The Highlighting Trick That Will Lift Your Face and Shape Your Brows All at Once

Reshaping your brows at home can be nothing short of panic-inducing. One wrong move with the tweezers, and you run the risk of winding up with uneven arches that you’ll be stuck with for the next few weeks. Because of this, Joey Healy, a celebrity eyebrow artist, wants you to put down the tweezers and style your brows with this easy highlighter hack, instead—no hair removal required.

While plucking hairs out from under your arches is certainly one way to change the shape of your eyebrows, using a highlighter to fake a higher arch is a far easier (and less permanent) solution. “There’s no easier way to elevate your bone structure and define your arch than using a creamy, matte, highlighter,” says Healy. “It gives a youthful radiance under the browbone, giving it added definition and more lift in the arch, all without removing any hair.”

In addition to making your arch look higher, which, in turn, lifts the eye area to help you appear more awake, “highlighter under the brow bone gives the whole face a subtle, healthy brilliance,” Healy adds. As far as choosing the best formula for getting the job done, he suggests looking for “something matte instead of glittery or shimmery to avoid drawing attention to textural differences in the area.” The High Rise Spotlight Highlighter ($30) from his namesake brand fits the bill and doubles as an under-eye concealer and a cheek-and-nose highlighter. Personally, I like to use it on the inner corners of my eyes to trick people into thinking I got eight hours of sleep the night before.

To fake the look of just-shaped brows, simply apply a few light dots of highlighter underneath your browbone and use the warmth of your finger to tap that into the highest point of your arch. Then, use a powder or pencil (ideally one that’s a shade lighter than the natural shade of your brow hairs ) to fill in any sparse or bald spots in your brows, and dust the area with a translucent powder to ensure your makeup stays in place all day. This way, you’ll be well on your way to pain-free, perfect-looking eyebrows without ever having to pick up a pair of tweezers.

If you *do* want to take a more permanent plunge and do some actual plucking, follow along with Healy’s tutorial below. 

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