Popular Eyebrow Styles Then and Now

Eyebrow styling is nothing new. It’s always been about the brows! We thought it’d be fun to take a quick trip through time to see the trends and how women’s eyebrows have always been the focal point of beauty and the defining feature of generations.

The Middle Ages
Domed foreheads (yes, you read that right) were a desirable trait at this time. And nothing brings out your dome like very thin, barely visible brows. Additionally, Queen Elizabeth’s naturally red brows inspired the people to imitate her look by coloring their own slim arches.

The Roaring Twenties
Commercially made products finally hit the scene and Actress, Clara Bow was model of modern beauty. Her brows were heavily plucked, pencil-thin, straight and extended beyond the outer corner of the eyes.

The Arched Thirties
Thin, dark brows were still trending but not so straight anymore thanks to actresses like Jean Harlow and Greta Garbo who used very pronounced arches in their brow design to add to their dramatic expressions.

The Softer Forties
Still a bit arched but less dramatic. A bit thicker yet softer. Lauren Bacall (yes, another actress) has a signature expression called “the look” which helped shape this high-brow fashion of the day.

The Bold Fifties
This era called for full face makeup topped with strong, heavily arched brow. Look to Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, and Audry Hepburn for examples here.

The Stroked Sixties
Sophia Loren set the standard by shaving her brows off completely and drawing them back on with short, thread-thin strokes, giving her a natural-looking yet perfectly manicured look.

The Natural Seventies
Brows in the 70s tended to be more natural. Less plucking and keeping with the natural shape. Ali MacGraw and Lauren Hutton were the mark of excellence in this era.

The Bushy Eighties
Brooke Shields and Madonna led the trend. Thicker and bolder. The bushier, the better.

The Understated Nineties
All shapes and sizes abound but the plucking was still plentiful. Think Drew Barrymore and Pamela Anderson. Even model Kristen McMenamy’s career only found success after shaving her eyebrows off.

The Power Brow of Now
The thicker the better, some might say. Thick, dark and perfectly manicured brows of all shapes define what we know today as the power brow. What other trends do you see defining this generation?

It’s fun to look back on the trends and see how things change over time. We’ve gone from royalty to actresses to Instagram models. What’s next?