There’s so much pressure these days to have the perfect eyebrows. They’ve got to be thick but not too thick, arched but not too arched, and so on and so on… At the end of the day, it’s only up to you to decide what eyebrow styles and products you like. That said, there are countless brow gels, powders, pomades, and waxes out there, all in varying colors and shades. It’s hard to know where to begin sometimes.
While no one other than you can ultimately determine what your brows should look like, we can make it easier to sort through all of those options with the help of a few professional brow experts. All you’ve got to do is pay close attention to a few of your physical features and be prepared for a little trial and error. Here’s how to find the best eyebrow color for you.
Take stock of your hair color and skin tone
Although dark, bold eyebrows have definitely been highly coveted in recent years, New York city brow artist Azi Sacks maintains that eyebrows are never a one-size-fits-all (or one-color-fits-all) situation. New York City makeup artist Delina Medhin agrees: “Brows are so personal.” That said, it’s important to consider your unique hair color and skin tone before picking your brow makeup.
When picking an eyebrow color for her clients, Medhin first looks at their hair and skin color. Fellow makeup artist Tommy, also based in New York City, concurs. “I look to the root color of my talent’s hair.”
This seems like a pretty obvious tip, we know. If you have light skin and hair, for example, you might feel overwhelmed by a pitch-black brow pomade. Or if you have a deep skin tone, a light-colored powder probably won’t appear at all. But it’s a little more complicated than simply having brown hair and picking whatever brown eyebrow makeup is around. Thinking critically about the depth and undertone of a clients’ skin and hair, Medhin explains, helps her determine how light, dark, cool, or warm their eyebrow makeup should be (more on that in a second).
Observing the texture of your hair can also help you determine how light or dark your brow color should be, Sacks says. “This helps me gauge how intense or soft to go,” she explains. For example, those with naturally dark and dense hair will likely be a better fit for equally dark and dense eyebrows. Folks with lighter or finer hair, on the other hand, might feel a “rich, dense” brow in a lighter tone look m.