Are skinny eyebrows back? History and evolution of the Y2K trend loved by celebrities

Find your tweezers and mirrors because skinny brows are back. According to the many Instagram shots of celebrities like Bella Hadid and Iris Law, but also official reports that cite the thin arches among the major beauty trends of 2021, along with brown liner and lip gloss. Like the one from British e-tailer  LookFantastic, according to which searches for this type of look have even quadrupled in recent months. Even on Tik Tok the hashtags #skinnybrows, #skinnyeyebrows and #90sbrows have more than half a million views and the videos of creators who, using ad hoc filters such as time-warp, reduce the size of their eyebrows or those of stars and influencers are multiplying. 

Surprising data if you think that many people who tried thin eyebrows in the '90s have deeply regretted it and tried to repair the damage of overplucking by paying astronomical amounts of money in serums to thicken and in gels to get the coveted soap effect. After spending the last decade recreating Cara Delevingne's thick and wild eyebrows, Gen Z now wants something new and cool, in the sense of fresh and stylish, and, as often happens, they look to the past. Precisely in the '90s and in the first decade of the 2000s, among a Paris Hilton's red carpet and a Kate Moss' image.

In history

When we talk about eyebrows, the idea of perfection is constantly changing and the shapes become thinner or thicker depending on the beauty standard of the time. Skinny brows have appeared and disappeared cyclically over the centuries, often representing a break from the dominant aesthetic, a small graphic sign that also speaks of revolution. During the Tang Dynasty in China (618-907 A.D.), women shaved their eyebrows to more easily apply makeup to their faces and instead drew lines with a bluish-black pigment made from charred willow, a practice similar to Japanese hikimayu-hiki. Hair removal was a trend adopted in the West as well, especially in the Middle Ages when it was done to create the illusion of a high hairline and a larger forehead, features considered a sign of aristocracy. The very thin and almost invisible bows, also loved by Queen Elizabeth I, disappeared for a few years to then return as protagonists of the female beauty routine in the 20s.

In 2018, Rihanna appeared on the cover of British Vogue's September issue with a flower crown on her head, a dark, glossy lipstick and super-thin black eyebrows painted on the star's face by make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench. Few shots inspired by actresses Anna May Wong and Marlene Dietrich made many shout "Thin eyebrows are back!". Although Riri had adopted that look only for the editorial, since then she has started to show off even thinner and thinner bows in the real-life, as Bella Hadid, Iris Law, Adwoa Aboah, Lila Moss, Barbie Ferreira, FKA twigs, Beabadoobee and many other celebrities have done.

While both thin, the 2021 brows are not an exact copy of the 90s ones. As several beauty gurus point out, they are not sparse and almost invisible, but they have a fuller and more sculpted look than we remember on Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston.