Current Obsession: Nude Eyebrows Without Bleach Tutorial

You guys, if you are as into Lady Gaga as I am, you probably know she's finally releasing a new single (Applause) and album (ARTPOP) within the next two months. Yeay! I'm eager to find out what she's got lined up for us and crossing my fingers she hasn't lost her mojo. One thing I'm sure of is that her new look is rocking my socks of. She has this very pure thing going on right now, hardly any make up, a healthy glow and understated hair that looks like it could have actually grown out of her head that way. I usually don't find a super natural look all that inspiring, but after years of throwing everything out there it is refreshing and even endearing to see Gaga showing herself without all of that Scheiße creating a barrier between us and her.

Of course, Gaga wouldn't be the Queen if she didn't subvert that subdued look in some way. And she has, by getting her septum pierced and bleaching her eyebrows. You're probably thinking "but how does Annebeth think she looks sweet and natural while having a cow-piercing and alien eyebrows?", to which I say: judge for yourself!

She's still got a "look", but it feels like something a real girl would work out for herself: a teen experimenting with a more alternative style, instead of a mega-celebrity with a small team in charge of even the most minute details of her image. The glowing skin and freckles make me want to CUT OFF HER FACE AND STICK IT ONTO MY OWN, but less like Buffalo Bill.

Also, it made me realize that bleached eyebrows (one of my longest beauty obsessions) CAN actually work for someone who doesn't have an extremely alternative look. According to my humble opinion, the key is to pair the nude brow with a very healthy glow, sun kissed skin (see also: Chloe Sevigny in Gummo and Yolandi Visser), lots of mascara and sexy, mussed up hair. Which is exactly how Gaga rocked it.

Now, I still think that grabbing bleach and looking like a (very sexy) alien until your eyebrows grow out isn't for everyone, including me at this point. But we do love to experiment, amirite? So! I found a way to make this look work for you and me.
  
What you'll need:

- A very pigmented foundation or concealer
- An old, cleaned mascara wand (or a new one, just make sure it's clean!)
- Highlighter
- Bronzer
- Your favourite mascara (mine is Maybelline Volum' Express)
- Blush
- A neutral, flattering lipshade or just some lipliner in the colour of your own lips.


What you'll do:

- Start with a clean face. Do your usual thing for a base: moisturizer, sunscreen, BB cream, foundation: whatevs. Just as a reminder, this is me without make up.

- Grab your bronzer and a kabuki brush (one of those big, fluffy ones). Swipe some bronzer over your nose and cheeks. A good tip here is to wear some big sunglasses (or imagine where they would sit), and brush around them. This will make sure the "highest" points of your face will look bronzed, which is how real sun usually works. Cheekbones, nose and browbones are some places you definitely need to hit.

- Now it's time for a nice bit of your favourite blusher + highlighter on your cheekbones, and some highlighter on your brow bones. This picture beautifully demonstrates what highlighter should do, and where it should go.

- Finish off your face with some mineral powder.

 These are actually cellphone picture from after I've done ALL of my make up but I forgot to take shots throughout the ordeal, sorry! My camera being broken has taken me out of my routine :( I photoshopped out my eyes and eyebrows so as not to spoil ze big reveal at the end of this post. Anyway, I thought they illustrated my facial make up nicely. The glow is key. Let's move on!

- Do your lashes. I used three coats of mascara because that got them in Gaga territory. I also used a bit of pencil in the outer corners of my eye to sexify them a tiny bit more. Remember: this look is about equal parts girly sex appeal and creepy alien. And the heavy mascara will make your eyebrows seem even nuder.

- Get your heavy duty concealer/foundation on that clean mascara wand I told you to get! Really load it on. Now, start working that concealer/foundation into your eyebrows. Swipe it back and forth, coating all of the hair with it. You can let it set for a while and add another coat if you want more coverage.

- Grab your lip-toned lipliner and neatly outline your lips. The upper lip is the most important, because that one usually has the most irregular shape and it grabs the most attention. Finish off with a neutral lipgloss/stick/whatever.

- And... done! Be sure to do something sexy to your hair, because this look needs to look glowy and sexy to be wearable. Unless you want to take it all the way into edgy-ville. In that case: rock your heart out!

Probably not everybody's cup of tea, but nothing is, right? I think I got pretty close to Gaga's example and this really is quite a wearable look if you ask me. I also really like how barely-there brows give your face a very serene, almost regal look. But that might be because it reminds me of Renaissance beauties who would pluck their brows and their hairline to get this big, child/alienlike forehead.

So, what do you say? Next up: no brows and a very dark smokey eye a la Lara Stone? :-D