There are times when you want eyelashes to look as full and long as they can but perhaps you don’t want heavy color that can melt and smudge and leave you with raccoon eyes. If your plans include engaging in outdoor activities on a warm day, you may feel more comfortable with a minimal or no-makeup look but you can still make those lashes stand out.

Using a clear mascara will give you definition and length without leaving color on your lashes. Max Factor’s No Color Mascara has a gel formula that does everything a mascara should - except add color.

Eyebrows too, need grooming - especially with brows getting fuller this year. Just because there is more brow doesn’t mean it should be wild and out of control. If you use a brow-defining pencil or no brow color at all, a quick and light brushing with a clear mascara is a great way to make eyebrows look well-groomed and set them for the day. Not too much though, you don’t want them to look glued into place.

Eyebrow shaping can be an art, but you may also be one of those lucky people whose eyebrows are naturally a perfect shape to crown your eyes.

Eyebrows of any shape and width need grooming however, even if they have been professionally waxed or plucked. Colored eyebrow gels are a great way to color, define and groom eyebrows so they retain that great shape and look all day.

Revlon makes a combination eyebrow pencil and gel that lets you define the brow with color and then brush with gel to set them. Brow Fantasy defines and styles brows with soft color while the gel shapes and sets them.

Another option is to use your favorite brow powder or pencil (or none at all if you are blessed with perfect brows) then groom and set them with a product like Maybelline’s Great Lash Clear Mascara for Lash and Brow

The new look in eyebrows is….natural. Fuller brows instead of skinny and softer arches instead of sharp angles are beginning to be sported by fashion and magazine models. This look was hot once before, back in the days when Brooke Shields introduced the world to her natural bushy eyebrow look. I am not sure this trend will last long, but here’s what you need to achieve the look.

The first step is easy - pluck less. You are still going to need to shape the brow and pluck strays but since you want to follow the natural arch and make the brow a little thicker, you won’t need to work as hard at it.

But you will need some essential items, both to fill in brows until they grow in and to manage them and make them look groomed and neat. Here are some important items to pick up:

* A good eyebrow pencil or shadow and brush to fill in empty spots and give you an even line.

* Eyebrow brush and scissors to brush brows and trim long hairs

* Clear or tinted brow gel. Choose a tint that matches your haircolor but not exactly. Gel will also help set your eyebrows and keep them looking well-groomed throughout the day.

Eyebrows frame the eye and their shape, length and thickness can dramatically change the appearance of the eye and the face. It is possible to have your eyebrows shaped and waxed professionally but if you want beauty on a budget, it may be an expense that is unnecessary.

Shaping and tweezing the brow is the first most important step and a stencil makes it a mistake-proof process. Remember after tweezing to brush the eyebrow upwards and to trim the longer hairs with a small pair of scissors. Plucking those long strays will only leave gaps in the brow and thin it out too much. You can then go over the brow with a filling powder for more definition. Following this up with a clear gel mascara will keep the color from wearing off and keep the brow shape clean and defined. A tinted gel for brows will do both jobs well.

Sudden Change Stencil-In Perfect Brows comes with brow pencils and is under $5.00 available from Drugstore dot com but Walgreens has Hair Off Brow Stencils for just $3.79. They also carry a combination brow pencil/gel wand from Revlon for just $7.49.

If you prefer, eyebrow kits are available in a wide price range and generally include stencils, filling powder or pencils and often a gel wand or some other type of sealer for the brow color. A great kit from Paula Dorf can be found for $29.95 from HSN.