Is the ’90s brow making a comeback?

According to new research, Brow-techs and MUA’s take note that we’ll see a shift away from bold brows in 2022, with clients looking for more natural options. While we won’t see super thin, pencilled arches amongst the general public (just yet) there’s been a move against the bulky “Kardashian” brow of the last few years.

GiGi Hadid and Dua Lipa had the most popular brows, and there were 2.1 million posts referring to “brow lamination.” Meanwhile, “Fluffy Brows” as modelled by Billie Eilish received 517k posts.

To the relief of most – pencil-thin arches are unlikely to make a mainstream come back. The “90s comeback” brow received a mere 2.5k posts on Instagram. Brow artist Rene de la Garza commented to Bustle last year that the 90s brow trend, popularised by model Bella Hadid, wasn’t actually about removing a lot of hair. She said of the look, “It’s more sculpted than it is thin”, and explained that the refined brow was a backlash against the lockdown unkemptness, “they just want to go all out with a beautifully pristine, sculpted look.”

Pro-MUA Katie Moore believes it's best to steer away from trends when building a brow, and focus on what works best for the client, and the look.
MUA Katie Moore says tailoring the brow to the client, and the look is more important than sticking with any trend.
Images courtesy Katie Moore.

Sophie Pagett, Manager at cult-brow Sydney Brow-Studio, Honey Tusk, Freshwater has seen a move away from the hyper-structured “Instagram brow” of the last few years. She explains “The majority of our clients are happy to be guided by their brow experts, but overall there has been less of a demand for the perfect ‘Insta-brow’. A more ‘natural brow’ is becoming the most sought after – as is using lamination to get a fuller, fluffier brow.” She says that teenagers are better educated than ever, meaning brow artists spend less time doing damage control. “More brow education from a younger age has seen tweens and teens stepping away from the tweezers – that means brow artists are left to tweak a naturally beautiful canvas as opposed to going into damage control!”

Sydney-based makeup artist Katie Moore says that when it comes to brows, it’s unwise to follow trends full stop. She says “Avoid trends when dealing with your eyebrows. Clients should focus on finding a great brow technician who can set them up with a flattering shape, tailored to them.” Then, from an artistry perspective: “Only fill where needed – or don’t. It’s a misconception that every makeup look requires a super defined brow.”

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