How do I fill in my eyebrows without looking like Groucho Marx?

[TychosNose]

I have mid to dark brown hair but my eyebrows are black and a bit patchy. They always look a mess and countless threads on here have told me that the key to looking groomed is to sort out your eyebrows.

I bought a little kit and filled in the gaps but my lovely dd told me I looked angry!

What do I do? The problem is, if I fill them in with brown they just look weird and wrong and if I fill them in with black they look too dark. But the natural colour of the hair is black. So what am I supposed to do?

Please help me out of this deep dark pit of despair!

I would go to a brow bar and have them professionally threaded and tinted. The results will be far better than you could achieve at home and will last 3 weeks or so

Thanks but how would tinting help? Doesn't tinting just dye the hair? The hair is already black. It's the little bald patches that are the problem.

Use as light a colour as possible. If you use a brown it has to have no red in it whatsoever. The bobbi brown mua used a mushroom taupe on my almost black/brown eyebrows and even that looked dark.

Ok. Thanks. Maybe I need to find yet another eyebrow palette with a greyer brown.

Go lighter with the colour, don't try to match your brow hair colour. The idea isn't to have a solid colour brow, but to fill the gaps with an illusion of darkness.

Have a look at the eyeshadows you already own, try to find one thats sort of a greyish brown, cool toned not warm. Avoid any that have red, yellow or orange tones.

Fill in the gaps with light strokes, not solid blocks of colour. Try to avoid adding extra shading to the inner half of the brow if it doesn't really need it - that might make you look angry. Often it's the arch and tail of the brow that needs the help, and the side nearest the nose naturally has the most hair.

Thanks zachary I'll give that a go.

Tychos... I always go for the medium shade kit rather than dark (my eyebrows are black and patchy too but my hair is lighter). Benefit do a great kit. I use the gel/paste part sparingly, just a few light strokes to fill in gaps and hold hairs in place. Then I brush quite a bit of the powder on top, this is softer but still defines and hides gaps. Maybe you only need the powder if your brows are a good shape? Some women swear by brushing on a bit of brown powder eyeshadow instead of using a kit.

Benefit also does a brow gel that comes in what looks like a mascara bottle with a wand. It's more subtle and very easy to apply, less messy for travelling too.

I'd definitely get your brows threaded or professionally shaped if you still find them tricky. Tinting is pointless unless you want them darker.

Definitely go lighter with your brow product. I have black brows, too, and I use the suqqu brow powder kit that has (weird, I know) a khaki colour in the middle that looks really natural. A cheaper option is the YBF eyebrow pencil from QVC which is excellent. It only comes in one colour - a sort of taupe, whose darkness changes with the pressure applied. Have used this with great effect, too. And set them with clear brow gel afterwards. MAC do a great one but there are drug store options that are just as effective.

I use the lightest Browns in this collection from Superdrug. They're matte too. Use a hard stubby chisel shaped brush too.

It's an eyeshadow collection, costs £4 :)

I agree with sukie272

I use this, which I bought after having my brows tinted recently. It really is foolproof and makes my brows look more polished. I'm hoping to save the proper salon tinting for holidays or nights out etc

brow tint

Thank you for all the tips. I'll have a try with the eye shadows I've got first.
Those Browns in the Mua set look a bit too brown for me on the screen. I have very cool colouring.

I like the idea of the benefit wand thing. Maybe the woman on the counter could help me with the shade.

I'm always scared because they tend to look very made up, which is great for their profession, but I'm a sahm so I'd look a bit ott fully made up at playgroup.

Sorry, I meant to say I use the one on the top right - the really light one.

Also, something like Rapid Brow could help? I've been using it about 3 months now and my brows are definitely filling in.

m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?path=/en/RapidBrow-Eyebrow-Enhancing-Serum_1252036/&unCountry=uk

Thanks pica I think I do have an eyeshadow that colour. I wouldn't think to try something that light so that must be where I'm going wrong.

I like the sound of the rapid lash, and from the reviews it does sound like it could be the solution, but £37 might be a bit much at the mo. Could ask for it for my birthday from dh but he might have a heart attack.

It isn't cheap but it lasts about 6-8 weeks so is worth it I think