What were they thinking? As a cringe-worthy Instagram account highlights the worst over-plucked eyebrow moments ever, we round up the best celebrity brow transformations
- Instagram account @historyofoverplucking relives the barely-there brow trend of the '90s and beyond
- FEMAIL details the impressive brow transformations of stars like Drew Barrymore, 41, and Gwen Stefani, 47
If you had access to a tweezer during the 1990s, the decade is likely one you'd rather forget beauty-wise. Unfortunately for celebrities, images of their sparse, razor-thin eyebrows live on for all to see.
Allure.com recently discovered the Instagram account @historyofoverplucking that has been posting cringe-worthy throwback images of famous, barely-there brows since early fall.
'The nineties were a tough time brow-wise,' the caption reads on the account's first post: an image of a young Drew Barrymore.
Later posts of the decade's stars such as Gwyneth Palrow (above), Gwen Stefani, Christina Ricci and Sarah Michelle Gellar further prove the case.
A quick scroll through the account's 160 images also reminds us that the over-groomed brow trend wasn't just a '90s thing.
Pencil thin brows were favored by actresses like Greta Garbo, Clara Bow and Marlene Dietrich in the 1920s and '30s. Even an animated Snow White, as one post points out, wore the style in the 1937 Disney film.
In the '60s, model Twiggy (pictured below) championed thick lashes and plucked brows and in the '70s, actress Judy Pace and singer Diana Ross were all about skinny arches.
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Even earlier than the Twentieth Century, thin eyebrows were depicted in art. Examples featured on the account include Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (1484–1486) and Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665).
If history is any indication, the tweezed aesthetic will make a comeback eventually, but we're hoping the full, natural look that many of the aforementioned celebs have since adopted is here to stay for now. We have a feeling that the creators of @historyofoverplucking (the account's bio reads, 'Everybody makes mistakes.') would agree.
Below, we highlight our favorite celebrity brow transformations from the '90s and early '00s to 2016.
DREW BARRYMORE
No regrets: The actress and Flower Beauty founder, 41, pictured here in 1998 (left) and 2016 (right), recently told Instyle that while she believes she's made some fashion faux pas over the years, she doesn't look back and cringe at any of her beauty decisions
GWEN STEFANI
Don't pluck: The No Doubt singer, 47, has embraced a softer beauty look since 1998 (left)
BEYONCE
From sparse to flawless: Unlike her eyebrow style, Beyonce's, 35, love of hoop earrings and accessories hasn't changed since 2001 (left)
JESSICA ALBA
Drawing the line: A recovering tweeze-aholic, the Honest beauty founder (pictured left in 1999), 35, told People that when doing make-up she now focuses on achieving strong brows
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