Vintage eyebrow shapes

[MissQueenie]

I can't stand the look of over-plucked brows on most modern women and sadly don't keep mine up to vintage standards. Brows alter the character and disposition of a face so much that I feel it is always best to let the features and bone structure dictate thickness and shape. I have mine shaped to what is best for my face and I leave it alone. I believe it is possible to cover the brows with a kind of wax and draw them on thinner to achieve a period look without plucking.

 

[Caledonia]

Agree with you MissQueenie. I will sacrifice the vintage eyebrow everytime for the one that suits me best. There's a ton else you can do to get the vintage made up look, but leave my eyebrows out of it.

 

[Paul]

I believe it is possible to cover the brows with a kind of wax and draw them on thinner to achieve a period look without plucking.

Thank you both for your advice I will have to looking to wax cover up. I have had my bows plucked last week by a beautician tied up, made into a slightly more feminine shape but could not see myself going to the full extent of a ladies vintage shape..and you do not also (vintage shape that is) so that good thanks
Paul

 

[mysterygal]

hopefully I get this right! I believe it was the 30's (or was it the 20's) that ladies would actually shave their eyebrows then stencil them on. Later, fuller eyebrows became more acceptable.
Very few women look good with over-plucked eyebrows. They have a natural shape for a reason! I have over-plucked until I got in big trouble by MK but..glad I did since I really look so much better now! This is a bit off topic...but there's great eye brow stencil's out there as well, MK actually gave me this product: form a Brow by Senna...looks great...when he does it! I'm still practing though

 

[Naama]

I shape my eyebrows just the way they used to it in the 30's, high arched and thin. But I would never shave them! I think it looks good on me and nobody ever said anything else.... Not even my sister, who is really.... well, if she sees something she doesn't like she has really no problems to tell me I don't like most overplucked eyebrows on modern women as well.... Mostly, it looks quite cheap and stupid, but they just don't plug them right I guess [huh] ?

Naama

 

[Marc Chevalier]

What's weird is seeing old women who, decade after decade, plucked their eyebrows to oblivion -- and now their eyebrow hair doesn't grow back at all! It's totally bald up there! That's just plain creepy.


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[Caledonia]

hopefully I get this right! I believe it was the 30's (or was it the 20's) that ladies would actually shave their eyebrows then stencil them on. Later, fuller eyebrows became more acceptable.
Very few women look good with over-plucked eyebrows. They have a natural shape for a reason! I have over-plucked until I got in big trouble by MK but..glad I did since I really look so much better now! This is a bit off topic...but there's great eye brow stencil's out there as well, MK actually gave me this product: form a Brow by Senna...looks great...when he does it! I'm still practing though

20s and 30s both I believe.

 

[RetroModelSari]

I keep my eye-brows in a rather natural form. I just shape them very little. It looks good and I think it matches my 40s/50s style the best.

I find shaved or over plucked eye-brows rather scary. The fewest people look good with them. In a Make up book by Kevyn Aucoin (I can really, really recommend the books cause they have great tipps also on how to get a vintage look) it says you can cover your eye-brows with a sealing wax, put make up or camouflage on them and than just can paint high arched eye-brows where you want them to be. So better test that before removing them and see if that fits to you.

 

[mysterygal]

What's weird is seeing old women who, decade after decade, plucked their eyebrows to oblivion -- and now their eyebrow hair doesn't grow back at all! It's totally bald up there! That's just plain creepy.


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You know, even though having no eyebrows whatsoever is not exactly great...old women hide the fact not too subtly , by over applying brow shaper and a lot of times I see older women wearing a brow color that does not compliment their skin type at all...which makes it look horrid. If done right they can still look great.

