THE EYES (AND BROWS AND LASHES) HAVE IT

Eye-contact is crucial during a job-interview or any social encounter. Especially when meeting someone for the first time, the goal is to seem receptive to what the other person is saying, and to show signs of increasing engagement and connection. In other words, your body-language, especially your eyes, says whether or not you “get” it, and in fact may determine whether you “get” the job!

Some of this body-language is reflexive, meaning that you can’t help it. For instance, the pupils of our eyes dilate automatically when we see something that we like.  So, if your pupils widen when you meet your prospective employer, it’s all good. Faking this effect, by the way, has also been around for centuries. Ladies of the Renaissance court put drops of a botanical extract into their eyes to trigger dilation. They called it “belladonna” (translation: pretty woman). Ominously, today we know the plant as Deadly Nightshade! This desire for a willing, wide-eyed look has also inspired the current craze in the “big eye” contact lens, which makes you look like an anime cartoon character. Neither technique is recommended by your ophthalmologist.

It is also possible to have too much of a good thing. Animal behaviorists agree that attacks on humans by dogs and bears often are triggered because the human sent a message of aggression through overly prolonged eye-contact. An unbroken gaze into the eyes of another may stir primitive dominance-challenges. Looking for too long may send a silent provocation: who’s the top dog?

The goal with eye-contact is to establish common ground, then engage in a comfortable “volley”, back and forth. So feel free to look away briefly as you answer questions and speak. Re-engaging eye contact is a natural cue for the other person to respond and resume speaking.

Maintain eye-contact while the other person is speaking to you—experts recommend around 5 -to- 6 seconds.

Much more than that, though, and they may feel that you’re staring them down like a serial-killer ready to lunge. And, these tolerances apparently differ from culture-to-culture: in some African and Asian societies, gazing directly into the eyes of a stranger, an elder, or someone of higher rank may be considered disrespectful.

When in doubt, an eye makeover from a professional brow and lash expert can’t hurt. Michelle Bouse, creator of Beauty Boutique (michellebouse.com) in Toluca Lake, cautions against a one-brow-fits-all approach. For instance, many brow shops favor a furrier, thicker, darker, “big” brow, believing that it is youthful and universally flattering. On the contrary, an oversized, too-bushy brow can overpower a small or deep-set eye. It also may seem dated.

“Caterpillar” brows can make a person look tired or angry, as can a too-steep angle and arch of the brow. Sure, sure, Frida Kahlo—or just check out the First Lady’s scary brows before her recent brow makeover; now, they’re thinner than they were a while back, and are filled in with a lighter-color pencil, according to the Presidential makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Myles.

“I evaluate the eye before I design the brow. Large, generously  spaced eyes can support a hefty brow. But a petite eye, or eyes that are close together, call for a more narrow, delicately shaped brow. Relative proportion is key,” says Michelle Bouse.  Bouse also specializes in other eye-opening to services help “open” the eye, including lash tinting,  individual  lash extension-application, and Bouse’s new specialty: semi-permanent mascara, which lasts for two to three weeks.

BROW EXPERT To the Stars MICHELLE BOUSE custom-designs brows and lashes that invite meaningful eye-contact.