TMS Discussion: Who Can Pull Off Pencil Thin Eyebrows?

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A couple of weeks ago I was reading a red carpet post. It included a comment thread where people were complaining about how the ‘awful’ fashion trends of the early 2000s were making a comeback. Paying attention to fashion currently, we do seem to be in a weird funk where the designers and the public can’t seem to agree on what looks good. Professional designers are leaning more into the mid-1970s, while Gen Z influencers are more interested in what is now referred to as ‘Y2K aesthetic.’ It’s a battle between what was popular when I was in middle school compared to when my mom was in school. One look I’m seeing women over 25 worry about returning is the pencil thin, drawn-on eyebrows that were in vogue twenty years ago for some reason. Super thin eyebrows are not unique to the ‘00s (see: the 1930s and 1960s). But I’ve heard so many horror stories of girls regretfully over tweezing their brows when they were teens and then—as is usually the case—they never completely grew back.

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I’ve fortunately never felt the temptation to slim my eyebrows, and it’s really only because I don’t want to deal with the pain of tweezing or waxing. So I was rocking the Brooke Shields look when everyone else was channeling Paris Hilton. At the time, I didn’t even realize I was in a minority of my peer group, since I wasn’t really up on popular trends at the time anyway. But all these years later, I still feel it’s probably safer to fall back on the natural brow than penciling in [though of course, this is just my opinion]. When it comes to completely wiping out all of your eyebrow hairs for the sake of fashion, I’ve only ever thought that route appeared good on two different women. This is specifically about the pencil thin style, and not completely browless like Whoopi Goldberg or Mia Goth, for clarification.

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A while back I started watching model/historian/influencer Mina Le’s popular YouTube channel on the history of fashion trends. They’re pretty amusing, and interesting, if you are into the zany vibe that usually comes with viral content. But the first thing I noticed when I found her channel was the long, elaborate brows above her eyes. And to my surprise, I instantly thought, “damn, she actually made penciled brows look good.” Unlike say, musician Amanda Palmer, who purposely plucked out her eyebrows and replaced them with fake lines as a statement. But Mina is all about looking stylish and unique because she appreciates the clothes and make-up. Not long ago I found photos of Mina pre-fame with her natural brows, and of course, she looked just as pretty. But the originality of being one of the few female celebs with extreme eyebrows, makes her stand out as a public figure and have her own fashion sense.

(Silver Screen Collection)

The only other lady I can think of who fully pulls off pencil brows naturally is movie star Jean Harlow. When people talk about old Hollywood glamour, the first person who comes to my mind is Jean. The actress got the typical tinsel town makeover between the new brows and the platinum blonde hair in the ‘30s, but she owned it like no one else had at that point. Jean’s bombshell image and wise-cracking characters in classic films like Victor Fleming’s Red Dust (1932), George Cukor’s Dinner at Eight (1933) and Jack Conway’s Libeled Lady (1936), helped pave the way for many different, equally legendary blondes from Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe to Sharon Tate and Goldie Hawn. But none of the future ladies had the eyebrow game Jean had. Like Marilyn and Sharon, Jean left our world far too soon, and was only a part of entertainment history for the 1930s. But her face is just as unforgettable as her acting and the films she performed in.

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Granted, it should be noted that while most people probably can’t pull off super thin eyebrows, some aren’t the most natural with thick brows either. TV star Nina Dobrev is someone who benefits more from a smaller arch. And speaking of Sharon, as lovely as the screen starlet was, I’m a little glad her preference for brushing her brows vertically have never taken off as a trend. But as I sit back and analyze other people’s eyebrows and imagine myself looking as amazing as Jennifer Connelly’s thick brows; I’ll end this piece encouraging everyone to shape their eyebrows however they like.