The eyebrows are an important facial feature, but one that often is overlooked. Your eyebrows frame your eyes and define the rest of the features on your face. Eyebrow makeup can be difficult to apply, and achieving perfect brows is usually one of the biggest challenges in any woman's beauty routine. By following the proper steps, anyone can achieve a beautiful and natural look.

Pluck or wax your eyebrows. This gives you the cleanest working area and ensures your eyebrows have the proper shape. You should remove hair only from underneath the brows and never from over the brows, to avoid ruining the natural shape of your brows (see References 2).

Brush your eyebrows in the direction the hair grows. This helps smooth the hairs on your eyebrows and prepare them for makeup application. Brushing your brows the opposite direction of the way they grow can create a scraggly, uneven look. An eyebrow brush tool works best for this, but you can also use a clean mascara wand and get the same result.

Color in the eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil or powder. Use a brush to apply powder. Both work well and help give the eyebrows shape and definition. Choose a color the same shade as the darkest color in your hair, and color with short, feathery strokes to make it blend better with your eyebrow hair and look more natural (see References 3). The eyebrows should start at the inner corner of your eye and end at the outer corner of your eye.

Wash and dry your face.

Brush your eyebrows with an eyebrow brush or clean mascara wand. This helps ensure that you wax off only the hairs you want removed (see References 5).

Prepare the wax. Instructions may vary from one home waxing kit to the next, so make sure you read the directions all the way through before starting. In the basic eyebrow waxing kit you should receive wax, an applicator for applying the wax and strips for removing the wax.

Once it has warmed, apply the wax carefully to your eyebrow area with the included applicator. Apply wax only underneath the brows and never over them.

Wait a few seconds to give the wax time to bond with the hair, then place a strip onto the waxed area of your brow. Smooth the strip down flat with your fingers to get rid of any air bubbles. The entire strip should lay flat against your skin to ensure as much wax and hair as possible gets removed.

Allow the wax to cool for about 10 seconds. Grasp one end of the strip and pull off in one quick motion. This helps pull out the most hair, and the quick motion makes it less painful.

Repeat this on the other eyebrow. Lay a cold cloth over your eyes for a few seconds after waxing to help relieve any swelling or pain.