Full brows are in lately and I’ve been hearing about this trend of getting them tattooed, which is called microblading. In some cases it makes sense, like when a cancer patient was able to get her eyebrows back thanks to the wizardry of brow tattooing. For everyday cases it looks potentially traumatizing. The tattoos are semi-permanent and last for up to a year. What if you don’t like the results? I once had an awful experience getting my brows dyed and waxed and that took a lot of makeup and time from which to recover. I would be too scared to try this. Well Bella Thorne did and she snapchatted the process. Bella is just 18 and you might know her from her role on the Disney Channel’s Shake it Up, her frequent pap strolls or her attention-getting social media posts. Here’s Us’s description of what she posted and you can see the video and before and after pics below.
Thorne, who wore an Adidas sports bra and leggings, shared a before shot of her red brows, which weren’t filled in. “Here I go,” she wrote. The former Disney star then showed a technician using a needle to etch strands on Thorne’s face. “Ok now I get more numbing,” she wrote. The actress, who’s dating actor Gregg Sulkin, took the pain like a trooper throughout her whole story. But toward the end, Thorne expressed disdain for the coloring portion. “I think that’s my least favorite part,” she said.
But the discomfort paid off. She was visibly happy with the finished result: natural-looking arches, ending her story with a selfie and a snappy caption: “YASSS brows.”
Here’s the video of her snapchats:
And this is her after. It’s good for a nighttime makeup look I guess.
Maybe this will fade but these brows are too big and bold for me. A few weeks ago I discovered Anastasia Dipbrow and it’s really changed the look of my eyebrows and can give a similar effect (although I don’t go this large) without the commitment. (It takes some practice to learn how to use it and you have to use the product sparingly, but it’s absolutely worth it. You may be able to get a cheaper dupe though.) Eyebrow trends come and go and I remember how thin and round our eyebrows were in the 90s. I hope we never go back there but 90s fashion is in again and I don’t see how this big brow trend can go much further. Brows are going to scale back in size soon I think.
This is Bella before she got her eyebrows done. She looks better here, I think:
Here’s Bella in the process of getting her eyebrows done. I think these are the outlines the artist uses so they know where to tattoo.
Photos credit: WENN.com and Bella Thorne
Scary she should just watch eyebrow makeup tutorials or you can get those cut out like stencils and brush pencil in.
I used to do mine like that and the stencils fit perfectly with my brows but I like the look of the dipbrow better.
She has lovely full natural brows. To me, this is a clear case of a girl who has already started on the slippery slope of self alteration (a la Kylie) and she won’t stop until she looks like a freak. I can see it coming from a mile away.
She’s only 18 and already has a brand new face. And like Kylie has an older boyfriend and a very sexy image. It’s really sad.
I get this. I’m pretty sure Bella Thorne’s eyebrows before the tattoos were pencilled in or filled in. My daughter is also a fair skinned red head. She never had visible eyebrows and kids used to make fun of her when she was little. I believe the comments were “no eyebrow girl” and “naked mole rat”.
Now my daughter just pencils her eyebrows in, but it takes so much work. I think she would do this if she knew about it and I would understand.
I know an old lady with tattoed brows and believe me, it’s not a cool image.
There are a few ladies in my town, all Eastern European incidentally, with tattooed brows and they are unbelievably harsh looking and aging, imo.
Bella’s at least look more natural but I think her original brows were just fine, lovely actually. I don’t see the need for such a permanent solution.
A close family member has her brows tattooed. The color has to be boosted every so often. Due to a medical condition, her brows fell out. Unfortunately, not only do you need and experienced tattoo artist, but you need one with a good sense of aesthetics. In my family member’s instance, the eyebrows were tattooed much higher on her forehead than her normal brow line, and now she looks to be in a constant state of surprise. And she said it was very painful.
To be fair – techniques have gotten a lot better. I watched a buzzfeed video the other day where people got some brows tattooed on, and they looked great.
Well my eyebrows are tattooed on and no one can tell. When I get my eyebrows waxed, they are waxed in the shape of my brows. I will forever have a great arch to my brow that I don’t have to worry about anyone messing up.
Tattooes aren’t the same as microblading. But even tattoos don’t stay as dark and vibrant as when you first get them. Guaranteed in a few weeks her brows wont look as harsh.
