I tried the viral “bleached brows” look and I loved it

Making its first appearance in the ‘90s, Madonna sported a pair of bleached brows with a low-cut milkmaid dress at the height of her Erotica era. Then, It-girl Chloe Sevigny framed her shag with platinum arches with a tiger print bodysuit in cult movie Gummo. And it just wasn’t for women either. Prior to signing up as the Joker, Jared Leto let life dictate art with bleached blonde eyebrows in Fight Club.

Though the “Gangnam Style” music video broke algorithms with its iconic horse inspired dance moves 10 years ago, K-pop darling HyunA’s brows broke YouTube’s viewership numbers, too. Since then, Red Velvet’s Irene, EXO’s Kai and MAMAMOO’s Wheein followed suit to coordinate their bleached brows with their hair colour.

A staple at the Met Gala in recent years, bleached brows were seen on Rihanna, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner. No stranger to modelling showstopping looks, the Hadid sisters also stole the show with their pale arches in Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks. Lizzo sported blonde brows at an event to match her equally bleached hair and she did it again when she dressed as Miss Piggy for Halloween.

Equivalent to a shaved head, the bleached brow makes your forehead occupy more space. Although it’s an edgy look, it can act as a canvas to try out stronger makeup, whether it’s on the eyes, cheeks or lips.

As a way to subvert the male gaze, actress Julia Fox has been rocking the bleached brow every day as a way to reclaim her own physical appearance. Given that women such as Fox — and especially those in the spotlight and entertainment industry — have felt pressure to appeal to the male gaze with more conventionally attractive beauty norms, the act of “uglifying” ourselves can be considered a performance art piece of its own, where we act with purpose to go against society’s patriarchal ideals of feminine beauty.

Since this look has mostly been seen on editorials and red carpet events, taking matters in my hands was more complicated than it appeared.

As my brow hair is pretty dark, I had to apply more than one pump of Huda Beauty’s #FauxFilter foundation to brush my hair in one direction. Thankfully, its heavy coverage did some wonders to conceal the brows successfully. Then, I used my eyeliner brushes to clean up the lines outside the brows and sprayed Urban Decay’s 24/7 All Nighter Setting Spray to let them sit. I also used Glossier’s Wowder to prevent humidity from melting away my faux-bleached brows.

Not gonna lie, but I was honestly afraid that doing a browless look would make me look unhinged as I have been so accustomed to my trusty Glossier Boy Brow. Growing up, I always felt that I was not pretty enough thanks to my sparse eyebrows and wide forehead. As much as I am guilty of subscribing to the male gaze to fish for validation, doing the faux-bleached brow look made me feel connected to my 22-year-old self, who gave zero f*cks about what men thought.

The first time I tried it in public, I tore a page from the Julia Fox handbook by using the smoky cat eye as the focus of my face. My bangs touched my arches, but I liked how having a shag added a rock ‘n roll appeal to the bleached brow look. At dinner, my friends complimented me on it. One of them said that the cat eye makeup even reminded her of Miss Fox (one of the best compliments ever). While it took me a few practice tries at home, I felt pleased that it was received positively.

The next day, I repeated the same eyebrow look again and styled it with an extra long latte-coloured ponytail extension for an Ariana Grande vibe. I decided to take inspiration from a Renaissance painting and finished the look with a flushed cheek and a nude lip. Since my bangs were slicked back, the faux-bleached brow was very visible. In spite of expecting stares from every one, no one really commented on my brows publicly, which made me feel relieved. It gave me that power to be completely unbothered as I sauntered out in the streets in a corset, jeans and sandals.

That night, I posted pics of myself with the bleached brow and I received DMs and comments from friends and followers alike. Much to my shock, there was a lot of positive reception! Being told that I was “gorgeous”, “a vibe” and “stunning” were compliments that made me feel empowered to continue being unapologetically different.

Would it be a style signature like my shaggy mullet? Who knows, we’ll see what the future holds.

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