Michelle Obama adopts the new superbrow

From dated and arrowed-arches, to age-defying and boyish brows, Michelle Obama undergoes a silent but triumphant eyebrow make-over

BY Katy Young | 27 February 2014

Photo: AP/ REX

It was only a matter of time - four years, in fact, before the US First Lady Michelle Obama would adopt the power brow. Known for its anti-ageing effect first, and for the way it denotes an air of confidence in its owner second, whatever you call it ('boy', 'fashion', 'power', 'super') the thicker, fuller brow has a strong argument. And now, an even stronger advocate.

And my, what a difference a little lot of pencil, grooming and re-growth has made to Obama's once arched rivals.

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In fact, it wasn't until we put the before and after shots side by side that we could see just how much difference. Thickened, softened and newly lengthened, Obama's brows looked more akin to the spring/summer 2014 runway boy-brow, of which model Cara Delevingne is of course the poster girl.



Left, the 2013 beore, and right, the 2014 after. Photos: REX

And had she had some brow extensions? It might sound strange, but the latest brow craze, which involves having individual hairs meticulously glued on to your own existing brows, does in fact work wonders for filling in the gaps and swiping off the years, without any sign you've had anything done (just a shame it only lasts two weeks) - if you're interested head to Goddess Health & Beauty or Blink Brow Bar. Or had she taken more than just style tips from the famously thick-browed fashion editor Carine Roitfeld?

READ - Michelle Obama seeks style tips from Carine Roitfeld



2012 skinny, left, vs., 2014 power brow. Photos: Rex

Whatever she'd done, while her new brows undeniably take presidency over her skinny, arched predecessors, has the US First Lady got it right? Opinion is divided amongst us.

"Personally I believe the 'fashion brow' she is currently supporting isn't in keeping with her natural shape" says brow expert and founder of her eponymous brow groom studio, Shavata. She explains: "As we age our brows naturally thin and need a very defined arch to create a lifting and anti-aging effect, whereas the 'fashion brow' tends to have a flatter arch set further out. I would love to get my hands on her brows to get them back to their natural shape and thickness."

Lisa Potter-Dixon, head make-up and trend artist for Benefit, begs to differ: "a well groomed brow is like an instant eye lift. The First Lady Michelle Obama has been seen with this reinvented, boyish brow and rightly so. Her fuller-looking, groomed brow opens the eyes and makes her look so much younger."



The small to super transition from Christmas 2013, left, to February 2014, right. Photos: REX

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Brow grooming is big news in beauty, as online beauty booking site Wahanda reporting a 51 per cent increase in brow appointments in the UK last year alone. So whatever your own personal take on Obama's new shape, that switch from skinny to super should, and will, raise our brows even further.



The brow raising transformation from left to February 2014 right. Photos: REX



Fringe benefits: how to hide that phase between unruly brows and thicker, fuller, shaperly brows. Photo: AP