All I can picture right now is Uncle Leo from Seinfeld in that episode when Elaine drew on his eyebrows with a sharpie!!!
“I don’t care for your tone Leo.”
I feel like she’s slowly becoming this generations, Lohan 🙁
I tried a korean brand eyebrow tint once. That’s as far as I’m willing to go on this hyper filled out trend.
Not a huge deal if it only lasts up to a year, however, Eyebrow trends are constantly changing just like anything else so to make it permanent is a huge mistake, in my opinion.
Yikes. I like the before as well. Although I may be biased with my strawberry blond, wispy, ’90’s were my jam’ eyebrows. I sometimes use brown eyeshadow and a very small makeup brush to fill mine in a bit.
Can eyebrows be thirsty? Someone needs to tell her about that butt dimple thing so she’s ready in a decade or so. Good Lord, these people are lucky they don’t have actual jobs. This is exhausting to watch.
The caterpillar brow thing is such a dumb trend. Also, I find her so incredibly annoying for some reason, and the stupid duck lip pics aren’t making me hate her any less.
I think she’s crazy annoying too and I’ve never even seen her in anything. The eyebrows also don’t “go” with her eyes if that makes sense?
I’ve also never seen her in anything. Yeah exactly the eyebrows overpower her brown eyes, which are on the smaller side.
“you might know her from her role on the Disney Channel’s Shake it Up, her frequent pap strolls or her attention-getting social media posts.”>>> No, no, and no? The only time I’ve ever heard of her is another article on here, and she came off as not too bright. Good to know she’s consistent.
She was adequate in Shake It Up, less so as the series progressed. Her costar Zendaya kept improving rapidly and still has an acting career. I saw Bella in a TV movie after the show ended and she was honestly awful. She was the only one in the cast who was bad. I think she just never developed real acting skills expected of an adult, hence the other ways to keep the attention on her. That’s a problem with child actors, they don’t always mature as an actor but they’re stuck with the ambition (and in the case of Disney kids, the yearning for the inflated fame that they lose after their show ends).
I don’t think she really needed them. However, they will lighten up significantly after the scabs fall off. My mom did hers due to hair loss and at first it was like “wtf did you do!” Then they healed and looked great.
They’ll Tone down SIGNIFICANTLY next week, my gf did it last year before her wedding and LOVES it and preaches it to everyone but me (im one of those Arya Stark Wolverine type) she says its a Time saver and personally to my eye she really had one of those weirds not quite Raven Symone joints which just needed complete union etc? the point is that she looks pretty put together all the time off the strength of those new brows
My mom did it as with her eyebrows just fell out! She’s super happy with the results, and thinks she’s pretty hip since she got them done at a tatoo place.
When people get it done correctly – it really does look amazing. I’d absolutely consider it. I just don’t trust anyone in my area to do it, ahha. It’s definitely good for people with patchy brows – and as long as it’s done properly, it doesn’t look weird. All fresh tattoos are going to look ‘weird’ before they settle down.
I just had it done and it is the BEST decision ever! I was such a makeup addict before I had a baby and now I don’t have time. Between law school, work and a toddler I just don’t have the time. Next I’m doing a laser treatment to get rid of under eye circles and then I can be makeup free all the time!
Yup- getting mine done this weekend in preparation for my wedding. I’m also doing it because we’re planning to have another kid And I want to have that polished look in less time.
Too thick, her natural brows were in point and a little bit of shadow would go a long way to filling out her look.
Brow trends change. In 5-7 years she’s going to regret this, because it gives her one very specific look.
Nothing to regret as the tattooing lasts about a year.
So they use something different than a typical tattoo? That’s comforting!
I had it done, it looked good for nearly 2 years, there is still a bit left and its been at least 5. Its semi permanent, and my esthetician said what they use for ink is very benign. She said the lines on permanent tats thicken over the years and that’s why they don’t do it for eyebrows, it would eventually look terrible.
You missed the part that said it only lasts about a year. (Actually, I’ve heard they can last anywhere from 18 – 24 months).
Yes, I did miss that!
The ink isn’t as deep in the skin as a regular tattoo so it’s semi-permanent. They don’t use needles like a tattoo gun does to get the ink into the skin.
Those don’t look natural at all. I am beginning to find her really thirsty for attention.
I guess it’s not usual there but in here Asia it’s really normal and nothing to sweat about really. They’ll look good or bad depending on the tattooist, so make sure you research first. I don’t know why it’s a big deal honestly, there are worse things than that.
A waitress near my university has tattoed eyebrowes, but hers are not nearly as nicely done. She’s a pale, blonde, freckled woman who has them tattoed in pure black , they have no arch and they go way past her natural eyebrowes. They look like they’re about to touch her ears. I don’t know what she was thinking.
Oh that sounds like a horror! Do you think she knows how weird they look? I think anyone considering this should ask the tattoo artist first to show them with makeup how they will do their brows. Then you can see how they interpret your brows, their skill, their style etc. It’s insane really to go in cold and just trust someone with your altering your face.
I think if she knew she’d wear bangs or something? But no, she wears them on full display, so who knows.
Microblading is the new thing now. A lot of people are doing it. They will fade after about 2 weeks to not be so bold (usually clients return for a second session at that time).
They’re not bad, and if you have thinning, light or bald spots in your brows, it can be a life saver….other than that, not really necessary. As everyone is pointing out, eyebrow trends DO change.
You can tell they are tattooed even in her photos. There are obvious tell-tale lines on the underside which are a no-no with makeup but at least you can wash that off and start again. I have never seen a tattooed brow that looks natural. I don’t think it’s possible due to the nature of the tools and process. As for Bella, she’s a pretty girl but when I see her all I think is how parched she must be from her extreme thirst. And she needs to smile. She’s starting to look like Kylie which I fear she would take as a compliment. And are those implants? At 18? Slippery slope, girl..
I am obsessed with microblading. Hers will calm down a bit after they heal.
I have spent way too many hours looking at the microblading hashtag on Instagram.
I’m not against tattooed makeup in general, it just seems a strange choice for someone whose career is based on changing style and versatility of appearance. Isn’t she a model/actress? What will she do when eyebrow styles change? What about if her role is in a different style era? I’m thinking of those thin 1930’s arches. What about if she changes hair color? Would she have to shave her brows, cover tattoos with make-up and then apply false brows? Latex over everything? I think she’ll regret how this ink will limit her ability to change her look.
Not to worry. She’s not much of an actress. Don’t know about modeling, but there’s always Photoshop.
Lol
Everyone has went ape shit crazy about this trend where I come from. We now have an army of same brow- dull look in the eyes girls.
I had my eyebrows tatoo’d on about 8(?) years ago. I’m a natural blonde and have VERY thick brows in the part towards my eyes and NO brows past the first half inch. The tattoos were too ‘dense’ for about a week and then they lightened up and I LOVED them. they lasted about 3-4 years. For everyone who’s all ‘she should just draw them on every single day and pay attention all day long to what her brows are doing’ you know what? Some people don’t want to do that. I don’t check my make-up at all during the day. I don’t want to be hot and heavy with some guy and my eyebrows disappear. Or, sweat and they’re gone. I would, and likely will do it again.
It’s a completely different ink than regular tattoos btw.
I use a brow gel which does a good job of bulking up my brows a bit. I have also heard that castor oil encourages growth and density. I think these tattoos look horrible.
I grew up on Shake It Up and I seriously don’t get it when people say she’s had tons of surgery. She was about 14 when she got on that show or even younger. She’s gonna change. Puberty happens. I’m pretty sure I’m still seeing the same face albeit with wayy more makeup. She also was clearly a better dancer than Zendaya even though they both can’t dance and it’s really the backup dancers doing everything
??? Lmao, everything you just said can be refuted with photographic and video evidence. I’m sure there’s a Bella Thorne Before and After photo collage somewhere on Google. The changes aren’t natural. Zendaya was on DWTS and got quite far as well. My little sister loved Shake It Up, and while you’re right about the backup dancers, Zendaya was far more natural, fluid, and a better entertainer overall. And I didn’t even like the show lol
I remember thinking that her breasts were growing bigger and smaller and then bigger etc. at the time. I thought she was just stuffing her bra for some bizarre reason, considering that she was supposed to be fairly young. But some girls do fill out dramatically very quickly, so who knows.
I have sparse, blonde brows. I hate them. But I’ve used various products to give myself big brows and boy does it make me look stupid. My face just doesn’t support big brows.
Me, too. I’d like to just fill them in a bit but even the lightest gels and pencils are too dark and look silly and unnatural.
Who even is she?
