Welcome to The Bride Files - covering all things related to weddings as Laura prepares for her big day.
When it comes to preparing for your wedding there are a few areas that most brides focus on like exercising more, eating better and making sure they take care of their hair.
But sometimes it's the little things that get overlooked, such as their eyebrows.
Renowned brow artist
Claudine King has given her top ten tips for achieving perfect eyebrows in the run up to your wedding day.
She says it's all about routine, choosing the right person to do it, the right shape that suits you and not getting tempted in between appointments to tweeze.
Here are her top ten tips:
1. Give yourself at least six months
She says to try to start your brow grooming once a month for at least 6 months before you walk down the aisle. This will give your brows the best chance to recover from any excessive plucking/waxing/threading over the years. It will also ensure that your brows are as symmetrical as they can be for your wedding photos.
2. Find a good specialist
Start off by finding a good brow specialist who will continue to look after you right up to the week of your wedding. They will put a plan in place and give you realistic goal for the shape they should be for your big day.
3. Stick with the same specialist
It is important to stick with the same therapist or salon as much as you can so that there is no confusion as to what the growth goal and shape is.
4. Invest in good products
You should invest in a good brow growth serum but there’s no need to spend a fortune on one - there's effective products of all price ranges available.
5. Exfoliate weekly
Exfoliating gently in a circular motion once or twice a week with a mild exfoliator will help to keep your brows clean, avoiding scaly, flaky skin and will also help stimulate hair growth. Brow product will sit beautifully when the skin behind them is smooth.
6. Moisturise your eyebrows
Always include a little moisturizer or eye cream through your brows before you apply your brow product. The product will glide through the brow much better and this will avoid any dragging or unevenness of the product.
7. Avoid plucking your eyebrows
Do not tweeze between your appointments! More often than not, you will always pluck more than the one hair that was bothering you to begin with and all of a sudden, you've plucked 10 hairs in a line (8 of which you actually needed in order to make your brows more symmetrical) which will place you back at square one.
8. Get shown how to fill in your eyebrows
Ensure your therapist shows you how to fill your brows in without making them too severe in colour or shape. Sometimes, a wedding makeup artist may not be aware of how you like them filled in and will do what they think may suit. A good idea is to take a selfie of your brows filled in by your therapist and show the makeup artist at the makeup trial.
9. Use a clean mascara brush to shape
Gently brush through your brows with a clean mascara wand once they have been filled in to soften any sharp lines that may look too harsh in pictures. This will help to blend the brow product into the hairs instead of the product just sitting on the skin and looking false.
10. Stick to what suits you best.
These days, most people dream of having big, high fashion brows but the look doesn't suit everyone, particularly those with deep set eyes and a small brow bone. Brows are beautified to enhance and open the eye and anything too heavy will do the exact opposite and overshadow the eye socket. Maintain realistic expectations and listen to the advice given by your professional therapist.
You can get in touch with Claudine on 01 6336737.
If you have a product/company you want to feature on The Bride Files you can get in touch with me by email, laura.holland@her.ie, or on Twitter
@LaurHolland.
