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As previously touched on in an earlier article, the importance of well-groomed brows is imperative. A good brow should create the frame work to add structure to the face. One thing I have always disliked (dislike being the mildest word I can use) is heavily drawn on brows and the infamous caterpillar brow. With the correct products and guidance, you could easily get enviable brows. It’s nigh on impossible to think of eyebrow shaping/grooming without thinking first of HD brows. A company so well established, it tirelessly trains its staff to give the best possible service and the best advice and expertise, to pass onto its customers.
From the age of 15 I have always made sure I take extra care of my brows and the general up keep of them. I guess you could say I was lucky in the fact I inherited thick dark brows, with a natural arch. Models reign supreme on the catwalk such as Cara DeLevigne, their brows being the major talking point and general iconography of their look. With their brows quite literally setting them apart from other models, it’s easy to see how a strong brow can really maximise impact. The influence of such models led to one of the biggest beauty trends of AW13 introducing the fuller brow.
Highly skilled specialists within the HD brows team offer a truly unique service, in the sense that they treat each client on a one to one basis. The beauty of this being that they take into account your face shape and colouring to create a truly bespoke brow. Each consultation is specific to that individual customer and their needs/wants are catered to. Until recently I believed that HD Brow products were only available through salons and only included comprehensive collections of brow products. However, a few clicks onto the official website (www.hdbrows.com) and there was a whole lot more on offer. It seems a whole range of exquisite make up essentials and brushes are readily available.
It has to be noted that all the HD Brows products are key investments, but the make-up selection got me immensely excited. Eye shadow palettes in hues of taupe and rich caramels, to pick a few, are perfect for getting a smoky eye, to further accentuate your brows. I recently had the great pleasure of receiving a few products, which included the below.
1. Bronzer (£19.96): A beautiful deep rich tone, will add warmth to the skin, when used as a contour or simply to set your foundation. Either will give a sun-kissed glow. The key is to build up the colour in stages, so not to end up with any harsh lines. The main selling point to this bronzer is its universal applicability for all skin tones. As well as using this for giving the skin a dash of colour, the highly pigmented product lends itself to use as an eye shadow base. The site offers a range of fabulous brushes and the contour brush (£14.95) is the best tool for applying the bronzer to areas you wish to accentuate such as the cheekbones and temples.
2. Eye & Brow Palette (£19.96): These palettes are available in 3 different colours (Vamp/Bombshell/Foxy) but the one I have is Foxy. The quads contain 4 colours, each in beautiful matte shades. In the foxy palette it consist of a peachy tone (perfect for highlighting the brow bone) a deep brown (great to add depth to the eye crease) a soft caramel and mid brown tone. As these are powder based products they are ideal for both eyes and brows. Dependant on your colouring, you can use the shades included to gently fill in your brows, to achieve an understated brow. Team all the colours together to get a soft, sensual smoky eye (as pictured). Here I used the lightest colour as the base, then cut into the socket and outer lid with the mid tone to create depth. The key is to ensure you blend the product well. The deepest colour was then used to cut into the crease to give the smoky eye, the ultimate impact. This colour was also run under the lower lash line and softly blended, to make the eye pop. The delicate brush is great for those touch ups on the go without the hassle of hauling around a vast collection of brushes.
3. S.O.S Rescue Balm (£16.95): Shea butter, Papaya and Macadamia oil are all infused together in this miracle pot. The gentle formulation is intended to sooth dry, cracked, irritated and sunburnt skin. An avid fan of plucking my brows, the aftermath is usually the hardest to manage. I suffer with rather sensitive skin and plucking can lead to redness, which can often result in small areas of spots. I recently used this balm after my usual brow plucking routine and I found the cooling effects instantaneously. It’s hardly surprising that a few days after, I have soft, un-irritated skin. This really is a beauty god send!
4. Eye Brow Pencil (Starting at £11.95): Available in 2 colours (black & brown) these pencils have been created in shades that will be practical for somebody who has fair coloured hair, right down to the deepest of tones. The trick is to brush lightly over the brows and use a clean spooly to brush through the colour to soften. You can also set this product with a shadow from the above Eye & Brow Palette. Each pencil comes with full instructions on how to sharpen and get the best of the pencil. Unlike most pencils on the market these days, the shape of the tip is unusual, in that it’s flat tipped. This allows you to get a precise line of colour and achieve delicate brush strokes. This should only be used to fill in small areas of patches and not to literally draw on the brow.
With such a vast array of brushes available it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and compelled to buy the whole lot (ok maybe that’s just me). To achieve the smoky eye I used :
– The Eye Smudger brush (£12.95) This was to pack on the shadow and softly blend from one tone to the other)
– The Angled Brow Brush (£12.95) I used this to plot on my eyeliner using the deepest tone of the Eye & Brow palette. I used my brush damp to transform the powder shadow into a very deep, rich fluid liner. This brush can also be used to add soft strokes of colour into the brows.
– Fan Mascara Brush. (£9.95) The intended use for this is to accentuate strip or natural lashes and this can be achieve by applying a small amount of mascara and gently brushing through the lashes. The fanned out bristles allow a vast area of coverage in any one go.
All the brushes are exquisite, from the sophisticated black ferrules to the densely packed bristles. These really are investment pieces. It has to be said that I was most pleased with the products I used and would highly recommend these for you the reader. It seems a chance encounter with brows has led to an overall look being achieved with the amazing diverse products HD Brows offer.
For further information and stockists please visit: www.hdbrows.com Twitter : @hdbrows
All photo credits – HDBrows.com / dealmonster.co.uk
