From Botticelli’s Venus to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, we’re all familiar with the beauty hallmarks of Renaissance period art—think soft, feminine curves, alabaster skin and cascading tresses. But have you ever stopped to consider the shape of their eyebrows?
Make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench, who is known for her artistic approach to make-up application, has dubbed the 'Renaissance brow' a trend that is set to dominate 2025. It may have started on TikTok —users have been experimenting with ways in which to recreate the dreamy look on their own faces — but searches for Renaissance hair and beauty have also now surged by over 5000 per cent on Google in the last month.
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Meanwhile, model and artist Tali Lennox recently showcased her own take on the trend at Valentino’s spring/summer 2025 haute couture show. Even Sienna Miller and Pamela Anderson have tried the trend in a thoroughly wearable way.
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What is the Renaissance brow?
If you look at most paintings from the Renaissance period, you’ll note a very specific kind of brow. While many of us have adopted a full, feathery look in recent years, the Renaissance girlies wore their brows slimline and flat, yet relatively structured.
"At the beginning of the Renaissance, having a wide forehead was the beauty ideal," Ffrench tells ELLE. "So women started to pluck and shave their brows to make their forehead look more expansive—see Piero Della Francesca’s Duchess of Urbino as a good example of this. A few years later, they began to fill them in very lightly with what was available back then, which ranged from heavy metals that were ground into powders to — believe it or not — mouse fur to form false brow hairs." Beauty technology, thankfully, has evolved by leaps and bounds since.
How does this translate in 2025? Barely-there, light brows that lend some structure to the face, but aren’t the main attraction. "Shape is key," says Vanita Parti, founder of Blink Brow Bar. "It’s about a beautiful, rounded, elongated brow with no arch—a more fluid effect that allows other facial features to be more pronounced. While today we tend to lift the arch to accentuate our cheekbones, in line with modern beauty standards, the Renaissance brow is softer and flatter. In lieu of an arch, length is vital."
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How to nail the Renaissance brow
There are two ways to emulate the look, but it depends on how far you’re willing to go. Ffrench takes a more daring route, having already spent years bleaching her brows. "You just need a shaving foam and a razor," she says. "Shaving them off brings softness to the face, and I personally love applying soft powders to give a subtle amount of definition along the shape of my brow arch." For her, it’s less about the flat look and more about creating a soft silhouette in the brow area. Her big advice is to take into account your hair colour ("you don’t want to fall into the bad tattoo category") and avoid using brow pigments that are too warm.
Brow Powder Duo, $45, ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS.
Ultimate Arch Definer, $39.50, BLINK BROW BAR.
Browliner Blackstar, $49, BY TERRY.
Phyto-Sourcils Fix, $75, SISLEY.
If shaving your eyebrows off is a no-go (those growing up in the ’90s might feel slightly allergic to this advice), then Parti suggests lightening the brow using Jolen cream bleach, or —a safer route — heading to a hair salon to have it done instead. "Then make sure to keep the brow flat and streamlined, either by using a brow pencil in a light shade or by applying concealer lightly over the brows and enhancing certain hairs using a tinted gel." Extend the brow out past where you’d usually take it, being careful to blend well. Finish with a suitably flawless complexion, just-bitten lip and delicate flush and you’ll look straight out of a painting, no questions asked. Welcome to the brow renaissance.
This article was first seen on ELLE UK.