Creating the Perfect Brow By Charlotte Ravet

CREATING THE B y C h a r l o t t e R a v e t Perfect BrowMy love for makeup came a bit unexpectedly...I was studying history of art in Paris and always had a love for all forms of arts but didn’t know exactly how to express it. I read an article about makeup artists, when I started 15 years ago, we didn’t have social media, makeup artists weren’t as popular as now, but I knew it was for me!

Makeup is for me a form of art but also I also love the opportunity it gives me to connect with people and make them feel amazing. It’s a real gift to see a smile on the face after doing makeup!

I have learnt a makeup technique which is based on techniques coming from drawing and painting and I have drawn eyebrows on paper and mixed colours for quite a while before ap-plying makeup on the face! The eyebrows are the starting point for establishing the perfect face proportions. In drawing we can create scale and perspective, eyebrows are the drawing scale of the face and placing them at the right angle can make a huge difference!After 8 years in Paris working for lead TV channels and designers brands (Prada, MiuMiu, l’Oreal) I came to Australia to learn English! Since then I have developed my career in education train-ing for brands, academies and I offer my own masterclasses online and across Australia. I am as passionate about educating as creating makeup! Sharing what I have learnt and giving the tools to someone to start a dream career or overcome issues which they are facing with their makeup application is an everyday challenge which I feel honoured to call my job!

Before applying any colour to my makeup looks, I will always look for two things: perfect skin and well designed eyebrows.

Eyebrows are the essence of a clean and beautiful look but they also have the power to translate our emotions: happy, angry, excited! Depending on our emotions the eyebrows will be more or less arched, close or even uneven!

Let’s have a look at how we can create the perfect eyebrow with makeup first. Ideally, the eyebrow should be stronger at the arch, not at the beginning. The colour should intensify slightly to direct the focal point at the arch and then fade to just one last hair.

This is why, when I draw the eyebrows, I always start at the arch first, then I fill the gaps and eventually accentuate the length if necessary. I never start applying products at the beginning of the eyebrows to avoid giving the impres-sion of an angry look. I like using pencil or eyebrow wax equally ( Garbo&Kelly pencil in sable and Inglot n16 are my favorite). You can then set the eyebrows in place using a gel, a lip balm or create eyebrows soap with a bit of setting spray mixed with Pears glycerin soap.

I also prefer to use cool tones to create eyebrows and a shade slightly darker than the actual hair colour. For fair eyebrows a brown with a bit of green undertone is perfect. For a medium brown, I go with a taupe colour. I only choose a color with a bit of red for true red hair.

Eyebrows have changed over time. We have seen them undone, thinned, shaved, bleached, fluffed – you get the point! I always look at the proportions of the face and allow the brows to frame the eyes and balance the eye area to the rest of the face, rather than design the brows according to the current trends. Changing the shape of the eyebrows can literally alter the face proportions! I have seen beautifully designed eyebrows that unfortunately did not suit the model’s face shape.

A quick recap on the ideal proportions that are essential to understanding why the eyebrows are so important!

The ideal face can be split lengthwise in three equal part: -From the hairline to the eyebrows line -From the brow line to the tip of the nose -From the nose to the chin.

The “ideal face” is also split widthwise into fifths. The width of the eyes is equal to the dis-tance between the eyes and the distance from the outer corner of the eye to the outer edge of the ear. I was taught makeup in Paris with techniques inspired by Michelle Deruelle, celebrity makeup artist from the 60’s and also founder of the brand Maqpro. The study of drawing and painting techniques gave me a deep understanding of face proportions and I have since developed my own techniques.

When contouring we aim to give the illusion of the ideal proportion but you will see that the eyebrow is also extremely important. When I create contour and apply eyeshadows, I also try to create parallel directions to the eyebrow line. I have created different illustrations of face shapes we can regularly observe.

On the left side you will see the face shape with the original eyebrows and on the right side the eyebrow with the corrected shape.

www.adatewithcharlotte.com @charlotteravetmakeup for more makeup education, tips & tricks.

Before

Before

This face shape is an oval face shape considered as the ideal face shape and as equal pro-portions. It doesn’t need specific correction and would suit any shape of eyebrows.

Before After

FIGURE 2:

This face shape has more width than length, the idea is to push the arch of the eyebrow to accentuate the impression of length. The eyebrows should be thin to avoid adding weight to the face and the arch accentuated to draw the eyes to the upper part of the face.

After

FIGURE 3:

This face shape presents prominent cheekbones. To balance the cheekbones I would keep the eyebrows full and brushed up for a fashionable vibe. I will also accentuate the arch and keep the angle open toward the outside of the face to soften the look.

Before After

FIGURE 4:

This face shape has a shorter forehead and a bit of heaviness towards the bottom half of the face. The eyebrows should remain thin and slightly arched, the idea is to open the eyes to the outer corner of the eyes without making the forehead even shorter. A fringe would perfectly complement this look.

After

FIGURE 5:

On this face shape the forehead is the larger part and the jawline slightly square. I would suggest pushing up the arch of the eyebrow to give the impression of a smaller forehead and create some angles with the arch to bring some sophistication and femininity to these fea-tures.

FIGURE 6:

This face shape is oblong with the middle section longer than the two others which is pretty common. I would try to keep the focus to the lower part of the face and give a flat direction to the eyebrow line to give the impression of width to the face. Focus the eye makeup on the lower eyelid and avoid wing liner and sharp eyeshadows application.