amounts to get done!

Some freebies (although I suppose it’s all freebies…)

1. Don’t overtweeze!  Noob mistake.  Totally did this in high school and had shaggy pencil thin eyebrows.

2.  Don’t fight nature!  Follow your natural brow shape for your optimal look! I realized after a while that I look BETTER with fuller brows and not crazy arched brows.

3. Don’t forget to tweeze above!  Another noob mistake. It neatens the brow so much!

4. Fill in the sparse areas with a brow pencil or powder that is slightly lighter than you hair color, otherwise you’ll have angry brows.  Use light strokes!

5. If you have naturally light brows, you might want to try slicking some Vaseline on them!  Not only will they stay in place, they will look just a bit darker without being unnatural!

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So I guess it’s not a super short post. And I’m keeping up with my resolution to blog at least once a week!  Heyoo!

:: MAC Fluidline ::

In response to “random navs girl”‘s question about an eyeliner that doesn’t smudge, here is my current fav:

MAC Fluidline Gel Liner

MAC Fluidline! It is a gel eyeliner that comes in a cutesy little pot which can be applied with a brush with the precision of a liquid liner, but goes on a lot softer, more romantic, and less harsh. It is self-professed to be long-wearing and smudge-proof, yet how does it stand?

Pros: I live in Riverside, CA, which can get over 100 degrees in the summer. Bad news for my oily eyelids! HOWEVER, Fluidline really stays put and doesn’t melt away, even in the summer heat! Which is exactly why I decided on it for my wedding! I also thought I’d cry at my wedding, but I didn’t, though I have cried with Fluidline on and I didn’t need to reapply or anything. It even holds up to naps! When you wake up it’s not smudged at all, and you are good and ready to go! In fact, I’m convinced it looks BETTER after a nap.

I wouldn’t full on go into the ocean with this on, but it’s done pretty well in a pool. A little water won’t cause it to smudge.

I enjoy the precision of the application, in that I can put it on as thin as I want or lay it on thick for evenings out with the hubs. It doesn’t create as harsh of a line as liquid liner. It can be applied on the waterline, and usually will stay, but if it doesn’t it will just meander to the lower lash line, which is what we’re going for anyways, right? Then it looks pretty and natural.

Also, a little bit goes a long way! I’ve had this pot since before my wedding, and I would say I am a little less than halfway through…that’s 1.5 years! I’ve probably only had to reapply once or twice, but other than that it looks good from morning to evening.

It comes in tons of fun colors too, like purple, turquoise, etc. =)

Cons: It is a little pricey at $15, not including the brush, which is another $17.50 (you’ll want the MAC 210 Precise Eyeliner Brush). But if it lasts a couple years, it could be worth it right? There are also cheaper drugstore versions which come with a brush like Maybelline’s Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner, which I’ve been curious about but haven’t had a chance to try yet. I’ll let you know when I do how they turn out for me. =)

MAC 210 Precise Eye Liner Brush

There’s also a bit of a learning curve involved. It’ll feel clumsy and may take a little bit of time at first to put on, but once you get used to it it’s just as fast as a pencil liner, and look better! I would suggest trying it out yourself in a MAC store to see how you handle it first, and also so there’s someone there physically to teach you.

It can also be a hassle to wash the brush, if you just don’t have the extra time in the morning. I use Johnson’s baby shampoo to wash my makeup brushes, along with warm water. If you get lazy and let it cake (surely, I’ve never done that!) you lose the precision of the line and then it kind of feathers. It takes more fenagling to get a good line if you don’t wash it. I use make-up remover wipes at night, and so sometimes I’ll just run my brush along a corner of a wipe to clean it off.

The verdict? I am SO all about the MAC Fluidline. I figure, spend $17.50 on the brush up front (and you don’t even need to buy the MAC brush, there are cheaper ones out there at Target and RiteAid!) and pay $15 for a pot that’ll last you two years. It looks fantastic, stays on fantastic, will last through water, heat, and tears, and requires very little, if any, reapplication! And you can play around with different colors, wing out your eyeliner, go for a subtle close-to-the-lash line, go drama fo yo mama, so much you can do with just one pot of liner and a brush! DEFINITELY worth it!