It seems like we’re living in a simulation. Peak 90’s revival is everywhere around us. Remember those overly plucked, thin eyebrows that had people in a chokehold? Well, the trademark beauty trend of the 90’s is coming back once again. From Nancy Ajram to Haifa Wehbe, to Elissa and Sherine, Arab pop stars have once again plucked their eyebrows into oblivion and defined the tone for a style that has many people cringing with its reemergence. But alas, its 2022 and if we know anything about a revival it’s that it’s going to adapt to our modern times — so if you’re keen to explore this trend once more, you’re in for a treat, if not, and are still dealing with growing your brows back many years later, you might want to sit this one out.
Like many of the old trends reemerging today, we’ve got TikTok and Gen-Z-ers to either thank or blame, with the “1990’smakeup” hashtag amassing over 50 million views on the social media app. The original ’90s thin brow was a response to the big brows of the ’80s, which were often full and dense; however, the trend dates much further back than that. It is said to have been popularized in the ’20’s by flappers who were attempting to push back against the conventional beauty standards of the time.
Many decades later, the emergence of several TikTok filters where users can see how they’d look with thin brows are gaining popularity among young users. From Bella Hadid on the runways, to Kylie Jenner, who recently appeared with a thin brow for a Kylie Cosmetics beauty campaign, to Pat McGrath’s flapper-inspired shoot, to Fenty Beauty’s pencil-thin brow campaign, this post-pandemic trend is slowly creeping back in.
Makeup experts warnings
Brows are personal and are a prominent feature on your face. Over-plucking and waxing may permanently change your brow and can make it difficult to grow the hair back once the trend dies down (ask those who lived throw the thin-brow era of the 90’s and early 00’s. While the trend looks good in editorials and on the runway, many makeup experts warn that it is not practical for everyday life. “Your natural brow shape is often the best for your face,” explains Kristie Streicher. So why is this trend gaining popularity, you may ask? Well, beauty trends in the 1920’s were quite expressive and as we slowly begin to emerge from a global pandemic that restricted every minor detail of our everyday life, people are looking to embrace the freedom and loosening inhibitions that first emerged in the 20’s — think of it as welcoming in a new era, one where people are not afraid to experiment or try new beauty trends.
However, if you’re looking to embrace the thinner brow look, do not over-pluck, but instead focus on sculpting your brows’ natural shape. If history has taught us anything, it’s of the damage heavy tweezing can do to one’s brows. So what can you do? Makeup experts recommend covering and experimenting with makeup through drawing a thinner shape with a pencil instead, or subtly shaping them with a tweezer so you’re ready for the next brow trend, whenever and whatever that may be. Brows are fundamental to your overall beauty look as they bring balance and proportion to the face, so before you make a decision that could change the way you look, you may want to seek professional advice.
