Backstage Dior. Spring/Summer 2008.

beauty
5/15/2008

Bigger is Better.


by Ginni Bogado


This season saw one major beauty trend taking over the runways. The eyebrow is back. Gone are over-plucked arches, replaced instead by a more prominent, fuller brow. Its time to banish the tweezers and embrace what comes naturally. Its a case of 'more is more', bigger is better and all that. Think Madonna circa '85 and your halfway there. The brow of today is slightly more groomed, but full, all the same. In a world where 'thin is in' its the bigger brows that really score the fashion points.

Make no mistake, eyebrows are huge again this season. From the catwalk (Dior being particularly impressive) to the street, just as coffee and nail bar culture took over our high streets not so many summers ago, so too are ‘brow bars’.
There’s now no excuse for an over-plucked or badly shaped brow, what with ‘Blink’ in Fenwicks and Selfridges, ‘Shavata’ at Harrods or ‘Benito Brows’ in Manchester and Newcastle. Walk in and get threaded in a matter of minutes - no appointment necessary. The process is quick, relatively painless and having a well-shaped brow can work magic, making your eyes look bigger and brighter and even making your face appear thinner.

Pat McGrath worked heavy eyebrows for Dior’s catwalk show this season with a fantastical 20s look that took inspiration from screen legends those Hepburn, Monroe to Dietrich? There’s something cabaret about these heavy ‘brows and it goes without saying they’ve always been an important (but not entirely hassle free) part of the drag scene. London drag personality and DJ ‘Tasty Tim’ who tired of continually drawing on ‘impact brows’ reverted to making stick-on ones. And it was those exaggerated black stick-on brows that made the boldest impact on the Dior catwalk. 


Never fear - if stick-on brows are a bit too drastic to make a statement, there’s plenty you can do with what nature gave you without appearing in a constant state of surprise. Dior do a great brow pencil and for a bit of subtle definition, try the Laura Mercier brow brush, setting it off with the Dior brow gel to tame those unruly hairs.

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