If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend binge-watching The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem (the second season recently landed on Netflix). It’s set in 1930s Jerusalem during the British Mandate, starring Shtisel heartthrob Michael Aloni as well as actress Hila Saada who serves up some classic Amy Winehouse allure with her raven locks and striking looks.
But for me the star was actress Swell Ariel Or (best name ever), who rocked a medley of iconic red lipsticks and some bold brows that would rival a teenage Brooke Shields.
A statement brow has been all the rage for the past decade, it’s youthful and can frame a face like nothing else. (Think of a brow like a movie soundtrack: if it’s good you won’t even notice it’s there, but if it’s bad it’s jarring and distracting.)
Yet there are rumours that skinny brows – last seen in the 90s supermodel era and as championed by Nicola Peltz — are making a comeback, with searches for “skinny brows” increasing by 2,900 per cent last year.
Having made several disastrous attempts to pull off the “skinny brows” look myself as a teenager (all that plucking!), I can conclude that the bold brows are a lot more manageable. Plus to me, they seem synonymous with Jewish beauty. So paying homage to Ms. Or, I’ve decided to up my own brow grooming game and get those wayward arches in order.
If you’re not sure where to start, I’d recommend getting your brows threaded or waxed a few times a year, so you have a shape you can tidy and tart up between sessions.
Among the best in the business is Suman Jalaf (of Suman London) who has outposts all over the city. I tried her Bespoke Eyebrow Shape and Tint (£70) last year and, no exaggeration, it made me look like I’d had a facelift. Or if you’re further afield, you can head to your nearest branch of Benefit where you can get a half-decent brow wax and tint for £27.
To avoid the blocky brow look, it’s a good idea to start applying brow pigment about a few millimetres from where the brow starts to make it look more natural, focusing on the arch and the tail.
I’ve never got on with brow pencils (to me, they make brows look too obviously drawn on) so I settled on a more reliable brow mascara: Milk’s Kush Fibre Eyebrow Gel (£21) with conditioning cannabis seed oil which combs the brow hairs into place while it colours.
A stronger brow might seem a little alarming at first. So if you happen to be spending the day indoors, try experimenting with different levels of brow colour throughout the day, removing some of the pigment with a cotton bud if it feels too heavy.
Whether skinny brows will finally become a thing again remains to be seen. But I’m still holding out hope that many of us put down those tweezers and stick with the more bold and beautiful variety, à la Swell Ariel.
Viola Levy has been a freelance beauty journalist for more than ten years, being inspired to make it her chosen career after being told: “No one’s going to pay you to write about makeup.” In 2019 she won the Fragrance Foundation Jasmine Award for Best Short Piece, reporting on how urban life is damaging our sense of smell.
