Brows-to-be

All brides-to-be, mothers-of-the-bride, mothers-of-the-groom -- heck, anybody who's going to be photographed professionally in the near future -- should pick up a copy of the June issue of Oprah's magazine, O. There's an article inside devoted to eyebrows. Yes, eyebrows...specifically, how they can affect your expression.

Whenever I'm asked for advice on make-up for portraits, I always recommend three things:  hire a professional make-up artist (and not your cousin whose make-up always looks nice: she knows how to do her face, not necessarily yours), try false eyelashes (like putting a frame around your eyes) and pay special attention to your eyebrows, making sure they're groomed and the right shape for your face. And now here's photographic proof I was on the right track. I just love it when that happens!

In The Secret Language of Brows, author Jenny Bailey says that "your eyebrows might be communicating a false message of what you're feeling," which can give someone the wrong impression of you. In great photographs by Patrik Andersson, the article shows Before and After shots of real women who, with just a few tweaks and tweezes, have their appearance transformed by eyebrows that fit the shape of their face and eyes. One transformation that really stood out to me was Daisy, whose thin, half-moon shaped eyebrows made her look harsh. I think the difference, seen in the photograph below, is stunning.

So was Aurelie's Before and After. Not only does she look more polished, she really does look happier.

Happy tweezing!

Now, if we could just get GQ to do a spread on why men really need to get rid of those distressing nose hairs...