How to fill in your eyebrows: 6 Beauty Panel members share how they maintain perfect arches

Date April 16, 2015

We’re obsessed with eyebrows. From eyebrow extensions to celebs bleaching theirs to uncovering the best makeup techniques for your brow type, we’ve definitely succumbed to brow-mania. We even spoke to eyebrow queen, Anastasia Soare, about why eyebrows have made such a huge comeback in recent years. So it should come as no surprise that when we reached out to our Beauty Panel about their personal brow grooming techniques and preferences, they were full of opinions (and great tips!). Flip through to get our Beauty Panel’s take on all things eyebrows.

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Jenn Fong
Toronto | A Beautiful Zen

There was a moment during high school when a frenemy told me “You need to do something about those brows.” I was shocked by her assertion; people “did” brows? I then saw that everyone else’s brows seemed less hairy and less caterpillar-y than my own. Something that had never even occurred to me to do suddenly made me feel self-conscious. But being late to the brow game meant I didn’t succumb to over-tweezing. Now approaching my 30s, I’ve been able to hold onto a thick, but well groomed, line of brow hairs.

I’ve been using the Make Up For Ever Eye Brow Pencil from the very beginning. Two years in and I’m literally using the same pencil everyday. I still haven’t figured out what magical fairy regrows my pencil overnight.

Since my natural brows are still present, brow prep is easy. I lightly outline the bottom of my brows and brush the color upwards. This gives them more definition without making them look stencilled in. Regardless of the rest of my makeup or mood, this has always worked for me and I’ve never had to do more. Thank god for thick brows!

Products used: Make Up For Ever Eyebrow Pencil #4

Shayna Wiwierski
Winnipeg | A Pop of Colour

I’ve always had naturally thick brows. I remember the first time I ever got them waxed, I was probably around 13 or 14 and had to get some shape to them as they were too bushy and slowly growing into one caterpillar on my face.

Now, after years and years of waxing, plucking, sugaring and the occasional threading, I have my eyebrow shape down pat. I can totally go a day au natural, but I do enjoy filling them in and keeping the hair in place. Most days I use a powder shadow with an angled liner brush, making sure to comb them first. Then, I fill in the tops and the lengthen the tail of my left brow since the hair has gotten rather sparse in that one area. After, I go in with a highlighter pencil to clean up the brow bone, then set those hairs with a gel, so none of the hair droop down and look sad.

My brow routine generally stays the same. If I’m going out I’ll swap out the powder for a cream shadow (from the same palette), or if I’m feeling really lazy, I’ll grab a brow pencil.

Products used: Sleek Brow in “Dark”, Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil, and Sonia Kashuk Clear Brow Gel.

Colleen Conroy
Montreal | Blush Rouge

When someone talks about highlighting a single feature with their makeup, people often go straight for the lips or the eyes. However, concentrating on a feature such as your brows can be a great way to mix it up. Eyebrows frame the face, and can instantly change your look depending on the shape, colour, and intensity. All of my fellow blonde ladies out there can probably agree with me when I say the blonde brow struggle is real. It’s a fun adventure trying out the many different ways to create full, natural looking eyebrows out of my blonde (and dare I say, sparse) ones.

The moment I discovered the brow products from Anastasia Beverly Hills, it felt like a dream come true. I now use the Brow Wiz pencil all the time. The texture is wonderful, and I especially love how tiny and precise the size of the stick is. The trick with filling in your brows is to mimic your natural brow hair. Having a very small diameter pencil can allow you to do this without the brows getting to wide, or soft around the edges. Sometimes I like to get a little fancy and overlay the Brow Wiz pencil with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade. I find it makes everything look extra polished for when I do something like a smoky eye.

For those who have come across a time in your life where your brows may have gotten a little less full (over-tweezing, waxing accident, etc.) or they are just naturally that way (like my own), try massaging a little bit of castor oil into your brows before going to bed. This vegetable oil, derived from plants found mainly in Africa and India, has amazing properties that promote hair growth and also helps to strengthen your existing hair, which in turn prevents them from breaking (works for eyelashes too!). Once your eyebrows have grown in (give yourself about a month) you can then shape them into nice, full, natural brows.

