Description:
Robyn Cosio experiences creative giddiness every time she meets a new client's eyebrows. "What other calling allows you to give women an instant 'facelift' that will elevate their spirits as well as widen and enlarge their eyes?" the author and renowned make-up artist asks in The Eyebrow, a thoroughly fascinating encyclopedia on eyebrow beauty. Starting with a historical view of the brow, Cosio includes bizarre facts--for example, fashionable women of the early 1700s wore false eyebrows cut from mouse hides to make themselves look perpetually surprised. The bulk of the text and photos, however, is devoted to the famous eyebrows of the 20th century, including those of Greta Garbo, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Ali McGraw, and Uma Thurman. Drawing parallels between the fashions, politics, and ideology of each decade, Cosio shows how the eyebrow has given shape to different eras--more perky and defined in the '50s, wild and wayward in the early '70s, powerful and statement-oriented in the '80s. She also devotes a section to understanding the allure and hidden messages behind the male eyebrow. By the time readers reach the final chapter, they'll be itching to use their tweezers. Fortunately, Cosio delivers 25 well-illustrated pages on how to find the ideal brow design and offers a slew of tips for tweezing and maintaining shape. Simply flipping through the pages of this generously photographed book will make you look upon your own eyebrows--and just about everyone else's--with a new eye. --Gail Hudson
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