Do you know that freshly waxed feeling when you leave the salon, the one when you can't really open your eyes, and the overbearing stiffness of your forehead that makes it seem like your eyebrows are disconnected from your face? Well that I think is one of the best feelings thus far. It always leaves me feeling polished and clean and nearly unstoppable. I take my eyebrows very seriously and try to keep constant maintenance and care which for me is overwhelmingly satisfying. My eyebrows for me are source of confidence but for others it can be as simple as mere facial hair. There are different shapes and styles to our wondrous brows and what I find particularly interesting is the history behind the modern beauty brought about by the brow.
Different cultures around the world each placed their own mark on the eyebrow and the first noted would be that of the Egyptians. Both men and women used decorative eye makeup and darkened their brows with gray and black powder to honor the god Horus and ward off evil spirits. Whereas the ancient Greeks used soot to paint their brows black and preferred a monobrow or unibrow that was thought to enhance their looks.To much surprise the single brow garnered a lot of attention and was quite popular in Iran from 1785-1925 and was featured in quite a few mosaics and also became iconic through the influential painter Frida Khalo.
Unlike the Greeks who preferred their eyebrows thick, Japan had another sense of beauty and chose to completely shave off their brows and redraw them thin and high with an air like quality coupled by an equally extreme look overall, with white painted faces and black teeth. Similar to Japan, during the medieval times in Europe plucked their brows and leaned more towards a thin shape. However they liked an empty and large forehead. Afterwards during the 17th and 18th centuries bold brows were back and better than ever. Sported by the most affluent women, this new fashion trend of furry eyebrows was taking the fashion world by storm.
By the twentieth century, many cosmetics were introduced eyebrow fillers, further enhancing the darker and more shapely eyebrows. What came out of that was a skinny brow with a high defined arch brought about for more emotion on camera and made iconic by Greta Garbo, a Hollywood actress. Fast Forward to the sixties and a fully shaven and thoroughly penciled in brow became the norm. But the eighties brought the big brow back yet again when stars like Madonna showed them off.
During the nineties brows came in all shapes and sized embodying each part of history that made their mark on this important part of facial hair. Today however it seems that we are all fixated on that beautiful bold brow that is perfectly represented on model and actress Cara Delivingne. An impactful and shapely brow that exudes confidence and fullness in both outer appearance and character. That slight arch and darker color seems to be what most are aiming for when considering brow beauty.
This recap of history through the eyebrow is not only an evolution of beauty but also travels through culture and time to show us their own trademarks on the world, whether it be for fashion or cultural/religious practice, something this small has always made an impact throughout history.
