It’s not just the hair on our head that thins and turns grey as we get older. Our brows also become more sparse with age, and lose their colour too, which leaves a mature face lacking in definition. It’s a problem experienced personally by top celebrity makeup artist Val Garland, who’s just shared her secrets for cheating the look of younger, fuller eyebrows – and, crucially, keeping the illusion in place all day.
Summer is a particularly tough time for brows on an older face, says Val, who’s worked with everyone from Helen Mirren to Kate Moss. Not only do you need to restore their appearance in the first place, you also need to stop your handiwork sliding off in the heat. Luckily for us, she’s just shared her tried and tested tips and products to ensure that brows remain groomed all day long.
‘Eyebrows on a mature person can be difficult,’ says Val in a new Instagram tutorial. ‘What happens? Your eyebrows get thinner, they get lighter. If you’re like me, they turn white. You’re going to want to reintroduce that eyebrow colour. But how do you make it stick in the heat? Everything is very moist and one of the things that can happen is your eyebrows just slide off your face.’
To avoid that issue, her basic rule is to only use water-resistant, long-lasting formulas that are guaranteed to stay in place but also give ‘a really natural look’ – because nobody wants brows that look drawn-on.
To create the basic shape, Val reveals that a fine-tipped brow pen is the easiest way to achieve this. ‘I really like a pen because you can really stroke in fine hair strokes,’ she explains, naming products from Suqqu and Anastasia Beverly Hills as her current favourites.
Step two is to boost the volume in a believable, budge-proof way. To add a little more density and ‘bush out’ her shape, she likes to layer on Benefit Precisely, My Brow Wax, which she praises for its flattering, cool-toned shades and ability to make ‘my very thin brows look a bit thicker’.
To finish, Val recommends taking one final look at your brows straight on in the mirror, before reaching for the pen again to make any necessary refinements.
‘If there are any little gaps in my brows – because there are some bald spots in there as well – I’ll just go back in with my Anastasia Beverly Hills pen and just fill in those gaps,’ she explains.
And that’s her technique for brows ready to withstand the heat. ‘Voila! We’re done for the day,’ she says. ‘I’ve done all the hard work so that you don’t have to. I’ve road-tested these products, and they actually work.’
It’s a simple routine that delivers naturally fuller-looking brows with impressive staying power, whether you’re heading to the office, the gym or a summer evening out.
But don’t completely push your luck. ‘If you jump in the pool you’re on your own!’, she says.
