makeup

HOW TO USE A BROW BRUSH

POST & PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY NADINE, GRAPHIC DESIGN BY EUNICE CHUN

We get a lot of emails asking how to use brushes correctly so I hope this helps you out a little! A brow brush is designed to be stiff and angled for a reason. And we use the slanted edge to shade and the tip of the edge to outline. Put those components together and a brow brush is quite frankly a thing of perfection! Here’s how to use it properly: 

CHEAT SHEET:

• Use the slanted edge at a 45-degree angle on its side to shade.
• Use the slanted edge at a 90-degree angle to outline quickly.
• Use the tip of the edge to draw a line or draw individual hairs by flicking it repeatedly upwards.

TOOLS:

• A Slanted-Angled Brow Brush — I used Laura Mercier Brow Defining Brush as it’s the one that beat out the others to make it into my kit.
• A Spooly Brush — Try Dior Backstage Brow Brush.
• Brow Powder — Try Be Pro Brush a Brow Shadow.
• Brow Gel Color — If you want it to stay all day, use this instead of powder. My favorite is Too Faced Bulletproof Brows in Universal Brown (it actually comes with its own dual-ended brow brush).

STEPS:

1. Hold the brush perpendicularly at the inside corner, as demonstrated above, mimicking a brow hair.
2. Now that you have the brush in place, “drag” it so it shades all at one time with the slanted edge. Stop when you reach the peak.
3. Switch to the top edge of the brush (the tip) and place it at the beginning of the top of brow, holding it at the angle above. Draw a line along the top of the brow using the tip of the brush. Stop at the peak.
4. Draw the top outline of the wing using the same tip of the brush by starting at the peak and pulling the tip down and outwards to the end of the wing.
5. Repeat step 3 but this time draw the outline of the bottom of the brow.
6. Repeat step 4 but this time draw the outline of the bottom of the wing.
7. Switch to the spooly brush and pull the brush from the beginning of the brow to the peak.
8. Now from the peak, pull the spooly brush downwards to the end of the wing at the same angle (45 degrees, so it’s not straight down, more down and out).