Early Joan Crawford
The shape of eyebrows help define fashion influences just as much as the designers themselves. It is always amusing to me to watch a period movie filmed during the 30′s and note the very thin eyebrows that circled down around the eyes. To achieve this look, eyebrows were plucked into a thin line and then lengthened with pencils.
The Glamorous Elizabeth Taylor
During the Dior years, strong, glamorous, arching eyebrows balanced the New Look. Eyebrows were heavily penciled to achieve the look.
Brooke Shields and Her Calvin Klein Jeans
I came of age when “natural” brows were in due to the influence of Brooke Shields. But I always wanted the glamorous eyebrows of the 1950′s. Alas, being blonde, my eyebrows would visually disappear without the assistance of pencils–which always made my brows look fake. Added to my eyebrow angst was the fact that I’ve worn glasses (and am not a good candidate for contacts or laser surgery) since junior high. The frames often hid my eyebrows.
For the better part of my adulthood, I have relied on my own plucking prowess to tame my brows. But I was never satisfied. Even with using a stencil. A few times I resorted to waxing (and even had them threaded, once) but my work schedule made it hard to stick to the routine (especially because of the bright pink eye halos that lasted several hours).
Dr. J. shows off her eyebrows
Well, this morning I woke up and decided that enough was enough. If I wasn’t going to keep up my eyebrows the old-fashioned way, then I was going to have to commit to creating glamorous eyebrows the new-fashioned way: waxing. I ran some errands and then stopped at the salon on my way home. Five minutes later, I had beautiful and glamorous eyebrows. Sure I like living like my grandmother in this modern world. But sometimes, a girl has to be grateful for modern services.
I’ve never done my eyebrows, but yours look great, Julie-Ann! It was fun to read about the trends in recent decades. Thank you!
I happened upon your site tonight and love your blog. In the 3 posts I read you talked about Sidetracked Home Executives (I am trying to institute their system), Carrot Raisin Coleslaw (awesome recipe) and eyebrow waxing. It was the eyebrow waxing that caused me to respond…
I am 37 years old and have been getting my eyebrows waxed every 2 weeks for almost 10 years (I come from a slightly hairy family). Over the years it has been the one beauty ritual that I have never lapsed on. I look forward to the procedure and I find it the most relaxing 5 minutes of my day. For that small window of time I am not responsible to anyone else and for $8 + tip I have someone make my face look fresher and younger than any makeup on the market.
Welcome, Shannon, to our little community!
Do you get the red halo around your eyebrows from the waxing? No matter where I go, I get terrible redness–because of my sensitive skin– that can’t be covered up with make-up. It lasts for hours which is the main reason I didn’t keep it up.
What if you requested the last appointment of the day and scheduled it on a day when you planned to spend your evening at home with just your sweetie? Wouldn’t the redness be gone by the next morning so you could then go out without feeling self-conscious?