There have been periods in the world history of fashion when women neglected anything in their appearance, but not their eyebrows. This is not accidental, because when their shape changes, the whole image and facial expression change dramatically. In addition, none of the facial features lends itself so easily to correction as eyebrows, and after all, the fashion and mood of the ladies are so changeable.
Legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve believes that eyebrows are the framing of the face and the most important part of makeup.
Today there is a real cult of eyebrow care - a lot of cosmetics for their design and make-up: Brow studios and even Brow stylists But have you ever wondered what fashion trends in eyebrow shape you would follow if you were born, say, in the 16th century?
Our author Anna Sizonenko decided to reveal all the secrets of the past and tell about the history of fashion on eyebrows.
Fused eyebrows in modern society are considered a sign of extreme neglect, but in ancient times women had completely opposite views on this.
In the Ancient East, noble ladies (and sometimes not only ladies) dyed their eyebrows so that they stood out on their faces. Long eyebrows visually extended the shape of the eyes and made the look mysterious. The joined eyebrow was considered a highlight. The girls diligently looked after the hair on the bridge of the nose, stimulating their growth with an ointment made from the usma plant, and also tinted it with gum.
Interestingly, in Assyria, thick hair on the bridge of the nose was considered a sign of a person of blue blood, and only representatives of noble families were allowed to wear such beauty. Girls of modest birth were forbidden to grow a full eyebrow on pain of imposing punishment. I wonder if there were many illegal attempts to touch the beautiful?
In Ancient Greece and Rome, it was believed that fused eyebrows emphasize the sensual beauty of a girl, so many of them painted on the missing hairs on the bridge of their nose in order to attract the attention of men.
At a certain period, such eyebrows began to be perceived as something too seductive and frank, and girls from decent families were denied the right to wear such makeup. Then it became the exclusive prerogative of the priestesses of love. The eyebrow dye was prepared from a mixture of goat milk and black incense.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, the era of the glorification of bodily beauty ended, and other, much more severe ideals came to replace. In the Middle Ages, a complete renunciation of worldly pleasures was revered. Society was strict with women, their earthly beauty was considered sinful, awakening vicious desires. The virgin was considered the ideal of a woman.
In this regard, the aristocrats of Italy, France and the Netherlands preferred to create for themselves a somewhat unearthly, ghostly image. The fashion spread to the complete rejection of decorative cosmetics, the deliberate purity of the lady was emphasized. In this era, women were considered beautiful with a bloodless white complexion, a swan neck and a high, even forehead (it was perceived as a symbol of a bright mind and unsullied thoughts).
To make the shape of the face seem more elongated, the ladies removed the hair above the forehead and completely plucked or shaved off their eyebrows, and in order to visually lengthen the neck, they shaved the back of their heads. The most desperate women of fashion pulled out their eyelashes mercilessly. I must say that there is evidence that the surrounding men were not enthusiastic about this fashion, and they can be understood
During the Renaissance, the standard of living of people increased, and at the same time their mores softened. In Europe, they again began to glorify female beauty. It was an era of admiration for femininity. Noble ladies start to do their makeup again.
One of the most beautiful and influential women of the Renaissance was Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henry II of France. It was she who established the indisputable standard of female beauty, which has not lost its relevance in France for one hundred and fifty years. In accordance with it, a real damsel must certainly have:
“Three things are white - skin, teeth, hands;
three black - eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes;
three pink - lips, cheeks, nails;
three long ones - body, hair, fingers;
three short ones - teeth, ears, feet;
three thin ones - lips, waist, ankles;
three full - arms, thighs, calves;
three small ones - chest, nose, head."
Women tried to correspond to the ideal as much as possible, and if it was difficult to make the feet smaller, then the eyebrows, as always, were easily susceptible to correction. Preference was given to a smooth, thin, rounded eyebrow with a slight bend in the shape of a crescent. During this era, a wide variety of eyebrow lipsticks appeared.
In the 17th-18th centuries, women already used makeup to the utmost, they generously powdered their faces, painted and glued moles, “flies”, and even wore false eyebrows, which were made from mouse skins. Most often they were glued high on the forehead, thus creating a slightly arrogant facial expression.
