Benefit BROWzings

I use Benefit BROWzings in dark every day to define my eyebrows. Well, I say define, in my case I have to draw on my eyebrows as there is practically no natural eyebrow. They are very fair, but there is not much point in dying them as they are also really sparse and fine. 

The only good thing about having my eyebrows is that I can change them to suit the rest of my make-up, my hairstyle and my whole outfit or look as I see fit. 

I tend to have thin eyebrows when I want to look really polished and put-together, such as a posh dinner out with the boyfriend or when I have a meeting at work. 

I do thick, lighter coloured brows when I am more barefaced and natural at weekends.

I do thicker and darker eyebrows when I am wearing false eyelashes for a night out and when I'm wanting to achieve more of a masculine look, i.e. with a buttoned up blouse and jumper.

I do my eyebrows after applying foundation/BB cream, concealer and translucent powder, as it gives the product something to stick to. I also use tweezerman tweezers (not the little useless ones in the BROWzings kit) to neaten any stray hairs beforehand. 

For thick brows, I use the hard angled brush to apply the pigmented wax in an upward direction, starting from the middle. I continue to apply it in this way, frequently reloading the brush, for two thirds of the brow before turning the brush and gliding the wax down to a neat point. I then repeat the process on the other brow. When they are both done I check they are symmetrical, fixing with cotton buds and reapplying where necessary. I leave them like this if I want a lighter colour, but if I want it darker I apply the powder with the blending brush in dabbing motions. The powder also makes it last longer.

For thinner brows, I apply the pigmented wax with the hard angled brush in short strokes along the eyebrow following the direction of the hair, often using the brush to 'tuck in' hairs that are sticking out of line. Thin brows are a lot quicker to do, so I often do this look for work, plus it looks like it is more high maintenance.

Fabienne x

I turn to you

Here are five of my fashion and beauty heroines.

I love Holly Willoughby for how she dresses her size 12 figure, I turn to her when I feel chubs and self-conscious. Think big hair, thick falselashes, minimal accessories and a pencil dress. An Easy, simple and sexy going out outfit. However, I like Fearne Cotton for the opposite. She takes lots of risks, wearing frumpy vintage blouses and lots of bright separates- something I struggle to find the confidence to do most days. I turn to her for work wear, where I like to look chic and professional and slightly boyish. So, think 7/8 trousers in prints, buttoned up cardigans, shirts and vintage blouses and nude court shoes and eyeliner flicks to keep it young.

Carine Restoin Roitfeld is simply fabulous. I love her for her flat-out glam goth looks and layering up lots of black in different textures. I turned to her when deciding how to dye my hair. I got a deep mahogany at the roots and a red brown at the mid lengths. I already had ombréd hair, but adding a red element made it look much more luxurious, warmed up my complexion and it shows off my hazel eyes.

Kate Moss needs no explanation.

Kate middleton, however, has become a bit of a cliché. I, like everyone else, love her for her impossibly groomed hair. I also turn to her for eyebrow inspiration, believe it or not. Despite being dark haired I have quite fair and sparse eyebrows, so fill them in (in a different shape each day- but mostly in 'the Kate'). I will post a eyebrow specific post in due course.

Fabienne x