Her brows looked much better before.
This is actually a quite popular procedure in my country. my friend like this procedure so much cause she has a really thin eyebrow (like invicible), guess it also depends on the style you choose. Cause sometimes people have it so bold like you just draw it with marker
I don’t do my eyebrows. Lucky for me they’re naturally full, but even then I don’t bother. The whole fixation on brows kinda puts me off tbh, but oh well.
About it being a trend, isn’t everything “big” a trend right now? Kinda annoying on a personal note for me, because features I have naturally and were mocked for are suddenly the new it thing 😑. Not to mention people are going overboard and starting to look like copies of each other. What’s going to be really interesting is seeing how the people who got the permanent body modifications, (Kim, Kylie, Iggy, Nicki, etc…) deal with the eventual shift back to natural-looking and small. Not to mention people who have these features naturally, is the media going to go back to making fun of them? 😪
I plucked my eyebrows so badly through the 90s that now they don’t grow back. I have real eyebrows on the inner corner, but then I have to draw them in the rest of the way. 🙁
I am intrigued by this microblading. It would be so convenient NOT to have to draw them in everyday (I have to…every day or I look like an alien), but I would be afraid to go permanent because what if I didn’t like the way the artist drew them?
Also–why do they only last a year? What is different between this and a traditional tattoo on say…your arm?
Nevermind, googled it. The tool is different than a tattoo gun and the ink goes in less deep with microblading. (First site I saw said it can last 18-36 months– which is better than a year as far as cost and upkeep goes–but with my luck, I’d hate the way they looks and they would last the full 36 months )
I can answer this as I’ve had my eyebrows tattooed- it’s a different ink is the short answer. the longer answer (of which I may get parts not completely correct) is that the tattoo isn’t as deep in the skin and the ink molecules are bigger than traditional ink in addition to being more ‘subtle’ colors. If you’re interested, go for it. Ask the tattoo-ist if you can talk to some of their clients they’ve done it on. Do research. Be aware the first week your brows will be darker and denser than you intended.
Mine didn’t hurt at all either btw- I did have a problem of I must have a nerve that connects to my nose in one of my eyebrow skin spots because every time the needle touched one tiny spot on my left eyebrow I sneezed. Make a consultation with several artists. They should be qualified MAKE-UP tattoo-ists (this entails special classes), it may very from State to State but mine had a special license for make-up tattoo.
Go a bit smaller than you intend to wear everyday to not have the ‘shock’ of ‘whoa, my brows are big and dark’. and also important- wear sunscreen ALL the time on them and 100%UVA sunglasses as they do fade more from sunlight.
Thank you so much for your reply. I am going to look into this. What a difference this would make in my day to day routine!!!!
You are very welcome! I think most of the commenters with negative opinions do not know that it’s a different ink and the old ladies they know with it done went to a regular tattoo place and had regular tattoo ink used. I’m actually considering getting mine done again and instead of letting them fade away completely getting touch ups every six months or so. I’m a HOOOGE fan of anything that makes you feel better about yourself and makes your life easier at the same time. Drawing my eyebrows on every morning AND keeping track of them all day actually limits my life choices. Like, I think before saying ‘yes’ to a lot of things that I shouldn’t have to think about because of my EYEBROWS of all silly things. (swimming, hiking etc).
I’m in the same boat. My brows were never thick though and we all outliers so when I plucked the outliers I ended up with not much if you can follow me. Now I really DGAF. I have thin brows and lips so I’m off trend lol.
I’ve had microblading done on my brows, I’m really happy with the results 🙂 I had super thin, sparse, overplucked fair 90s brows, that wouldn’t grow back and I got tired of having to pencil them in all the time. I never wanted the heavy Cara-brow look, nor the blue-purple old lady tattoo line. I read about this microblading and booked at an upscale place that specialises (do your research, if you are thinking of this! and look at plenty of photos of their work/recommendations etc). It is very expensive though (here in Europe) but I was happy with the results. The first two weeks they looked far too heavy but you’re warned about that. After 2-3 weeks they looked perfect. 18 months later they’re quite faded and nearly back to normal & time for a topup. They have good techniques for blondes/redheads and a good place will have soft hues and lighter shades. You have an anaesthetic cream and it just feels like a pen drawing lots of tiny lines across your brow. If you already have fairly full brows but just want them darker, then stick to the tinting. But if you have sparse brows that don’t grow, I would recommend trying this! The biggest downside is the cost but the topups are much cheaper than the original treatment. (I don’t think this girl needed it done though and her brows were actually very nice originally – I also don’t like the caterpillar look!).
