Few potential beauty trends induce more deep-rooted panic than skinny brows. Why? Most millennials are still haunted by memories of over-plucking. If you're ever puzzled by the popularity of brow serums, you need look no further than the Kate-Moss-induced beauty trends of the late 90s and early 00s that caused a whole generation to go in hard with the tweezers. How were the masses to know that, less than two decades later, full, bushy brows would find favour? That their noughties-weathered eyebrows, thinned by routine tweezing, would have to serve up thickness and length all of a sudden?
As Y2K trends take hold and late 90s beauty trends enjoy a moment in the spotlight once more, we examine five signs that could spell 'skinny brow revival'.
1. Google Searches Say It's So
LookFantastic recently reported a staggering 175% increase in Google searches for 'skinny brows', alongside a 67% decrease in searches for 'thick eyebrows'. The Google data is irrefutable. Are thick, Cara-Delevingne-worthy brows really on the way out? And more interestingly, are skinny brows due a revival? Only time will tell.
2. Pam, Tommy And That 90s Nostalgia
The launch of Pam & Tommy onto Disney Plus brought a whole lot of 90s beauty trends back into the ether, and we're not complaining. There's that bombshell hair for a start, OTT lip liner and the classic smoky eye.
And yes, skinny brows, too. Lily James' Pamela Anderson revamp would have been nowhere near complete had she insisted on keeping her trademark full and thick brow look. Pamela was famed for her razor-thin set, which where so slim they looked almost entirely drawn on. It's pretty improbable that brows this skinny will prove as popular as they once were, at least not in the next couple of years, but the inspiration is there for the taking and viewers are clearly lapping it up - Google reported a 392% increase in searches for 'pamela anderson make-up' since the show's release.
3. The Euphoria Effect
Euphoria's appeal is far-reaching and few would argue against its influence in the beauty arena. The gritty drama and its romanticised depiction of Y2K trends has led beauty lovers to embrace gem-stone-embellished eye make-up en masse, get bold with graphic liner and heavy-handed with lip liner.
As for the eyebrows? While most of the cast sport full, brow-powder-free sets, key player Maddy - actor Alex Demie - offers up a brow style more accurately representative of the noughties, and by that we mean decidedly tweezed. A sign of beauty trends to come? Stay tuned.
4. Skinny Brows By Byredo
Let's take a look at the campaign for Byredo's Mascara Astronomical. Model Arca's own eyebrows are still there, the hairs are just visible, but they've been concealed with foundation.
In their place and applied slightly higher are the sort of radically skinny brows we became used to seeing back in the 90s. Skinny brows front and centre in a big, brand new beauty campaign? There's no denying the implication here.
Watch: Are You Ready For A Skinny Brow Revival?
5. Lizzo's Cover Look
Click across below to see Lizzo's very own skinny brow look on the latest cover of Variety. Never averse to a statement look, Lizzo is the latest big name of 2020 to take on the skinny brow.
Lizzo's skinny brow look owes more to roaring twenties style - think 1920s screen stars like Josephine Baker - than the Kate Moss level supermodels of the 90s and early noughties. Nevertheless, they're in focus, and though the look is clearly a statement one designed to light up a magazine cover, these things have a way of filtering through to the mainstream.
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