The best eyebrow shapes for your face and eye shape

There's more to getting it right than you think...

The best eyebrow shapes can take years off your age, while the distance between your brows can change the way your whole face looks.

But, like most things in beauty, eyebrows are not one size fits all. This is why you need to know about the right eyebrow shape that will suit you best.

Unless you have jumped on the microblading band wagon, you'll need to maintain you the perfect eyebrow shape with your best tweezers (we love Tweezerman's Classic Slant Tweezers, £21.95, John Lewis).

However, there are several things you need to take into consideration when grooming or looking to get thicker eyebrows.

Before you get tweezer-happy, read on to master the best eyebrow shapes for your face and eye type.

Best eyebrow shape for round faces

High, sharp arches will provide a vertical point on your face, lifting everything upwards rather than outwards. When filling in, start at your arch and make it slightly darker here than the rest of your brow. Try to create as high an arch as you can without it looking unnatural. And groom your hairs so that they point upwards, this will elongate your face.

Best eyebrow shape for long faces

If you have a long face, try to elongate your brows at the end. It’s the same premise as above, but this will draw things horizontally, to balance out your features. A flat brow shape will also make your face appear more balanced.

Best eyebrow shape for oval faces

People with oval faces, consider yourselves blessed. There are really no rules that apply, except to work with the dimensions of your face for the most natural, flattering shape (see Lisa’s tips below).

Best eyebrow shape for heart-shaped faces

A heart shaped face is one of the trickiest. Because the focus is already on your eyes and forehead, you want to keep things straight or rounded and not too heavy. Try not to attack sparse areas with a brow pencil because this will emphasise your forehead.

Best eyebrow shape for square faces

If you have a square face, go thick with a strong arch. A thicker stronger colour and shape of brow balances a heavier jawline. Angled brows also help to balance out a square face, so focus on your arch when shading in - both angled and arched brows work with this face shape.

The distance of your eyes is also key to creating your perfect brow. Always take this into consideration when deciding where your brows should start and end.

Best eyebrow shape for close-set eyes

Close-set eyes suit a long, wide arch that follows the entire length of your brow bone. Extend yours with an eyebrow pencil for precision. Also avoid a thin, sharp shape because this will have an arrow effect, pointing both inwards and downwards.

Best eyebrow shape for wide-set eyes

If you have wide-set eyes, fill in your brows so that they start further in than your eyes to draw everything into the centre. Soft brows will suit you better, so focus more on the grooming side of things than the plucking.

How to shape your brows

Now that you know the style of the brow that will suit you most, work out your best shape by using the dimensions of your face with the help of Lisa Potter-Dixon, Head Makeup Artist for Benefit Cosmetics.

Start by mapping your brows to make sure your brows start, arch and end in the right place as this will make your nose look slimmer, open your eyes and lift the cheekbones.

To do this, take a make up brush and hold the brush at the angle from the corner of your nose, through the inner corner of your eye. This is where your brow should start.

For the arch, look straight ahead and hold the brush from the corner of the nose straight up through the centre of the eye. This is where your brow should arch.

For the end, hold the brush from the corner of your nose to the outer corner of the eye, this is where your brows should end. Using these marks as a template, fill in your brows using either Benefit Goof Proof pencil, or Ka-BROW if you would rather use a cream or gel. Both will give you a defined, arched brow that will suit your face beautifully.

Brow masterclass, complete.