What a difference a brow makes

My eyebrows are poorly situated to be a pain in the ass, and yet, somehow, they manage it.
It's not that there's anything wrong with them, exactly, it's just that, as a ginger kid, I have eyebrows so blonde that they're practically invisible.

Nice in a kind of editorial way, but NORMAL PEOPLE HAVE EYEBROWS YOU CAN SEE.
When I was dying my hair black, I would just tint them every time I touched up my roots, and maybe use a little eyeliner to reshape them if I felt like they needed it. As a blonde, it seems like it's more difficult to find the right color. A lot of the taupe blonde eyebrow pencils have an orange or yellow undertone, which isn't flattering for my skin tone. I also find that a lot of brow powders and pencils tend to wear off of the actual hairs of my eyebrows as the day goes on, settling onto the skin underneath in a way that looks distinctly odd and unnatural. I could leave them natural, and when I'm feeling lazy I do; however, I find that that makes my face look undefined and my eyes smaller.

I may be in the minority on this, but I tend to like boldly defined brows that are significantly darker than my hair color. To me, it comes across as both natural and unnatural at the same time - a little bit Marilyn, a little bit Madonna in her Marilyn phase. I also looked at photos of Agyness Deyn and Elle Fanning, both of whom balance out their very fair hair with a neutral-toned, medium brown brow.

I had been using a brow pencil with powder on top, but for the reasons I mentioned above (wrong tone, wears off), I decided to switch it up a little bit. I'd heard good things about Anastasia Brow Gel, but at $22 I couldn't quite justify the cost. However, MAC recently released a waterproof brow gel, and I thought I'd give that a try.

There are pros and cons to using a brow gel. On the one hand, it's very natural looking, doesn't wear off (or at least the MAC gel doesn't), and is great for both defining your brows and holding them in place. However, what it does is color in the hair you already have, so if you have any asymmetry to your brows or like to shape them to look fuller or more arched than they actually are, you're going to need another product.

After a little bit of trial and error, I found that a medium brown from a Pixi eyeshadow palette that I have (it's called Buff Blizzard for the curious, and it looks like the only place you can get it anymore is Urban Outfitters, since I think it's been discontinued; if you like MAC, I'd recommend Espresso or Handwritten as alternatives) works well for filling and shaping, which I do with a small, tapered eyeliner brush. 

Once I find a shape that works for me, I just go over it with the brow gel in Quiet Brunette, which makes my eyebrows look a little bit darker and thicker, and sets the powder in place. 

Before gel.

With gel.

That's really it. It's nice because I feel like I get a good shape and definition without having to do all of the work of grooming my brows or painstakingly drawing them on with pencil. 

I love doing my makeup in the morning, but my eyebrows have consistently been annoying and time consuming. I think I might pick up another color of gel, since sometimes I want something that's still defined but not quite so bold. I do really, really like the gel formula though, and I would recommend it to anyone who's looking to switch up and simplify their beauty game.

Blouse: 80s does 40s/50s tie waist blouse, Voyeur Vintage via Etsy 

Skirt: High waist interlock skirt, American Apparel