Women with Thick Brows

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Mariel Hemingway, actress
Mariel Hemingway, actressFrom Woody Allen's Manhattan, 1979

Inspired by actress Mariel Hemingway (who appeared in Woody Allen's 1979 film Manhattan) and current AnOther Magazine cover star Mia Wasikowska striking brows, AnOther's Laura Bradley considers the best examples, including Audrey Hepburn and PJ

Since the moment AnOther Magazine's spring/summer 2011 cover came in, featuring Mia Wasikowska shot David Sims, I've been dedicated to thick brows. The infatuation actually first started when I saw Mariel Hemingway as Tracy in Woody Allen's 1979 film Manhattan. Playing a 17-year-old impressionable girl that Allen's character Isaac Davis is dating, she appears in the film wearing very little make-up, if any. Her natural dark eyebrows, unique for their flick at the end, are one of her striking and most enduring features.

Eyebrows, a major facial feature, are an interesting subject and go through various trends, as demonstrated in this Iconic Eyebrows illustration of styles of leading names posted on the AnOther Loves stream, or coloured versions as seen Balenciaga's A/W10 show. The 1980s was the period in which the strong brow reigned, the thicker and darker the better. Two decades later, the trend is less clear, with many favouring the slim arched brow. To remind you what a good look the thick brow can be, I've put together a selection of my favourite examples, including models Brooke Shields, Bambi Northwood and Arizona Muse, actress Audrey Hepburn, musicians PJ Harvey and Madonna, artists Frida Kahlo and Linder Sterling and girl of the moment, Frances Bean Cobain.

For tips on how to achieve the perfect brows, see here.

Text by Laura Bradley