In the Victorian era, modesty was prized, and the real ladies of England considered the use of cosmetics beneath their dignity, preferring the natural shape of the eyebrows. In France, the ladies continued to use powder, blush, lipstick and, of course, blackened eyebrows. Relevant at that time were eyebrows in the form of a thin, slightly broken arc. Scientists of that time argued that young ladies with such a shape of eyebrows are distinguished by a particularly light and pleasant character.
The 20th century was truly the century of the eyebrows! Over the past century, women of fashion have tried all possible forms.
In the 1920s, the image of a passionate and demonic woman was fashionable. Silent movie actresses have shown the trend for ultra-thin, graceful eyebrows with elongated tips. Natural data sometimes did not allow such a clear correction of the shape, and the girls, following the example of Marlene Dietrich, completely shaved off their eyebrows and drew an impeccable shape with a pencil.
“How electricity sings in crystals!
I am in love with your thin eyebrow!
You are dancing, Your Majesty
Queen Love!"
(Alexander Vertinsky, 1930)
In the 30s, the fashion for thin eyebrows-strings was still preserved, only the bend changed, it became more curved, due to which the face acquired an amazed expression. The ideal of the era was Greta Garbo - she set the trend for such eyebrows.
In the 40s, women stopped plucking their eyebrows so thinly. But now the ladies painted on a thin long tip to the very temple. This fashion was shown by the Oscar-winning movie star Katharine Hepburn.
In the 50s, eyebrows with a strong kink became popular; the shape with a high arch was considered ideal. Inaccuracy did not say goodbye. At the time, everyone looked up to Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, which is a very high standard.
In the 60s, girls took an example from Sophia Loren, who clearly stood out her eyebrows. She drew on the slightly upturned ends, which helped to create a searing, cocky and rebellious image.
The 70s will be remembered as the era of “flower children”. Hippies strived to be as close to nature as possible, which was reflected in the general attitude towards vegetation on the body - many completely stopped adjusting the shape of their eyebrows (and forgot about hair removal in general). Looking at the photos of fashionable girls from the 70s, modern young ladies are drawn to pick up tweezers. The main beauty motto of those years was À la Naturelle! That, in fact, was preserved in the era of bright disco - the 80s.
In the 1990s and early 2000s. the ladies got tired of fluffy eyebrows and began to pluck them quite thinly. Smoothness gave way to sharpness. The shape with a pointed corner was popular.
Since the mid-2000s. and to this day, naturalness again comes into fashion. In addition, several popular trends have appeared in the design of eyebrows at once.
The fashion for skillfully neglected eyebrows has not gone away for quite some time. This trend has spread widely under the influence of such famous supermodels as Cara Delevingne and Natalia Vodianova, whom nature has endowed with spectacular eyebrows. This detail has become their highlight, which, it seems to us, they will never give up.
However, it can be seen with the naked eye that these girls carefully look after their eyebrows, and this deliberately natural, romantic and careless look is the result of hard work. Thick eyebrows will undoubtedly attract attention and serve as a bright framing of the eyes. And if this form really suits you, then you are very lucky.
Fortunately, in our time there are no canons that absolutely everyone must follow, because every woman has her own eyebrow width. And many modern girls abandon a somewhat unkempt naturalness in favor of bright, clear and graphic eyebrows, like those of Hollywood divas.
Nowadays, the passion for eyebrow design has reached the point that fashion houses continue to experiment with unusual colors, appliqués and other accents. A prime example is the world-famous gold eyebrows from the 2013 Christian Dior runway, created by renowned makeup artist Pat McGrath.
Also memorable was the Chanel Prêt-à-Porter Fall-Winter 2012 2013 show, in which the faces of the models were adorned with strips of false eyebrows, hand-embroidered with multicolored sequins and glittering rhinestones by masters from the famous Parisian studio Lesage.
Haute couture is an art and it is undoubtedly beautiful. However, if you overdo it with width and color in everyday life, you risk looking out of place. OFM believes that today one should not imitate film stars or models from the fashion industry, where extremes are welcomed and deliberately neglected, thick, wide eyebrows are quite appropriate. It will be optimal to choose the width of the eyebrows based on your facial features. Correctly selected eyebrow shape will favorably emphasize your beauty and make your look especially captivating.
