I Did My Eyebrows Like Cara Delevingne for a Week and Here’s What Happened

True fact: All of Cara Delevingne’s body parts contain trace amounts of magic. But after nearly a decade of research (a.k.a. combing Pinterest late into the night), top scientists (a.k.a. myself and my cat) have concluded that the bulk of her powers are concentrated in one particular region: THOSE BROWS.

Cara has some of the strongest, boldest eyebrows around. They’re an essential part of her unique lewk—and to those of us who grew up in the dark ages of over-tweezing, they’re a source of equal parts mystery and envy.

What is life even like when you have eyebrows like that? Could we find out?

Answer: WE CAN TRY. Because while I don’t have access to the same dark sorcerer who endowed Cara with her eyebrows, I do have a brown makeup pencil… and a sense of adventure. Here’s what happened when I committed to wearing my brows a la Delevingne for a week.

BEFORE

Before I got started, I snapped a pic of the raw goods. Here I am with brows undone, no makeup, and no filter. (How much do I love you, Sparklers? I love you NAKED FACE MUCH.)

At this point, I admit, I had my doubts about this experiment. My eyebrows are pretty thick and dark already (big shout-out to my 16 year-old self for being utterly clueless about all things tweezer-related; otherwise I would probably still be suffering the after-effects of the “sperm brow” trend that was all the rage in the ’90s.) Would filling them in even make a difference?

… AND AFTER

In fact, yes. Yes, it did. Lesson learned: Even without any other makeup, a thicker brow definitely changes the look of your face.

Other lesson learned: It may change the look of your face in a way you don’t entirely like. I’m not an everyday makeup wearer, but for the week that this experiment lasted, I felt like I needed mascara to keep everything looking balanced.

MONDAY

I wanted to give my new eyebrows a workout right away, so I took them to the gym. This was the day that I learned the first, most important lesson of Eyebrow Power: if you’re going to increase the width of your brows, swipe the pencil or powder on the underside. Trying to extend them up your forehead is strictly for the pros; I never found a way to do it that didn’t look obvious, in a bad way. Also, beware your brows if you plan on sweating a lot and absentmindedly wiping your face. RIP, lefty.

TUESDAY

Today, I experimented with bringing my brows closer together in the middle, the better to deliver a patented, deep-set, Delevingne intimidation stare. I didn’t love the result, which looked like… well, like I’d used a pencil to color in the space between my eyebrows. If I were to try this again, I would use a fine brush to create the appearance of actual hairs rather than just shading at the center. And by I, I mean you, because that’s a lot of work and I’m lazy.

WEDNESDAY

With multiple deadlines to meet, I ended up spending all day at my laptop and never actually left the house. But I did my eyebrows anyway, and then I took selfies with Rasputin the Cat. I don’t think he appreciated it. I don’t think he appreciated any of it.

THURSDAY

My eyebrows hid behind my spectacles all day, but it was comforting to know they were there—and it completely changed my feelings vis-a-vis wearing makeup with glasses. Turns out, they look much better with a defined brow and darker lashes behind ’em. Knowledge!

FRIDAY

On the last day of Operation Delevingne, I went the extra mile and actually did a full face of makeup, using some of the techniques Cara’s stylist does to create her trademark look. The bad news is that, despite my efforts, I didn’t look like Cara Delevingne. But! I must have looked quite grownup and polished, because I bought a bottle of wine at the super-strict, “We card everyone under 40 and will call the police and your mom if you’re underage” store, and they didn’t ask me for ID. ADULT EYEBROW POWER!

All told, sporting brows a la Delevingne for a week completely changed my life… okay, just kidding, no it didn’t. Actually, the only person who even noticed was my husband, and only because every time we were about to leave the house, I was like, “But wait. MY EYEBROWS.”

But it was still fun, and illuminating: I have a whole new appreciation for eyebrows as a major element of facial architecture. And am I still doing them like this? YOU BET I AM.

Are you an eyebrow fanatic or are yours hiding in plain sight?