Having perfectly shaped eyebrows is very important, as they are what frame the eyes. Your eyes frame your face, which are the windows to your soul. The first thing one looks when greeting someone, are the eyes; so having nice brows is essential and a must nowadays. There are many styles of brows, and in order to know which one you prefer and suits you best; you should know a bit about the history of eyebrows.

     Eyebrow trends change over time, as does fashion and any other beauty trend. In late centuries, uni brows were popular for women; so brows have evolved quite a lot..thank god. In the 1920's brows were thin and straight.

 In the 30's they were still thin but very arched. They hardened your look and they appeared more like an evil queen's brow (think Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty).

 In the 40's brows thickened a bit but were still arched; kind of like an average type of brow. In the 50's the trend was to wear darkened, thicker brows with a pointy arch;  like Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn (although hers weren't as arched). 

In the 60's brows were typically shaved off and penciled in, with individual strokes using a brow pencil. Darkening them was also a big trend. They were thick as well and looked very fake.

In the 70's, brows were of medium width and had a more natural arch. They seemed more natural looking, the only difference was they started with a ball shape on the thickest part of the brow, near the beginning of the eyes.  
In the 80's Brooke Shields shook things up by having bushy, natural shaped brows. These were great since they were very low maintenance and looked "au naturel".  Now a days, Keira Knightley wears this trend.

In the 90's brows were of medium width and followed a more natural brow pattern, with a smooth outer brow arch..like Madonna. Notice her virgin brows on the left, and how much cleaner they look on the right. Having more space opens up her eyes and softens them as well.

Now a days, in the 2000's brows still follow the natural shape, but are more inspired by the 80's fullness trend. A thick Brooke Shield type brow, which looks ungroomed is seen all over runways world wide..like the Kardashians. 

As with all in fashion, not everyone likes all trends or can wear them. So maybe a full brow is not for you; especially if you have small lid space. Defining your brows can really open up your eyes, so do groom them regularly and try new shapes if you are curious and more of a beauty risk taker.  I would recommend trying to keep your eyebrows as natural looking as possible, both in shape and thickness. Eyebrows do not grow back as much past a certain age point; so if you over pluck in your early adult life or teens, you may suffer from having thin and sparse brows in later years. Plus, it is always more appealing to having medium to thick brows than thin ones, as these tend to age you and give you a harsher look. If you don't believe me, look at every singe evil queen in kid movies; you will notice they all have high, pointy and arched brows... it is not a nice look. Thicker brows will always suit you better, plus they make you look younger...true fact!

There are many forms of brows if you start to notice. Not one person has the same brows as you, and not one brow is exactly the same as the other. It is normal to have asymmetrical brows; the important thing here is to determine which brow shape you prefer and which suits you best, based on your face shape. The idea is to compliment and balance whichever face shape you have, which tends to be the opposite of the one you have. For example, if you have a round face, a straight brow will suit you best. A long or oval face pairs best with a medium arch and width brow (a mid point type of brow, not too dramatic). And if you have a square face, a rounder/more arched brows will make you look great. Here is a chart with the different forms of brow, so you can identify which one you'd like to have:

Hope you found this eyebrow history post interesting and useful! If you want to know the 3 ground rules on how to shape your brows, stay tuned for my next post: Eyebrow Grooming :)

There's a new hype in the beauty industry and it comes from the Asian makers of BB creams...CC creams! CC cream stands for color correcting cream and it is basically a BB cream filled with loads more anti-aging ingredients and better coverage. These were introduced by the Asian market mid year and have just hit the states last month. Top ones raved about so far are from Chanel (only sold in Asia) and Rachel K. Being so new to the market, they are still hard to come by; but I am sure they will become readily available in 2013. Olay has just released one to drugstores in October in the USA which is very inexpensive.

411 on CC Creams

- Corrects any pigmentation issues, age spots, scars, blemishes

- Is oil free and has lighter texture than BB cream

- Longer wearing 

- Contains more skin nourishing ingredients, vitamin E and anti-oxidants to help with aging

- Has higher SPF of 50

- Contains whitening agents to diminish age spots

- Fuller coverage than BB cream, yet still lighter than a foundation

- Best on sensitive/oily skin

- Not available in many shades yet (3 so far)

- Retail price from drugstore to high end $21-80

  It's no surprise Asian women have great skin, as they have access to the latest technology in cosmetics. Being one step ahead of the game really helps in having the best variety and results in beauty products.  Asians have excellent skin care and take their overall health very seriously. They keep away from the sun, use an umbrella when outdoors,  eat healthy and all this reflects in young looking, even toned, bright skin. If we'd follow in their foot steps and were more disciplined with our skin regimen, our skin would reflect this and look fantastic as well. But it's never too late to start caring for your skin; as they say... better late then never ;) 

  
For those of you who have been living under a rock and have no idea what BB creams are, I will fill you in so you can determine if buying one is the best for you.

  A BB cream is a beauty balm or blemish balm, which originated in Germany in the 1950's by Christine Shrammeck. She created this for patients who underwent facial chemical peels, as a healing moisturizer which would also protect them from the sun and cover scars/blemishes all at once. This cream was used by dermatologists ever since, but in 2010 it was brought out to the mass markets in Asia; specifically Japan and South Korea. Between 2011 and 2012 it started gaining popularity in the US and Europe, and now the success is world wide. It became an instant hit and there was a lot of hype around it...a cosmetic product with the properties of a medical cream??!!!

BB Cream 101:

- All in one product:  primer, moisturizer, SPF and foundation
- Hydrates like a moisturizer, soothes as an anti-inflammatory, corrects age spots like serums, conceals like makeup
- Light to medium coverage (tone wise- heavier than a tinted moisturizer but lighter than a foundation)
- Thicker texture as it's very moisturizing; many contain silicone
- Best on normal to dry skin
- Evens out skin tone and texture 
- Has SPF 15-30 
- Contains serum like anti-aging ingredients such as vitamin C, aloe  vera, caffeine, ginseng, soy beans, etc.
- Good shade range (fair, light, medium, tan, dark) 
- Retail price (drugstore to high end) $10-60

  Be aware that now due to marketing tricks, all BB creams state they do all of the above; yet many of these do nothing more than a tinted moisturizer. The best BB creams are still Asian ones, as they have all these healing properties; but they might be hard to get a hold of  or are very expensive to have shipped.
There are many great BB creams from both drugstore such as Garnier, to high end such as Chanel. I personally love the ones from Too Faced and Smashbox, and they are midway in brand names and and price.

So if you like to wear moisturizers that contain color and nutrients that will help you have better looking skin, you should try a BB cream. It basically is a cream, serum and foundation all in one. Don't miss my next post as I'll be reviewing CC creams...the latest skincare product worldwide.