What Are Instagram Brows and Do You Need Them?

The Instagram brow is dramatic and arty, and apparently has its roots in drag queen make-up, which may explain why the look may be too much for some. It photographs well, but some may feel it’s too OTT in person. Others, however, have embraced the trend as something that frames the face and brings proportion and balance to the face and eyes. One school of thought if you want to have Instagram brows is to keep the rest of your make-up minimal or nude. What we’ve realised though is that if your brows are drama but the rest of your face is bare, it looks weird too. We recommend at least mascara and eyeliner and some measure of contouring for this to work. Or you could just be like popular YouTuber and social star @nikkietutorials and go strong on the colours (see pic above). Who are we to argue with someone who has 8 mil followers?

If you want thick, dramatic brows but aren’t blessed with abundant eyebrows, you can always draw them in. After all, the look is already a little fake, so don’t worry about it not looking entirely natural. You’d have to be deft with a brow pencil though (there are plenty of tutorials online), and be prepared to go through pencils really quickly (trust us, we’ve tried). Otherwise, there’s Browhaus’ new Brow Resurrection Ombre, which takes the brand’s Brow Resurrection procedure a step further, by using a combination of sliding and pointillism techniques with two different high-grade needles to deliver full brows with a gradient base, for a more polished look — basically, the much-desired Instagram brows. BR Ombre will set you back $2,000 and take up about two hours (with two complimentary touch-ups), but you’ll have Insta-brows for the foreseeable future (about one-and-a-half years) without spending a good amount of time on your brows every day.

Angelababy (above) is a great example of an Asian celeb with fab Instagram brows, and perhaps her brows, like the rest of her features are (ahem) God-given, but the rest of us mere mortals need some help. Which is how I came to be lying in a chair at Browhaus with numbing cream on my brows. The verdict with regards to the pain is that it is practically painless. It seems numbing cream technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since the last time I tried brow semi-permanent make-up. A Browhaus master specialist (who has undergone rigorous training and selection and has at least five years’ experience with Browhaus) stares intently at my brows, then makes a few deft brushstrokes with a pencil. After we’re both happy with the shape and colour, she starts scratching lightly onto the surface of the skin with a special needle-like tool (there’s no pain). The brows are then stained with dye. All I have to do is lie there and wait for my dream brows.

Yes, I love my Instagram brows. But they don’t have to look as drama as Russian model and social media star @diana_korkunova’s brows (above). If I leave them as they are, without any further filling in or brow make-up, they actually look very natural. But some brow powder or a brow pencil will help you create that very dense, dark and defined look favoured by top beauty influencers. As anyone who’s done brow embroidery will tell you, expect some itching and flaking for a week or so (it helps to use aftercare products). At least one touch-up is essential, as the dye will fade a little. And being a fading, shrinking violet is a no-no when it comes to Instagram brows.

Brow Resurrection Ombre is available at all Browhaus outlets. Visit www.browhaus.com.

Get one step closer to the Instagram brows of your dreams with Browhaus’ Free Brow Shaping Day, on September 30 at Browhaus at Tampines One (#02-25) from 12pm to 4pm. Be one of the first 100 customers to receive a free brow shaping session and a Browhaus goodie bag worth up to $590. And if you’re really, really early, like the first 10 in line, you get, omg, a free Brow Resurrection trial worth $1284 (for new BR customers only). Other brow-tastic Browhaus initiatives include #AskBrowhaus, where you can use the hashtag #AskBrowhaus to ask the brow experts any brow-related questions on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For more info and two other cool initiatives, go to www.browhaus.com.