The Method: Although I really wanted to be able to create the perfect brows at home, I realize that most women put the care of their brows in the hands of a salon, rather than risking a botched job of their own. Walking into the salon, I explained to them my desire to grow out my brows. They nodded and listened and gave me the expert advice to "lay off the tweezers" ...

The Result: ... and then they proceeded to wax my brows exactly where everyone else had told me not to -- too far out from the bridge of the nose. I was left with the exact same over-tweezed job I had done myself. What gives? "A lot of aestheticians use the outer corner of the nostril going upward as a guideline," explains Plains. "You're losing a good half inch of your brow then and that sets your eyes farther apart and makes your nose look wider." Great. Just the look I was after.

The Fix: In order to avoid getting my brows butchered the next time I went to the salon (I'm perfectly capable of doing that on my own), I spoke with Joey Healy of the Joey Healy Eyebrow Studio in New York. Healy suggests bringing pictures to the person doing your brows, just as you would when getting a haircut. "Remember, Cara D's brows evolve through the seasons, so be sure to bring a picture of the specific look you want to achieve," says Healy. Of course, this brow shape won't look the exact same on everyone. It's your specialist's job to tailor your waxing or tweezing to fit your facial structure and brow shape.

After you've visited the salon (assuming you're happy with the results), take a picture that you can bring in the next time. In the meantime, it's all about maintenance. "Don't go searching for something to pluck. Try to keep the design lines clean by lightly removing new growth once a week using a slanted tweezer." Healy also warns not to use a magnifying mirror. I repeat: Do not use a magnifying mirror. Learning that lesson the hard way leads to a "before" picture like mine.

The Takeaway:After trying multiple brow methods I came to one conclusion: None of them gave me the big, natural-looking brows I was after.

However, I was able to take bits and pieces of everyone's advice to come up with a brow routine I'm pretty proud of. After trying every single brow pencil that came across my desk (not to mention most of the other editors' favorites) I finally found a pick that looked natural on me, and had the perfect wax-to-pigment ratio Anastasia had explained to me. And it's an eyeliner -- the Champagne pencil from Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Eyeliner in Nude Eyes. Hey, if Taylor Swift could pull off a cat eye with permanent marker once upon a time, you can certainly use the items in your makeup bag for multiple uses.

I don't use the stencils or the Brow Buddy anymore, but I do have a better idea of where my ideal brows should be. I fill in closer to the inner corner of my eye and out to the very outer corner. I clean up the brows in the middle and underneath my brows, but never on top. And I'm never again flipping my mirror to that dreaded magnified side. As for the Cara D. thickness, Plains put it best: "You have to remember that those 'effortless' brows Cara D. has are really the work of a lot of maintenance. Everyone has tilted arches or patchy areas, but hers are tinted, filled in -- the work of powders and pencils and gels. They have to be manicured to get that 'natural' appearance." In other words, unless you have a team of professionals to do the work for you, there's only so much you can do to get that bushy unkempt look yourself.