Flutter & Frame

Lashes and brows are having a major moment on centre stage – and they aren’t about to exit left anytime soon. I think the reason lush lashes and full eyebrows are so attractive is that they signal health. Only a vibrant, well-nutrified body will go to the trouble of maintaining a full, thick head of hair – let alone brows and lashes to frame, protect and beautify the eyes.

- VERNE MAREE

Beautifully Framed

As with most aspects of fashion and beauty, brow trends have cycled and been recycled through the decades. Today’s dramatically full, defined and manicured brows were also popular in the 40s and 50s – think Elizabeth Taylor, Vivienne Leigh – but that hasn’t always been the case. They were thin and rounded in the 20s, understated Twiggy-style in the 1960s, and again thin and plucked in the 1970s and 1990s.

In fact, the natural brows of some of my friends and family have never really recovered from overzealous plucking in the name of fashion. New tattooing techniques like microblading have been a godsend for them – and for anyone who has lost brow-hair to thyroid issues or simply getting older. Plus, of course, for people like me whose natural brows are so short, fine and blonde as to be literally invisible.

Flutter-worthy Lashes

The lash-enhancement trend is difficult to ignore – especially for genetically dispossessed unfortunates such as yours truly. Sadly, only the rare few are blessed with eyelashes long enough to look great with mascara alone. For the rest of us, mascara – even today’s improved lash-building and telescopic formulas – doesn’t really cut it.

From long, wispy, ingenuous lashes that could almost be natural, to those ultra-dramatic fan-like sweeps, lash extensions instantly add glamour and an undeniable wow-factor. Yes, top-quality extensions are not inexpensive, and maintaining them takes time and commitment. The same goes for achieving stunning eyebrows, though perhaps to a lesser extent.

Read on for our reviewers’ personal experiences, and find out why these amazing treatments are so well worth doing!