Brows That Wow

If you’re like 99.9 percent of women, there’s been a time when you’ve looked in the mirror and wished that your (fill in the blank) was a little smoother or your (fill in the blank) looked just a tad smaller. Maybe you’ve even considered going under the knife. But why nip and tuck when you can trim and pluck? The right eyebrow shape can transform your face dramatically. Brow maestro Robert Gabriel, owner of Gabriel’s Brow Boutique in New York City, shows four women how it’s done.

- Brian Underwood

ELEVATE DROOPY EYELIDS

“Most days I’m up at 3 a.m. to go to work,” says Juliette Branker, a nursery specialist for Lowe’s. This early-bird schedule—and natural aging—may have left her eyes a little saggy. Defined brows can make a huge difference.

THE ISSUE: The position of Branker’s brows—just below the orbital bone and sloping southward— wasn’t doing her lids any favors. “This really brought down her entire eye area and demeanor,” Gabriel says. An uneven shape (very thick at the beginning, thin toward the ends) only exacerbated this effect. “We needed to get everything moving in an upward direction,” Gabriel adds.

THE UPDATE: First, Gabriel tinted the tiny, nearly invisible hairs around Branker’s brows (he had to isolate and trim a few stubborn grays that resisted the dye). He then waxed to remove some of the hairs along the bottom of her brows, creating a more sloped arch and lifting the tails (the ends of the brows, near the outer corners of the eyes). “This defined and opened up Juliette’s eye area to give her a fresher look,” he says. Because Branker’s hairs naturally grow in a downward direction, Gabriel also filled in the bottoms with a pencil, brushed up with a spoolie, and applied some clear brow gel. “This lifted the hairs and held them in place,” he says. The verdict: “I love my brows! It was wonderful to have them done professionally,” Branker says. “Now let’s party!”