Rihanna has appeared on the cover of British Vogue with skinny brows – are we heading for a micro-brow revival?

Alarming news from the world of fashion. Rihanna has appeared on the trend-setting September issue of British Vogue with micro-brows. Speculation has ensued that we could be heading for a skinny-brow revival.

It is worth noting that Rihanna is also wearing hi-vis Prada gloves and balancing a bouquet of fuchsias on her head in the Nick Knight-shot image. But it’s the eyebrows that have raised eyebrows. As well they might: anyone who remembers nursing swollen, overplucked chicken skin in the 90s may find the photograph triggers particularly painful memories.

Unfortunately, history suggests that they could be due for a comeback. The spindly look was big in the 1930s, as seen on Marlene Dietrich; in the 60s, in a more natural incarnation on Mia Farrow; and in the 90s, as modelled by the Sliding Doors-era Gwyneth Paltrow. The next logical moment, then, is 2020.

Further worrying evidence: an Instagram account dedicated to very thin eyebrows – History of Over-Plucking – has become a cult fashion industry fascination, suggesting that micro-brows are becoming a source of nostalgia and ironic celebration.

But Sherrille Riley, the founder of Nails & Brows at Beauty Edit Mayfair (the woman rumoured to be responsible for the Duchess of Sussex’s exceptionally shapely eyebrows) has soothing thoughts. “I absolutely love the Vogue cover – it’s so powerful, very creative – but I don’t like the brows,” she says. “They are not flattering. They overexpose her features: they don’t bring balance and harmony. She still looks beautiful, but on an average day it would be impossible to pull that off.”

In Rihanna’s case, the look seems to have been temporary, probably created by squashing her existing brows with glue, then covering them with concealer and foundation before drawing on two new lines. (Teen Vogue has a full “how to”.) In real life, says Riley, you would have to wax or pluck yours off. “I would say: don’t! You could find out it unbalances your face and the hairs might not grow back.”

So, there you have it: very thin eyebrows are still daft, no matter how edgy they might seem, and the results of plucking could be permanent.

Micro-brows – a timeline



1930s: Marlene Dietrich

The Morocco star was big on small eyebrows, reportedly shaving hers off then drawing on a pair of exaggerated curves, a look echoed by contemporaries Jean Harlow and Billie Holiday.

1960s: Mia Farrow

Eyebrows were thin, though more naturally so, in the late-60s. Twiggy, Diana Ross and Farrow led the waif-like charge.

1990: Gwyneth Paltrow

Paltrow had the eyebrows of a generation in the 90s. Along with Gwen Stefani and Drew Barrymore, she demonstrated that even those with access to Hollywood’s top stylists couldn’t escape the decade’s over-tweezing.