The trends that raised eyebrows
Delevingne LOOKING back over beauty trends, nothing has undergone a more dramatic transformation than the humble eyebrow.
We’ve plucked them, dyed them and, in some cases, forced them into near-extinction.
But how did we get from barely there in the Roaring 20s, to the bold “Insta-brow” of today? 1920s Actress Clara Bow set the bar for brows with her over-extended, pencil-thin arches. Also dubbed the “sad brow”, the downwards extension of this style created an appearance of constant sorrow – useful for a silent film star, not ideal for the everyday. 1930s and 40s The 30s took the minimalist look to a new level, with Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo reportedly shaving off their brows and drawing them in above the natural brow-bone every day. By the 40s, thin brows were on their way out, replaced by a much softer, more feminine look. 1950s Hollywood starlets like Elizabeth Taylor were ahead of the curve (literally) in this decade, defining softly-arched brows with matte powder – it was the era of the natural brow, but there’s never any harm in a little bit of definition. 1960s Brows “au naturel” grew in popularity, spearheaded by Audrey Hepburn. But this wasn’t entirely natural – women were fans of shaving the ends from their brows and drawing them back in at a higher angle. 1970s and 80s Thick brows were all the rage – think Madonna and Brooke Shields with their “power brows”. Even naturally bushy brows were given a good dose of eye pencil. 1990s In the 90s, women picked up their tweezers once more, with Kate Moss leading the charge. 2000s The happy-go-plucky approach showed no sign of slowing down until the middle of the decade, when Angelina Jolie put paid to the tweezed-to-death look. 2010s Model Cara Delevingne is credited with bringing back the strong arches of the 80s, and sales of brow gels, pencils and powders are soaring.