I heard a great quote not long ago from one of my volunteer coworkers: “When it comes to brows, they are sisters, not twins.” Don’t get overwhelmed trying to make your eyebrows look identical because they just aren’t. And that’s natural! I’m all for embracing those natural brows and only delicately enhancing them for your day-to-day look (#FreeTheBrow).

Products used: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in ‘Taupe’, Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in ‘Medium Brown’, MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in ‘NC20’, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in ‘Medium’, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in ‘Give Me Sun’, MAC Sheertone Blush in ‘Springsheen’, MAC Chromaline in ‘Black Black’, L’Oréal Double Extend Mascara in ‘Blackest Black’

Maggie Ng
Toronto | Beauty PhD

Eyebrows are always such a personal thing, with personal preferences. Because I’m a makeup artist, I’ve noticed many of my clients from different cultures prefer differently shaped brows. I know Asians tend to like straighter brows, as they think it looks softer.

Personally I like my brows to have a bit of an arch. I had them quickly shaped once when I was 16 years old by a makeup artist. And since then, I’ve just groomed them myself by following that same shape. Never waxed, except once by an esthetician, which wasn’t very accurate. I still had to fix them a bit myself after. So I always tweeze for best results. My brow hairs don’t tend to grow very long, so not much need to trim them.

For the last couple of years, I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve been super lazy and have not touched my brows at all! However, they more or less have maintained their shape over the years, with the odd stray hairs on my brow bone. Typically, I used to use an angle brush and some medium brown eyeshadow to fill them in. But lately I’ve been using an eyebrow pencil with a small comb on the other end to soften the edges a bit, and I find that works great and is super quick!

Products Used : Annabelle Eyebrow Pencil in Taupe, Maybelline New York Dream Fresh BB 8-in-1 Beauty Balm SPF 30 in Light/Medium Sheer Tint, Ilia Beauty Powder in Fade Into You [Courtesy of Clementine Fields], Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler, Annabelle Stay Sharp Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Go Black, Annabelle BigShow Waterproof Mascara Hydrofuge in Black, Annabelle Biggy Bronzer in Matte, Annabelle Blush in Hibiscus, Annabelle Lipsies Lip Balm in Cherry, Annabelle Stay Sharp Waterproof Lip Liner in Glam Red.

Brittany Messner
Calgary | Life, Set Sail

This year I finally figured out what actually works for my brows. After years of using harsh pencils, I have fully converted to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade. The formula is smooth and water-resistant which means that it glides on perfectly and lasts all day. Quick tip, if you feel like your product is getting a bit dry you can dampen your brush first!

First, I brush through my brows with a disposable mascara wand and then apply the Dipbrow with a stiff angled brush. It literally lakes me two minutes to fill in and define my brows, which is quite surprising because it used to be the longest part of my makeup routine. When I feel like I’m almost satisfied with the look, I comb through the hairs once more with the mascara wand and then fill in any little spots I may have missed.

To finish off my brows and really make them “stay”, I apply a light coat of ABH’s Clear Brow Gel. Voilá, done!

Ellie Somfelean
Montreal | My Beauty Box

Ever since brows made a comeback I have stopped excessively tweezing mine, I have learned to embrace my natural shape and only pluck stray hairs and trim longer ones into a cleaner shape.

I use products to fill them in, play with the shape and colour depending on the makeup look I am wearing. On a day-to-day basis I love Anastasia’s Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde, an ashy cream product that helps colour in sparse spots as well as build texture, giving me a natural look. For days when I want to be bolder I love Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Brow in 25, a waterproof cream that helps me get those perfect sharp edges and definition.

I always apply the products with an angled brush, as this helps me control the amount of colour I deposit and the bristles draw little hairs on with each stroke. I always start application in the middle of the brow and work my way in, this way I make sure I get a minimal amount of product in the inner corners and don’t end up with angry brows. I use a light shadow or concealer to clean up the edges and if I find I was too heavy handed with my brow product I will take a cotton swab and run it over to remove excess product and then take my foundation brush and stamp over to help tone out the colour. I always finish by running a clean spoolie through my brows combing the hair up, I find doing this helps lift my face and gives me a more polished look.

Products used: Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde, Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow in 25, Ecotools Angled Brush, spoolie