 

[Paul]

Shaved eyebrows

I can remember a few years ago seeing a shop assistant in a shoe shop with shaved eyebrows about 17 or 18 years old. It looked a little odd to me been so young but who am I to criticise here,
If that the look she liked then fine with me! That's the problem for me with fashion their is never one definitive answer

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I wear my brows in a 1940s shape. It suits me well and is a very flattering look (I'm lucky though--my brows are very light blonde, so I can pencil them in in any shape I like ). I'm not into 1930s clothing as much, so I've not ever styled my brows in that fashion. I do know people who do though, and if you have the right features the look can suit you just fine.
In my opinion, there are two things that define each time period: the shape of the brow, and the shape of the mouth. So, if you want to really get the look right, you need to have these two features done right. You don't have to be as severe as done then, but it helps to get the general feel correct. When I watch a period movie though, it makes a huge difference if the makeup artist goes 100 percent authentic.

Also, even if you are sticking with a natural brow look, I think it very important to pluck and shape your brows. Bushy eyebrows are not usually becoming, and if you have dark brows they can be a huge distraction. A little shaping can really open up your eye, regardless of the look you want to achieve. As a side note, Jean Harlow's eyebrows were drawn on very thin and high because her deep-set features were very hard tro film with the lighting avaialbe then, and the makeup artists were trying to open up her eyes as much as possible.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I can remember a few years ago seeing a shop assistant in a shoe shop with shaved eyebrows ...

Welcome back, Paul! How are you?





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[Rosie]

My brows are shaped to flatter my face. I tried the 40's style of plucking but, I looked kind of mean, not myself. Regardless of what period you are into, you have to wear what looks good on you.

 

[maisie]

Also, even if you are sticking with a natural brow look, I think it very important to pluck and shape your brows. Bushy eyebrows are not usually becoming, and if you have dark brows they can be a huge distraction. A little shaping can really open up your eye, regardless of the look you want to achieve. As a side note, Jean Harlow's eyebrows were drawn on very thin and high because her deep-set features were very hard tro film with the lighting avaialbe then, and the makeup artists were trying to open up her eyes as much as possible.

I know what you mean if you are talking to someone who has really bushy(mono-brow/uni-brow!!) eyebrows it is a distration as you will start to stare at them! Not in a horrible way but shaped eyebrows ALWAYS look better, especially if the are very dark. But then the other extreme is over plucking which looks just as bad!

I have dark eyebrows and keep them in a shape that suits my face, I don't really wear 30's clothing so the more natural look of the 40's is great!

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'm another with naturally thick and heavy brows, and I strugged with them for years -- had to pluck and wax constantly to keep them under control. Finally I gave up and had them thinned by electrolysis -- not to a severe, stylized shape, but to where I could live with them without looking like the unholy offspring of Joan Crawford and John L. Lewis.

I still have to pluck to maintain a specific shape, and tend to go for a fairly thin but not too-thin shape, sort of a late thirties look. Between my glasses and my high forehead, thick heavy brows are just too much, so thinning them out helps put my face into a fairly reasonable proportion.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... like the unholy offspring of Joan Crawford and John L. Lewis.

lol lol :eusa_clap


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[Rosie]

Marc I just noticed your signature. lol You are too funny for words.

 

[artdecodame]

I shape my eyebrows just the way they used to it in the 30's, high arched and thin. But I would never shave them!...

Me, too! I've found it's really one of the few shapes that look good on me (maybe also along with the 20's, Clara Bow type, too), but the whole shaving thing is quite freaky! I couldn't bring myself to do that. I think it was Lucille Ball who did that in the 30's for a role and they never grew back.

 

[Paul]

interesting reading

I did think over night that the average person in the street would not be able to tell the difference between a 30's of 40, eyebrow shape any how, so doing what suits you the best it a good way to go for any one.

 

[Naama]

I did think over night that the average person in the street would not be able to tell the difference between a 30's of 40, eyebrow shape any how, so doing what suits you the best it a good way to go for any one.

lol
Well, yes, but most people also can't tell the difference between a 20's and a 40's dress (to name the extreme). But sure, if you look like a fool with a whatever-shaped eyebrow, please DON'T do it!

And, just for the record, I (and I'm sure artdecodame as well) don't look scary!


Naama