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.