The UK brow-o-meter
The shape of your eyebrows can now tell someone where you’re from before they hear your accent.
Due to the increase in brow bars and regional brow trends, Debenhams reveals that you can pinpoint where a woman is from by the shape of their eyebrows.
Sara Stern, Beauty Director at Debenhams says, “The number of women adopting signature brow styles for the region that they live in is so high that it’s like having a brow-o-meter; you can instantly guess what area they are from.”
“The scouse brow is still hugely popular in the north and with the likes of Coleen Rooney but southerners have their own interpretation.
“Instead of the brutal scouse brow which is a heavily defined, dark, square and thick pencilled eyebrow, Londoners have created their own trend, the ‘south brow’. Still opting for big brows but going for a more natural look, less panto dame,” continued Stern.
The south brow trend has been adopted by Keira Knightly, Lilly Collins, Audrey Hepburn, Cara Delevingne, Lauren Goodger, Amy Childs and Tamara Ecclestone - even Kate Middleton has been known to support a thick brow.
Sales show that the south is outselling its northern counterparts with 93% more natural colours of eyebrow pencils, however sales for eyebrow wax and darker pencils are extremely popular in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
“Some regions are steering clear of the thicker brows – finding both the scouse and south brow as terrifying as the vajazzle,” continued Sara.
In-store beauty appointments show that ladies in Ireland opt for the ‘tadpole’ eyebrow which is thick and round at the inner corners; it then goes into an immediate thin arch and ends with a very thin brow.
Debenhams sales figures reflect this, showing that Ireland sells the least amount of eyebrow products.
An eyebrow shape most commonly called “the happy eyebrow,” which borders on an almost half circle shape, is a favourite style amongst women in the Midlands, particularly so in Birmingham.
Women booking brow appointments in Wales are requesting the soft arched brow, favoured by Catherine Zeta Jones.
Scottish women are sporting the plank eyebrow, which is the straightest of the eyebrow shapes.
“Women used to pluck, thread and wax their brows within a millimetre of their lives but it’s now about making a statement,” continued Sara Stern.
Eyebrow shapes have become a hugely important part of a woman’s grooming routine. This year, those two strips of hair have become a fashion statement on catwalks, the red carpet and in cities across the UK.