Not the best picture, but I had to come in just days after my 37th birthday (it was on Monday, the 30th) and rave about my favorite birthday present. Tristan went BANANAS for my birthday and bought me the most awesome elephant ever (more on that next week–did you all know I LOVE elephants and have collected them since I was 9 years old?) on top of something I have been too cheap to buy for myself: Anastasia’s Brow stencils and kit. (Tristan! I just realized you bought me the expensive one! I’m going to kill you!!!)
Chubby Girl Rule 101:� Properly groomed brows make you look thinner and younger.� Period.� Don’t question my knowledge on this because it is a fact.� I am very particular about my brows, mainly because as a child I was often stopped on the street and confused for Bert from Sesame Street.� Free kiddy meals and Toy R Us swag notwithstanding, the comparison to a disgruntled muppet who played with pigeons did nothing to bolster my self esteem.� Consequently, the second I had the go ahead from my conservative parents, I was plucking the life out of the Cousin Its swinging above my eyes.� Since then, I have groomed, plucked, waxed, and threaded my way through many aestheticians.
I can tell you the best place to get your eyebrows done is at an Anastasia Brow Studio.� I go to one in the beauty department at Nordstroms, but if there is a free standing studio in your area, you can go there instead.� The aestheticians work with stencils (if you get one who doesn’t, RUN) so you get a consistently good looking set of brows.� The wax they use is proprietary and, believe it or not, will not turn your skin red or give you pimples (two problems I have with waxing).� They finish your brows with a massage (nice, though I can leave it) but the best part has to be the final grooming.� I walk out of there with super brows that are filled and highlighted perfectly.� Really, I should take a picture of them one day after I get them done, but I can’t.� I stopped going to Anastasia because, as much as I love the store, it’s far more expensive than the $8-$10 you pay elsewhere.� Is it worth it?� Yes.� But, as someone who gets her brows done every other week, I can’t afford to spend close to $70 a month on something that is, admittedly, a luxury.
I was grumbling about the injustices of budgets to Tristan one day after she complimented me on my eyebrows (only in America can you complain about eyebrows and injustices in the same sentence) when I told her that I was looking at the Anastasia kits as an alternative.� Not two weeks later, they were on my doorstep.� I am here to report they are quite fabulous.� Expensive, but fabulous.� I tried them today using the High Arch stencil and not much else.� I didn’t have the time to watch the video or read the instructions too carefully (ahem) and I think my brows still turned out well.� I had a little trouble with the left eye because I am right handed, and my eyes would benefit from a magnifying mirror, but other than that, I am thrilled for a first attempt.� As a test, I uploaded the above picture on Facebook and several people commented that they loved my brows without me prompting them.� Compliments?� From women?� Please.� There is no greater stamp of approval.
Truly, I could go on for PARAGRAPHS on what makes a good brow, common mistakes women make, and brow shapes that make you look older and heavier, but I will spare you the ramblings of a woman obsessed and say that the only person I love more than Anastasia at this moment is Tristan.
Oh I am big on eyebrows. Not big on big eyebrows, but big on GOOD eyebrows.
Bad eyebrows can destroy a whole a look, and good eyebrows can make a whole look.
I was only thinking this week how expensive it is though. I pay $50 each time, and that adds up. But I can’t give it up, and I never tweezed my own eyebrows myself. I know {for a fact} that I will ruin them.
Great post, as always. x
OH, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You’re beautiful, my friend. x
So funny, because when I saw the photo I blurted out loud, “Wow her eyebrows look GREAT!”
Your eyebrows look great and so do you! Happy belated birthday.
I was just thinking to myself–whoa, brows! How do I get mine that perfect? I just wanted to say hello, and thank you for sharing the brows and about your eating plan!
Thanks, YJ! I’ve changed my eating plan ever-so-slightly. I’ve been terrible about writing down my food for the last couple of months. I promised myself to change that, and soon.
if you love elephants then you should really love babar. re: anastasia, i had my brows done there for my wedding, it was so expensive but they looked great!
Lol, I pulled this up and Ace said love her eyebrows, hah! And he’s a boys boy, jockety jock boy! That Bert from Sesame reference though had me clutching my spleen in agony. Thank you for the kind words, I TOTALLY would be up for a post on brows! Mine are getting very thin (age) I think I will get some Rogaine for them when the time comes. I am happy you liked your (well deserved) pressies! I figured since your b-day is so close to Christmas that you might get gypped, but you need good presents, you are an amazing person and the day of your birth should be celebrated!
How cool!! What a great gift.
Happy Birthday!
I’m a firm believer of well-groomed eyebrows as well. My are actually strawberry-blonde since I’m a redhead. Do you have any idea how much facial expression you lose when people can’t see your eyebrows? So I need to tint mine as well. After too many traumatic (and costly) experiences I’ve learned how to do it myself.
Congrats on your birthday!
Your eyebrows look lovely! Really. Happy birthday! My 35th birthday is December 12th. Ugh!
I received Anastasia’s brow and pencil kit for my last birthday from my mom, who had recently just purchased her own. Can I just tell you how much I absolutely love it! I, too, understand the importance of good brows, I have see too many pictures of myself and friends not quite looking like ourselves because our eyebrows had been neglected. As a Latina with thinner brows I walk a fine line between groomed and chola, and let me just say accidentally crossing that line means at least a month of shame. Also, one of my favorite stress relievers is grooming my eyebrows, weird yes, but very calming. Since I’m so focused on getting all those little hairs I get in a zone and nothing else can bother me.
Happy Birthday my friend. And Tristan is awesome.
You have the BEST brows! I think I said that a while back when I saw them in the pic you took while in your car… They look stunning!
You look so beautiful! And your brows rock! As someone who has brows that could take out a small village I can relate to the constant battle they create. I want brows like yours!
So glad you had a great birthday. You deserve it!!!
I agree with other comments…your eyebrows are perfect!
I am obsessed with my brows. Unfortunately I plucked my too thin for too many years…so they kinda stopped growing back. So now I draw them on/fill them in daily (or at least when I leave the house). I actually had them tattooed for a while, but the kind I had done only lasts 5 years. Thinking of getting them tattooed again since I hate that I HAVE to draw them on to look alive. I’m damn good at it, better be after all these years, but I’m tired of fearing rain and looking BLAH when I’m having a lazy day.
I know I’m late to the game on this (doing some catch up blog reading) but my first thought when I got to this post was, ‘wow, her eyebrows are amazing!’….love the irony. And must research more seriously this Anastasia situation since I have seen it in Sephora, etc and never really given it more than a passing glance. Beautiful!