Hold onto your hats--the brow is back.

Much to my chagrin, my mother received her beauty training in an era during which Elizabeth Taylor’s prominent thick black brow was en vogue.  My mom then raised daughters overlapping the years that Brooke Shields was peddling Calvins, in all her baby faced bushy brow splendor.  As a result, my mom would not allow us to pluck our brows.  She did, on occasion hand us a brow brush and tell us to brush all we wanted.  Gee, thanks, mom.  And you wonder why I didn’t have a date to prom.

For my sisters, this was not a big deal; they were blond and had light brows that were naturally shaped and manageable.  I, on the other hand, must come from a lineage that is part Greek, part chimpanzee and part Unibrowzonian.  Yes, I had a unibrow and I wore it, not so well.

In fact, I had the monster monobrow until, at the tender and sensitive age of seventeen, a very snooty lady, behind the Chanel counter at my local department store, did what only could be referred to as a “unibrow intervention”, by refusing to give me the free makeover until I returned with plucked brows.  Taking matters into my own inexperienced hands, the result was disastrous.  Alas, I did return to receive my free makeover from Chanel, where the same snooty makeup lady sighed loudly at my butchered brow and handed me the card of a reputable salon that offered waxing services.  I’ve had my brows professionally shaped every month of my life since.

So perhaps you can imagine my surprise when I noticed recently that thick, unruly eyebrows are back in style.  They are showing up on runways, print ads, movies and television.  Who do you suppose are the modern day icons that we have to thank for the new swing back to the heavy brow?  My money is on the Kardashians of reality TV fame.  Those gorgeous girls aren’t just known for their ample derrieres.  Their lush, dark brows kind of balance out the junk in the–er, the brow balances the back, wouldn’t you say?

What’s my opinion on this trend back to thicker brows?  Well, thank you for asking.  I say, like almost anything in beauty or style, you should choose an eyebrow look that works for you and your face regardless of the current trend.  Just because an eyebrow trend looks good on a fifteen year old bushy browed, six foot tall, newbie Calvin Klein model strutting the runway at Fashion Week in New York or on a Lycra clad Kardashian, doesn’t mean it will look great on everyone. The best rule of thumb is to choose a look that is flattering for you–one that is timeless rather than trendy.

The moral of the story for me: my brow lady’s phone number stays safely in speed dial.  For fun, here’s an interesting historical retrospective of the eyebrow trends.

Photo Courtesy of The New York Times

Melissa Sebastien

www.allingoodface.com