Stepping into Toronto’s first Benefit Boutique, I didn’t expect the atmosphere to be so welcoming and friendly. Located in a quaint, residential community, Benefit’s latest location welcomes women (and men) to step outside their front doors and into the Barbie playhouse-like space that features a brow bar, spray tanning room, and waxing area painted in a light shade of pink with black floral and white accents. It really did feel like I had entered a strange Alice in Wonderland type world (and I mean strange in the best way possible!)
I was welcomed with a healthy dose of cupcakes, macaroons, cookies and of course, Jared Bailey, International spokesperson and brow expert for Benefit Cosmetics. I sat down in one of the 5 pink chairs lined up directly in front of two higher chairs, where Bailey would do his brow-bar demonstration.
He began with a few tips that will not only transform the look of your brows, but your entire face:
Brow Contouring Tip #1: The closer the brows are together, the slimmer the nose will appear.
“The further apart your brows begin, the wider your nose will appear”, Bailey quipped, “but not many women come to a Benefit BrowBar asking for a wider looking nose.”
Step 2: Find the perfect place for your brow to arch. Benefit Brow Mapping tells us to measure from the outer portion of the nose, across the centre of the iris, and that will point to where our brow is naturally the highest.
Brow Contouring Tip #2: Using the highest portion of the brow as a shaping point can help round the appearance of the eye.
“The higher the arch the more round and open the eye will appear,” explained Bailey. “The lower the arch the more oblong the appearance of the eye will become.” This creates an illusion that many makeup guru’s have only achieved through highlighters, multiple eye shadows and other clever concealer tricks.
Step 3 (Brow Mapping): The final step of Benefit Brow Mapping begins to contour the overall face shape by playing with proportions. Measuring from the outer area of the nose, past the corner of the eye to the tip of the brow bone will show you where the ideal brow should end.
Brow Contouring Tip #3: Extending the length of a brow can narrow the look of a more round face shape. Shortening the length of the brow will “plump up” a more narrow face shape.
“When making the correct Brow Mapping measurements, people with a rounder face shape will find that their brows tend to be a bit longer,” said Bailey. “This helps to block out the proportions of a round face and make it appear a bit more oval.”
“The opposite rule applies for those with a bit more of a slender or longer face shape”, he explained. “When the proper Brow Mapping measurements are taken these brows tend to be a bit shorter giving the face more full, oval illusion”.
“Filling and shaping the brow according to YOUR face shape will totally transform your over all look,” said Bailey. Finally, contouring and sculpting has suddenly been made a whole lot simpler.
Browse the gallery for photos of Benefit’s first Toronto boutique:
