Beauty’s big hitters

Bold brows

‘The effects are anti-ageing, too,’ says eyebrow expert Shavata Singh, who opened the first brow studio in Harrods in 2004 and now has her own product range. ‘Our brows start to thin with age, so a fuller brow will make you look younger.’ But it’s equally important they look natural – not drawn in – and that the shape suits your face. ‘Cara Delevingne’s caterpillar brows may be in vogue for younger women but their flat arches can make eyelids appear hooded over the age of 30,’ explains Singh. ‘What’s more flattering is a thicker brow with a defined arch to open up the eye.’

If you’re shaping brows, remember they should begin above your tear duct and tail off above the outer corner of your eye. Your arch should line up with the outer side of your iris – hold a pencil at a vertical angle for guidance before using slanted tweezers such as Tweezerman’s Pointed Tweezers, Dh95, to grab strays underneath the brow. Always pluck in the direction of hair growth and use two mirrors: a small magnifying mirror to help you see stray hairs, then after every couple of tweezes, take a step back to look at the overall shape in a big mirror. ‘Once you know your shape, tend to your brows while the hairs are still short,’ says Singh. ‘You’ll immediately know which hairs to tweeze and it’s easier to remove one or two strays daily, than doing a complete overhaul once a week.’ Post-shower or bath is the best time as your pores will be open, allowing the hair to ease out with minimum pain. After, place an ice cube on the area to reduce redness.

You can further define the shape as well as fill in sparse hairs using a brow pencil. Always choose a shade that matches your natural brow not your hair colour to get a softer, natural finish. Ashy shades suit blonde brows, while a mahogany pencil won’t make darker brows on brunettes and those with black hair look overdone. Try Bobbi Brown’s new Perfectly Defined Long-Wear Brow Pencils, Dh200 – they come in eight shades, have an angled tip for easy application and a brush at the other end for grooming. Or the two-in-one YSL Beauty Dessin des Sourcils, Dh123, which boasts a pencil at one end and a brush at the other to shape and shade on the go.

‘Your first strokes with a freshly sharpened brow pencil lay down the most colour,’ explains Lisa Potter-Dixon, head make-up and trend artist for Benefit Cosmetics. ‘So apply your brow pencil in the arch above your pupil first. That’s the area that needs the darkest hit of pigment. As you start to tail off your brow, the pencil will have softened down to get a more feathery result.’ Finish with a brow mascara such as L’Oreal Paris Perfection Brow Artist Plumper, Dh41, teasing the hair upwards at the start of the arch then brushing the rest outward – to set each hair.

Professional brow treatments are also on the rise. While the traditional art of threading is still used in many salons, Sephora stores across Dubai are now offering Benefit Brow Bar treatments using US-style hot waxing to pluck hairs from the root for a clean finish that lasts between four and six weeks.

But if you’re looking for a more permanent solution, turn to the new trend for brow transplants taking Dubai by storm. According to Anisa Vrabac, the head of Hair Transplant Department at the Dubai Cosmetic Surgery Clinic, its transplant procedures use minimally invasive technique known as Stem Cell FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). ‘During the procedure, hair grafts are taken from your scalp and implanted within your thinning eyebrows,’ explains Vrabac. ‘The hair grafts chosen for the procedure usually have a very fine texture and the same curvature of your original brows for a natural result.’ The harvested and implanted hairs then grow into permanent hair follicles and eventually more voluminous brows.

Contoured cheekbones

Thankfully, old-school contouring with grey face powders has had its day. Now it’s all about tricking the eye with skin-mimicking highlighters and creams or powders one shade darker than your skin, à la Kim Kardashian. Together, they create the illusion of a naturally chiselled face and cheekbones so sharp, you could shave Parmesan on them.

‘A matte cream melts seamlessly into the skin and looks the most natural,’ says Jane Richardson, international make-up artist for Nars. She swears by the brand’s Matte Multiple in Altai, Dh165, and Tom Ford’s Shade & Illuminate compact, Dh370. ‘Feel along your cheekbone and place the darker shade underneath it. Blend outwards and upwards towards the ears before sweeping down for softness.’ If your skin is on the oily side, a contouring powder such as Maybelline New York’s Master Sculpt Contouring Palette, Dh67, will have more staying power. Flick a fan brush loaded with the darker shade against the underside of your cheekbones, starting near your ear, and either side of your nose, then blend away any sharp edges.

Finish by bringing light to your face with Revlon PhotoReady Skinlights Face Illuminator, Dh84. The pearly pink shade is a match for fair skin while the Peach Light flatters darker complexions. Apply down the bridge of the nose, to the tops of cheekbones.

Show-stopping eyes

A heavy dose of the 70s inspired the beauty looks for this season. But in sharp contrast to the washes of pastel eyeshadow that dominated the catwalks at Vera Wang and Matthew Williamson was Tom Ford’s darker than dark kohled eyes. The effect was sophisticated with a rock ’n’ roll edge. According to make-up artist Lisa Eldridge, cream textures work best for this type of modern smoky eye – they stay put longer, plus they’re less ageing than layering powder shadows into the creases of your eyes.

‘Start by running a gel liner – Bobbi Brown Perfectly Defined Gel Eyeliner in Pitch Black, Dh140, is good – along the inner rim of your eyes, then draw little dots along both top and lower lashlines,’ she says. ‘Take a cream shadow, such as Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Holy Smokes, Dh100, and, moving your brush in small circles, blend over the lid, smudging out your eyeliner.

‘To find your socket line, look straight ahead, lift your brows up and take the shadow into that crease. Then smooth it over the dots on your lower lashline, taking the brush quite low to create a cloud of colour around your eyes.’

Finish with lashings of black mascara – Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara, Dh180, is the best clump-free formula – for long fluttery lashes we all secretly lust after.

Powerful pout

It was impossible to ignore the sea of punchy red lips on the SS15 catwalks of Burberry Prorsum and Zac Posen. Apart from the long-time associations with glamour, what was more apparent was how a flash of this vivid hue made eyes, teeth and skin look immediately brighter.

Match the correct shade to your skin tone – the fairer your complexion, the cooler and more blue-toned you should go. Try Tom Ford Cherry Lush Lipstick, Dh245.

The warmer orangey tones of Mac’s Ruby Woo Lipstick, Dh104, suit olive skin, while berry reds flatter darker skin types. ‘For a statement look and to prevent your lipstick from feathering into the fine lines around the mouth, apply foundation to the edge of your lips first,’ says Linda Cantello, international make-up artist for Giorgio Armani Beauty. ‘It perfects the shape of the mouth without the harsh contours of a lip pencil.’