The Tool: Although I had picked up a few tips on filling in my brows, I still had no clue how to get any sort of arch in them -- or how to tweeze without looking like I took a weed-wacker to them. Thus I turned to The Queen of Eyebrows, Anastasia Soare (she's the woman responsible for Jennifer Lopez', Penelope Cruz' and other celebrities' perfectly plucked brows) and her Anastasia Beverly Hills Classic Brow Stencils. . I figured if I could connect the dots with the Brow Buddy, I could certainly color in a stenciled arch.

"A big concern for many women is growing their brows in without looking unkempt," says Soare. "While your brows are growing back, you can still tweeze the shorter hairs that you don't want, as long as you have the right shape in place. Also, if your new hairs are too short to tweeze comfortably, I use a good quality highlighting pencil to help conceal tiny stray hairs until they are long enough to pluck." Though I was using them to help create the right shape, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Classic Brow Stencils also allow you to create a tweezing guideline by tracing instead of filling in the line.

The Method: The brow stencils come in different arch variations, ranging from petite arch to full arch. To start, you begin by choosing the stencil that most closely resembles the shape of your natural brow. I chose the smallest stencil, petite arch. My entire brow fit inside the cutout and there was still way too much empty, brow-less space.

The Result: Even though they weren't the perfect fit, I couldn't resist trying the full arch stencil to see if I could unleash my inner Lily Collins. Disaster. The brows that look so fierce on her were very obviously, drawn-on caterpillars on my face

The Fix: Back to the drawing board I went for more expert advice. "If your brows are extremely sparse or over-tweezed, I suggest tapering your stencil use from the smallest size to your ideal size," says Soare. "For instance, on clients who have completely tweezed off most of their brows, or have very little naturally, I start them with the petite stencil. This way they have a more defined brow shape that is not an extreme change. As the brows grow in more and more and people become used to their new brow shape, I change them to the next stencil in the series." In other words there is no quick fix to thick brows unless you want everyone wondering how your brows doubled in size overnight. You still have to work your way up to the fullest shape slowly as you continue to grow in your own brows.

But in the meantime, I still couldn't draw on or fill in my brows with the too-dark pencils I've tried time and time again. For this, Soare recommends looking for a firm consistency and a slim tip to create the most natural looking hair-like texture. You should also look for a good balance between wax and pigment.

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.