I Don’t Have ‘Eyebrow Blindness,’ I Just Want To Look Like That

via pexels

“Remembering my severe eyebrow blindness,” reads the TikTok caption while Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ plays wistfully in the background.

Cue hundreds (thousands?!) of images of girls in the early 2010s, hair secured in the messiest of buns, pouting for the camera, with some seriously thick, pencilled brows.

Such is the internet’s latest beauty trend, a means of looking back at makeup fads and guffawing. “I can’t believe I used to look like that!” “What was I thinking?!”

Well, you were thinking that you better fill in your brows an extreme amount because that’s what was ‘in’ at that time. And you looked great, honestly, I think.

@joannawindrammua Eyebrow blindness was real #eyebrowblindness #overpluckedeyebrows #fluffybrows #2016brows #oldschoolmakeup ♬ Gnarls Barkley Crazy Stephen Kramer Glickman – Gustavo Rocque

My eyebrows are my defining facial feature. Nestled below my fringe and above my glasses (likely place for them to be), they do a great job of framing my face.

I like to think of them as an accessory, or one of many. Men get beards and moustaches to add a little somethin’, I get a full fringe, glasses, and a nose ring. And some meticulously presented eyebrows.

Since the tender age of 20, I’ve been filling those bad boys in. That’s a decade of gels, pencils, and pens. 10 years of tips, brushes, and spoolies.

I love them thick and I love them big. They’re the only thing I don’t feel right without. Catch me doing a day of back to back meetings in nothing but primer, but I’ll need my brows filled in or else I ain’t going.

@jessmclements Please tell me I don’t have brow blindness, I’m begging you!! 🫠#eyebrows ♬ original sound – Jessica Clements🍊

A few months back, an MUA told me that most people use too much product when filling in their brows. “You should be following the shape of the hair,” she said, while applying the tiniest whisp of pencil. It was barely noticeable. I was horrified.

Over the years I have definitely changed my makeup. Like most people, it’s less heavy, more dewy, and doesn’t rely solely on all-night foundation. I’m big into blush now, I love colour mascaras, I stopped trying to hide the textures on my skin and let them become part of my look.

But my brows have stayed (largely) the same. They’re striking and defined. They’re big. They definitely scream pre-pandemic but hey, that’s how I like it.

Beauty trends come and go, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t keep ahold of the ones that you really like.

And if that means I’ve got eyebrow blindness, then cool. I’m happy to be beauty impaired.

• Beauty
• Eyebrow