The Importance of Eyebrows

The NPD Group’s makeup industry analyst Kissura Mondesir recently share a blog post called “…But Then I Saw Your Eyebrows,” which notes the importance of the eyebrow in facial beauty—and the fact that they are often overlooked in grooming. However, more recently, tools for eyebrow grooming have been gaining.

Mondesir writes, “I stumbled upon a popular meme on Instagram that says, ‘I was going to like your picture, but then I saw your eyebrows.’ This instantly made me think of how important eyebrows are to the face, [which] was further underscored by the fact that makeup grooming products for eyebrows are the fastest growing items within the eye segment, and all of makeup.

“Ungroomed brows can ruin a makeup look. Just changing the shape or color can completely transform the appearance of a person’s face, and American women know it. U.S. prestige dollar sales for eyebrow makeup grooming products have consistently grown every month since January 2010, and Q1 2014 sales were up 26 percent.

“Though I do not physically shape my brows, I am not flagrantly breaking all rules of eyebrow style. I do use an eyebrow pencil to fill them in, and then set them with an eyebrow powder. According to the research, I’m not alone; with seven of the top ten selling makeup eyebrow products being pencils, pencils seem to be the tool of choice.

“The continuous growth trend of prestige eyebrow makeup products also illustrates the emphasis consumers are placing on their personal style, and their desire to create definition around one of their most important facial features. Even I, somewhat of an eyebrow beauty misfit, want my eyebrows to help my eyes speak, not muffle what they have to say,” Mondesir concludes.

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