‘Vogue’ Editors on the Products They Use to Shape, Maintain, and Enhance Their Eyebrows (2024)

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Brows and the best eyebrow-shaper tools are ever changing, ever evolving. Scrolling through internet diagrams of arches through the decades, I’m struck by one describing a ’60s-ish “super high” curve as The Twiggy, a “big and heavy” ’80s shape as The Cindy Crawford, and the ’90s “sweet and low” is, of course, The Kate Moss. This pencil-thin line that defined an era was originally created by the late makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, who famously “pinned me down, and [plucked] out all my eyebrows,” Moss laughs in the documentary Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story. Today, such an act may not be recounted with such levity.

Nevertheless, decades later, we’ve taken the face-framing feature into our own hands. When crowdsourcing ideas for the best summer brow products from Vogue editors, I found that their daily maintenance routines felt unique, bespoke in their own way. Even those who don’t identify as “into beauty” have still nailed down a routine for maximizing their personal set. Some, like myself, are dabbling in brow soap, while others swear by a swipe of low-key clear gel or a bit of balm for a “dewy brow” that sounds as fresh as it looks. Below, a dozen Vogue editors share which of the best eyebrow-shaper tools they rely on to get the perfect pair:

Puja Prakash, Senior Social Media Manager

“I love the effortless-but-actually-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-them look. My favorite products to use are the Fenty Brow MVP Ultra Fine Pencil to loosely shape them and then the Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel to keep it all in place!”

Fenty Brow MVP Ultra Fine Pencil

Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel

Steff Yotka, Senior Fashion News Editor

“My only brow secret is super low-maintenance: clear brow gel, brushed straight up. I learned the tip from a very old Style.com backstage video.... I can’t even remember the show, but it really imprinted on me.”

MAC Cosmetics Brow Set

Morgan Senesi, Bookings Manager

“I tweeze my middle unibrow hairs (nothing else) as they pop up, and apply Lucas’ Papaw Ointment when going out for a dewy brow!”

Lucas Papaw Ointment

Lucie Zhang, Director of Social Media

“I usually like to get my brows threaded monthly at Hibba in SoHo to shape them, then I use Boy Brow over them to help enhance. If I’m too lazy to get them threaded, I sometimes cheat and use concealer to help shape them.”

Emily Farra, Senior Fashion News Writer

“Ever since Kristie Streicher showed me how to fill in my brows in the Style.com office back in 2013, I’ve rarely gone a day without some kind of brow product. Mine are a decent shape (thanks to my mom’s insistence that I never pluck them), but they’re a little sparse in some spots. Tinted gels aren’t quite enough definition for me, so I usually use a tub of wax or pomade first (like EcoBrow’s brow defining wax) followed by a few swipes of Beautycounter gel. Face-framing and life-changing!”

Credo Beauty Ecobrow Brow Defining Wax

Beautycounter Brilliant Brow Gel

Sarah Spellings, Fashion News Editor

“Let’s call my brows substantial: They’re not bushy, but I don’t really feel the need to make them look any bigger than they actually are. I stopped getting them threaded to tip the scales slightly towards the Brooke Shields effect, and the only product I use is Anastasia’s Tinted Brow Gel in brunette. A few quick swipes, and I have license to stop thinking about my eyebrows for the next eight hours.”

Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel

Lilah Ramzi, Features and Commerce Editor

“My eyebrow regime is a very unglamorous one. I have quite thick, coarse, and constantly growing (and curling!) eyebrows that need biweekly trims. I stopped plucking years ago and found all I needed to do was a bit of shaping. First, I use a clean eyebrow brush (I like one from Anastasia Beverly Hills) to arrange my hairs in an upward position, then I take a small pair of grooming scissors and trim the edges into shape. Lastly, I’ll set it all with Chanel’s Le Gel Sourcils which helps fill in all the negative spaces.”

Utopia Care Store Curved and Rounded Facial Hair Scissors

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brush #14

Chanel Le Gel Sourcils Longwear Eyebrow Gel

Liana Satenstein, Senior Fashion Writer

“I pluck with a tweezer! And then I trim the top with a pair of manicure scissors.”

Tweezerman Ultra Precision Mini Slant Tweezer

Tweezerman Brow Shaping Scissors and Brush

Clarissa Schmidt, Commerce Producer

“Yes, I, too, went through a pencil-thin eyebrow phase in the early 2000s, and carried on with them for much longer than I’d like to admit. Over the last few years, I resisted the urge to pick up the tweezers and overly pluck my brows so I could instead grow them out to look fuller and defined. With the help of a good eyebrow pencil, I typically lightly shade in any sparse areas, and finish off my look with Glossier’s Boy Brow to fluff and hold my desired shape.”

Maybelline Brow Ultra Slim Defining Eyebrow Pencil

Glossier Boy Brow

Julie Tong, Senior Commerce Editor

“I’m a big fan of Merit’s minimalist beauty line and I’m all about efficiency in the morning too. I love its volumizing brow pomade because it helps give me that no-makeup makeup look in minutes. It help my brows look and feel fuller, while still looking natural and well-groomed. My only issue is keeping it stocked!”

Merit Beauty Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade

Lauren Sanchez, Business Manager

“Brooke Shields has forever been my brow babe muse. Low maintenance, slightly unkempt, and forever a level eight on the brow fluff scale, I stopped threading four years ago and haven’t looked back—but not without some repercussions. Every morning I have fussy wisps of hair that need taming. Glossier’s Boy Brow has always been up to the task. Like mascara for the brow, a few quick strokes in the morning last all day, while adding a subtle Audrey Hepburn–like definition.”

Glossier Boy Brow

Elise Taylor, Senior Living Writer

“My entire face changed once I started using Milk’s Kush Brow Gel. Need I say more?”

Milk Makeup Kush Fiber Eyebrow Gel

Arden Fanning Andrews, Contributing Writer

“I’m into a kind of spacey look, where I just brush everything up, up, and out. I tried Jason Wu’s Brow Shaper Soap after realizing the formula was actually clean. Instead of the suggested mist, though, I used tap water with an old toothbrush and looked floofed and cool in a couple of seconds. If I’m really dressing up, I’ll add a tint of Diorshow mascara in blue.”

Jason Wu Beauty the Bush Tamed Eyebrow Soap

Dior Diorshow Mascara

‘Vogue’ Editors on the Products They Use to Shape, Maintain, and Enhance Their Eyebrows (2024)

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