Eyebrows are an important facial feature; they can structure your face and provide definition to your forehead and eyes.

You can deal with unruly eyebrows in a multitude of ways, from waxing or tweezing, to the popular Indian derived art of eyebrow threading. Which ever strategy you choose, the shape you create is the most critical element.

How to get the perfect shape

Over plucking is the biggest and most common mistake people make. To determine exactly where your eyebrow should be located, take a pencil and hold it parallel to the side of your nose, where the eyebrow meets the pencil is where your eyebrow should start.

To find where your brow should end, place the pencil diagonally from the nostril, following the outside edge of the eye toward the eyebrow. Where the eyebrow meets the inside of the pencil is where the eyebrow should finish.

Eyebrows should have a delicate, swept arch; you should aim for this to sit just above the iris.

Maintaining the perfect brow

When you've got your eyebrow exactly as you want it, thinner eyebrows can occasionally benefit from extra tweaking to help structure and frame the face. You can do this freehand just using a simple eyebrow pencil.

If you utilise a pencil, apply to the brow using short, feathered strokes from the inside of the eyebrow, to the outside. When you are happy with your application simply brush carefully through the eyebrow to soften the effect and create a natural finish.

It is worth investing in an eyebrow gel. After you invested all that time in measuring, tweezing and colouring your eyebrows, this stuff will make sure they stay in place all day long.