I know some older women who have gotten their eyebrows tattooed for years and it looks terrible. Can’t believe the youngins are doing it now
Tbh I’ve watched YouTube videos of other people, non-celebs, doing it and the results look amazing. Maybe because my eyebrows hairs are little individuals I can count past the mids of my brow or the fact I do have to put in so much work with a brow pencil to look like I do have normal brows (and trust me if you’re avoiding the angry scouse brow that is the trend these days but still want full and natural looking it takes work) I’m kinda interested in this.
Like most things I ponder I may never do it but it’s not really much of a big deal once you read up on it. Results fade, it’s only semi-permanent, and it’s great for having brows if you normally just don’t.
This new procedure actually should fade with time, so it doesn’t turn into a weird colour. At least the one we have in Taiwan works that way. It lasts about a year and fades, so you’ll need to get it refilled. It’s apparently a Korean technique.
I tried microblading for the first time last week. My brows look so much better and very natural. It’s semi-permanent, so after a year or two, it will fade. It is such a time saver for me in the morning! And yes, they are really dark for the first few days afterwards, but then fade. Today is 7 days post session and they have settled into a faded look that blends with my natural brow.
I get it! As a ginger, my eyelashes and eyebrows are transparent! Before I leave the house, I at least have to “put on” my brows and lashes, otherwise I look like a mole 😂
All I see is a terrible and obvious nose job….
I’m 51 years old and I don’t have a wrinkle on my face due to sunblock and retin a. Needless to say, I was pretty smug about aging until about 18 months ago when my brows fell out almost completely. Even though I wear bangs, that’s not a good look. I had lots of testing done and they were completely fine EXCEPT the one that said I had a number of severe vitamin deficiencies. I started taking supplements and bam, they are mostly back. Now, my brows were never great, but at least now I look normal-ish.
By the way, when they were bad I tried brow extensions. They worked but they were so expensive and time consuming (mostly because I had to drive 45 minutes each way to get them done) that I bought my own kit and started doing them myself. Unlike lash extensions, these are super easy to do yourself and they make a big difference. I still use them now and then to fill in a gap here and there. They usually last 5 to 7 days, depending.
I work at an upscale dept. store. Many of the women (esp. the make-up counters) have these eyebrows. I can’t look anywhere else when I talk to any of them. The brows are so prominent and weird it’s like they are animated and talking back. It’s not a good look to permanently etch onto your face. She’s a pretty young woman. Leave your faces alone ladies!
THE THIRST IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE.
Youtuber Chloe Morello had her brows feather tattoed and it looked really natural and lovely. Hers lasted just over a year. If you’ve got the money and you want it, do it! It’s your body.
I don’t know if I’d have the stomach or the patience for this. I had my eyeliner tattooed on and *I think* it turned out looking very natural….except the first two weeks. Everyone was like, “I love your hot pink eye shadow!” My only response was to giggle nervously and hide until the swelling went down.
I think its cool in certain circumstances. I imagine it would be wonderful for chemo patients who lose all the hair on their body and have to draw in pencil eyebrows. Plus I’ve noticed older gals start to loose their brows with time and this might be a life safer for them. This chick looked fine before, but you just have to keep up with the Jones’ or Kardashians’…whoever!
Well I just looked at the pictures again and no, just no. Her original brows were fine, These aren’t. Bad idea.
No, no, no – a horrible idea. And I’m glad I don’t know who she is and I’m not going to find out.
I don’t think I have ever thought about my eyebrows.
Anyhoo, this made me think of that bit in Tina Fey’s ‘Bossypants’ where she hangs out with some new girlfriends and finds out all the different things that are ‘ugly’ on people. “I hate my nailbeds”. Hope she is happy with her eyebrows but stops before she messes up her face too much:)
Her brows looked better before and wow it looks like her nose has been messed with recently….way smaller and looks terrible! Her lips have also been plumped. Jeez she was so pretty before!
I’m sorry but she looks, um… basically I would never do that. But she is a child actor from Disney so can’t really blame her for this decision. At least it isn’t for life. It is her face and if she wants to do that to it, she can.
