Dem Browz

I'd like to think that I have a healthy level of self confidence.  I'm not too cocky but I'm also not cripplingly insecure.  However, there are two things that I'm super conceited about... and they are strategically placed above my eyes and called my eyebrows.  My eyebrows are phenomenal.

They're naturally pretty great but when I put powder in them, they become even more amazing and I know that everyone is jealous of my brows.  If people say that they're not jealous they are dirty liars.  So I thought that I would share how I make them look the way that they do!

The tools:
I don't dabble in brow pencil or whatever.  I stick with the powders.  Currently I am using the Smashbox brow kit in Brunette.  I've used other kits that are comparable in quality.  For example, the Wet n Wild kit is way cheaper and works pretty well.  I also use the Smashbox Angle Brow Brush #12.

My only issue with Smashbox is that I found out about a month ago that it is no longer cruelty-free.  So I'm not going to repurchase their products when I run out.  I plan on going on a brow adventure and trying out new kits.  I have my eye (brows) on the Benefit kit.

Some people will just fill in their brows and call it a day.  I think that you really need a highlighter to complete the look.  I'm currently waiting for my Watts Up by Benefit highlighter in the mail so I've been using a pencil that I got in my Birchbox.  It's called Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter.  I actually really like it.  It blends well and it's easy to apply.  My only issue is that it is very matte.  If it had a bit of shimmer it would be perfect  It was definitely a good find by the team at Birchbox though! 

So here is what I look like pre-brow magic:

 I have a nice natural arch so I don't need a stencil or anything.  But the first thing you need to do is make sure there are no unruly hairs.  Identify any spots that you might want to fill in.



Step One: Using the angled brow brush, use the lighter colored powder to fill in the sparse spots and just make them darker in general.  I don't go to to the edges.

Step Two: Using the darker color powder, trace the outlines of your brows to define them.  I usually make where they start in the middle of my face a straight vertical line and I clean up the arch.  I apologize for the poor picture quality because my nice camera died so I had to use my iPhone.  My b for not planning ahead.

 

Step Three: I personally think the highlighting is the most important part.  I take the pencil and I trace a line above my brow as close as i can get and also below.  Then I blend.  If needed, I like to take a shimmery highlighter like Moonbeam by Benefit or just a shimmery light colored eye shadow and put it on the browbone under the arch.

Finished product!

When I went to dinner at Il Cerbero, a restaurant I have been going to for about seven years, the waiter told me in broken English that I looked different from when I first came in and he said it was the brows!!  They were never AWFUL but they were definitely unfortunate.

This was almost exactly six years ago.  I obviously could have benefited by the above mentioned brow routine and maybe not taking selfies from above and maybe some White Strips.  

In conclusion, there are a few brow-oriented rules that I live my life by.

1) The skinnier the brow, the crazier the bitch.
2) Don't let people with bad eyebrows tell you shit about life.
3) Eyebrows are sisters, not twins.

Follow my brow routine and keep those rules in mind and you too can have bad ass eyebrows like me.  

Ciao ciao!
-K

First post!

I had a very eventful New Year's Eve in Rome, Italy where I knocked a few things off of my bucket list.  Get in a fist fight in front of the Spanish Steps? Check! New Year's kiss that I actually remember and am not ashamed of? Check!

After all of this excitement, I decided to do what the world has basically been begging me to do... start a blog.  Okay so maybe no one has been begging me, but I live a pretty interesting life that I'm sure a few people would like to read about.

I'm a 22 year old American living in Naples, Italy.  I've been here for about 12 years, nine if you don't count the three I spent doing undergrad in DC.  My Italian isn't as good as it should be but I make up for it by embracing the Italian culture-- especially the wine and crazy driving.  I've recently made a commitment to be vegan, which is extremely difficult considering the pizza and the pasta and variation of cheeses here but I'm trying! 

I plan on posting my Italian adventures and vegan recipes complete with suitable wine pairings!
Ciao ciao for now!
K