The evolution of the brow
If you’ve watched the Pamela Anderson Netflix documentary, Pamela, A Love Story, you probably have a lot of thoughts.
But, putting all that aside, it’s hard to unsee those skinny brows that were such a key look in the 90s - plucked pencil lines that were all the rage with the likes of Gwen Stefani, Naomi Campbell, and Angelina Jolie.
For some, those brows never had a chance to grow back into the healthy full specimens that are the essence of brow perfection now.
It’s hard, even, to imagine ever being so tweezer happy in the first place – but the evolution of the brow from skinny to full and natural (and back again) is as interesting and varied as the changing trends in body shape and skirt length.
It all started in ancient Egypt, both men and women wearing heavy eyeliner and elongated brows, in homage to the god Horus.
The unibrow was all the rage in ancient Greece – indicating intelligence. And while married women would go au naturale, all the single ladies would use incense to darken their brows in the hopes of nabbing a man.
In the middle ages, the forehead was basically the midriff or the sexy back of the day, and women would shave their brows to accentuate their beauty – a la Queen Elizabeth I.
The 18th century saw brightly roughed cheeks and dark brows come to the fore until the buttoned-up Victorian era, when a low-key beauty regime and natural brows came back into vogue as a sign of virtue.
Fast forward to the 1920s, and early movie stars like Clara Blow popularized the thin, pencil-straight brow (sometimes smeared in place with petroleum j
That shape developed a high arch in the 1930s – hello Jean Harlow – making women look perpetually surprised to see yo
Then we were back to thick and natural in the 1940s and 1950s, thanks to stars like Lauren Bacall and, later, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, before we picked up the tweezers again in the 1990s.
Since then, we’ve had badazzling, microblading, bleaching, and laminating. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that there’s nothing new under the sun – and that anything goes, as long as YOU feel good about yourself. Whatever you do with your brows, friend, is alright by us.
AMAZING BROW KIT
This exclusive kit includes brow powder, an angled brow brush and brow gel to raise your brow game. Tame wild brows, fill in the gaps, and leave the house with a professional-looking brow game every single day. Available in four natural shades.
$39
BROW POMADE
Apply with a brush, to create clean, precise lines that won’t fade, or use an eyeliner brush for strokes that mimic hair. A staple in make-up artist kits, once you’ve discovered the impact your brows can make to your face, there’s no going back. Some people have described brow shaping as like an instant facelift.
$30
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