LOL she looks so bad.
Never mind the (tattooed?!) eyebrows, what the hell happened to her face??
In my country, this is called as “eyebrow embroidery”. And it’s not a new trend, I remember my friend got hers around 5 years ago. If you did this on a certified beauty center, you most likely wont regret it. They draw the eyebrow on you first, and only if you approve it, will they proceed. The colour of the ink is important, as well, since you dont want a colour that makes you look haggard and older than you are, yet you will want to pick one that will last longer. I’ve seen people of different ethnicity here (Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian) pulling off the embroided eyebrow style. Just putting it here in case you are considering factors before deciding on yours.
TBH, im quite surprised by the tone of this article. Some of my classmates did this when they are around 19-21. We just didnt thought of this as a form of “messing with the face”. It will fade quite quickly, if you dont go for the touchups (the period mentioned here depends on touchups to extend its longetivity), say, every 3 months. If you dont like it, stop going to touchups, count your loss, and move on. This will leave the ink to have somewhat pale reddish colour before they fully fade, ofc, but nothing your usual browkit makeup cant cover.
I think the actress went a bit too heavy handed with hers, personally – I liked the shape before. She went for the trend right now, heavy and thick. It will change over time, but this does fade and is semi permanent, unlike the old school tattoed brows that just looked awful.
I’m currently 6 months pregnant, but as soon as I am able to consider this physically, I’m having it done. I was born a white blonde and my hair darkened to dark blonde/light brown as an adult, but my eyebrows are INVISIBLE unless either tinted or filled in. I’ve tried numerous products for a long lasting effect, but really by the end of the day, my ‘tail’ of my brow has melted or been wiped off. Having the microblading to fill in the gaps and give them a bit darker feel is something I’m looking forward to!
I also get my eyelashes tinted in the summer because they are white/blonde (I don’t care for extensions on my face, I’m too fair and they look so obvious.) It would be so nice to not have to touch my face with makeup most days – just wake up, and brows and lashes are done.
I would do this in two seconds if I could get an appointment with the artist I like the best. When I was 18 I discovered tweezers and then when I was 18 and a half I had no brows left…. I will be eternally grateful to the beautiful soul in my college dorm who gently taught me how to use brow pencils to make it better.
I have one brow waaay shorter than the other and unfortunately it’s in the middle….. I will share my mistake in case it stops someone else for shaving down the middle to stop a not-quite-a-uni brow situation. I cut one side and it’s never come back. So I’ve been checking out blogs and instagram, etc. to see if this is doable. It seems to always look over done but they say it fades.But I had no idea it only lasts for a year or so! Back to the pencil!
I was talking to someone who had it done (badly) and it was like lip liner outside the lines- I hardly knew where to look! I am relieved for her to know it wears off.
My best friend started to lose her eyebrows due to health problems and the stress caused by said health problems. It was very noticeable, being that she’s American Indian, with jet black hair and brows. Her dermatologist recommended Latisse on her brows. Within a month, her eyebrows started to fill out, and within 3 months, she had gorgeous, thick eyebrows, just like she had when we first met 20 years ago. I would rather go that route, instead of microblading.
Bella is starting to look like many young women in LA, who start in with the facial fillers, Botox, and various other “procedures” by the time they’re 18. It’s somewhat scary to see so many young girls look like this. I was as perfect as I was ever going to get at 19 years of age. I couldn’t imagine getting all of these tweeks done at such a young age.
Needs to get her money back. They’re too far apart. She looks funny. And not in a good way.
In Singapore where I’m from, we call this eyebrow embriodery and it is very common. I got mine done a few months ago and they looked thick and black and awful for about a week, but once the skin had healed and the scabs had fallen off the brows looked full, natural and beautifully shaped. Nobody but yourself will be able to tell the difference between the microbladed strokes and your actual eyebrow hair. It will fade eventually – in about a year or two depending on skin type and the quality of the dye used. You are actually advised to avoid using exfoliating/whitening products on the area to ensure their longevity. Not a big deal at all (unless you go to a shady therapist and end up with badly shaped and misaligned brows), and I don’t see what the fuss is. I am lazy to put on any makeup beyond face powder (I have a job which requires me be out of the door by 6.15am every morning), but I LOVE the thick and full eyebrow trend so eyebrow embriodery it was. No regrets.