Animalistic Eyebrows

In the New York Times Style section this week, there is an article entitled "Throw Your Tweezers Away". It covers the trend toward au natural eyebrows that will emerge this Fall, thanks to super-stylists who have set the tone in advance via haut couture fashion shows. The article begins: "Whether fake or farm-raised, fur makes a fashionable fall accessory. But this season the trendiest fluff is not the trim on coats or handbags. Autumn’s most prized pelt is the hairy eyebrow."

As an avid eye-brow spotter as well as dedicated eye-brow groomer, this notification resonates with me on several levels. We all over do it sometimes, but the overly-plucked, thin as a pencil-line eyebrow look is just no good. Maybe it works for glamorous film noir babes, but not for everyday women. I always thought that "natural yet cared for" was a good look to shoot for. We all have goals.

So this new fluffy eyebrow thing is very interesting. Encouraging natural beauty in this day and age of body betterment via nips, ticks, and full on facial identity overhauls (Ashlee Simpson anyone?) is a refreshing shift. But to me, it seems that the stylists are taking their models' eyebrows past the point of " au natural" and into the land of animalistic and abstraction. The article talks about the impact that stylist Pat McGrath has had on this new eyebrow trend:
"Ms. McGrath is one of the trend-setting stylists responsible for unleashing the feral eyebrow as this season’s beauty signature. At the Prada fall fashion show in Milan in February, she combed models’ eyebrows up with clear mascara so that they fanned out like plumage, lending their faces a wild expression which Ms. McGrath described as “sauvage.” The article goes on to describe this new brow look as being "fringed" and "feathered", and "furry but tamed".

I realize that the article is referencing a more stylized, artistic take on nature that has been happening in the world of high fashion. And I know that a watered-down version of this furry, feathered, feral eyebrow look will be what hits the public eyebrow, just as whiffs of runway design hit more mainstream clothing options. At the same time, I can't help but see a connection to what I think is a larger overall trend towards bringing the naturalistic into our everyday consciousness. (see below entry)