GB2591220A

GB2591220A - An eyebrow stencil

Info

Publication number: GB2591220A
Application number: GB1916742.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jane Davidson Samantha
Original assignee: All Your Beauty Solutions Ltd
Current assignee: All Your Beauty Solutions Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-18
Filing date: 2019-11-18
Publication date: 2021-07-28
Also published as: GB201916742D0

Abstract

An eyebrow stencil 100 comprising a flexible sheet of material 102 defining a plurality of openings 110. Said openings are positioned so as to define the boundary 112 of at least part of a human eyebrow. The openings 110 each have a tapered profile along their length. The opening 110 may taper inwardly from a medial end (114, Figure 2) of the eyebrow to a lateral end (116, Figure 2) and/or from an inferior end (118, Figure 2) to a superior end (120, Figure 2) of the eyebrow. The openings 110 may be oriented within a 135 degree angle range. Openings 110 may also be oriented in an inferior-superior or vertical direction at the medial end (114, Figure 2) and in a medial-lateral direction at the lateral end (116, Figure 2). The stencil 100 may be provided with an adhesive layer for skin contact. Two of the openings (110a,110b; Figure 2) may define common hair line (HL, Figure 2) which intersects a third opening (110c, Figure 2). A method of applying eyebrow make-up using stencil 100 is also disclosed. The method may include applying make-up with a brush (128, Figure 4).

Description

An eyebrow stencil The present invention is concerned with an eyebrow stencil. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a stencil used in the application of temporary make-up to provide the appearance of eyebrows.

Stencils for make-up are known in the art.

US 2015/0374101 discloses an eyeliner stencil designed to facilitate application of eyeliner to an eyelid.

WO 2019/094493 discloses a stencil for applying cosmetics. The stencil comprises a thin flexible membrane defining a plurality of holes through which make-up can be applied. The membrane has indicia thereon, for application in a specific pattern (e.g. the shape of an eyebrow). The user must apply the stencil to the skin, and apply make-up within the indicia to form the desired pattern on the subject's skin. The subject stencil, importantly, has openings both within and outside the indicia to enable the user to enlarge or change the shape of the pattern as desired. The indicia is merely a guideline.

It is generally desirable to provide eyebrow make-up in a manner that appears as a natural eyebrow.

A problem with WO 2019/094493 is that the indicia overlaps the openings. Therefore there is a risk that either an unnatural shape is produced, or each opening is not completely filled. Further, it is extremely difficult to selectively apply certain types of make-up through a sub-set of openings. In particular when applying with a brush, it is easy for the bristles to stray into adjacent openings outside the indicia providing an uneven appearance to the pattern.

Furthermore, it is desirable to ensure that the make-up is applied in an even and uninterrupted manner throughout each opening.

It is an aim of the present invention to overcome, or at least mitigate these problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an eyebrow stencil comprising a flexible sheet of material defining a plurality of openings, the openings positioned so as to define the boundary of at least part of a human eyebrow, wherein the openings each have a tapered profile along their length.

Advantageously, the combination of the openings defining an eyebrow shape and being tapered provides for a much more even and realistic application of make-up to the face. There is no risk of application outside the boundary of the eyebrow, and furthermore the tapered openings help to compress the applicator (e.g. brush or pen tip) to extract make up for better application.

Preferably the openings taper inwardly from a medial end of the eyebrow to a lateral end, and! or from an inferior end to a superior end of the eyebrow.

Preferably all of the plurality of openings are oriented within a 135 degree angle range.

Preferably the openings are oriented in a primarily inferior -superior direction at the medial end of the eyebrow, and in a primarily medial -lateral direction at the lateral end of the eyebrow.

Preferably there is an adhesive layer for skin contact.

According to a second aspect there is provided a method of applying eyebrow make-up comprising the steps of: providing a stencil according to any preceding claim; providing make-up; placing the stencil in contact with human skin; applying the make up to the skin to form a pattern in the shape of the openings.

Preferably there is provided the step of: applying the make-up with a brush.

Preferably there is provided the step of: applying the make up to the skin in a direction from a wider end of each tapered opening to a narrower end of each tapered opening.

Example stencils in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first stencil in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a view of the pattern produced by the stencil of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detail view of a part of the stencil of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view of the application of make-up using the stencil of Figure 1; Figures Sa to Se are views of variable size and shape eyebrow patterns produced by stencils of the present invention; Figure 6 is a view of a different configuration of eyebrow stencil pattern according to the invention; and, Figures 7a and 7b are views of further configurations of eyebrow stencil patterns according to the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, an eyebrow stencil 100 according to the present invention comprises a flexible stencil sheet 102 and a backing layer 104.

The stencil sheet 102 is constructed from a thin, transparent, flexible material having a first side 106 and a second side 108. The sheet is constructed from a non-adhesive acetate or mylar material in this embodiment.

The stencil sheet 102 defines a plurality of openings 110. The openings 110 are elongate, having a length to width ratio of at least 10:1 in this embodiment. The pattern of the openings is shown in Figure 2a-or more specifically the pattern made by use of the stencil sheet 102 is shown. The openings are positioned so as to define an eyebrow shape 112 (shown in dashed lines for clarity, although this would not be visible when the stencil is used). The eyebrow shape 112 extends from a medial end 114 to a lateral end 116. The eyebrow shape is rounded at the medial end 114 and generally tapers towards the lateral end 116. The eyebrow shape is also generally curved having an inferior concave edge 118 and a superior convex edge 120.

A single opening 110 is shown in Figure 3. Each opening 110 is tapered along its length from a first (thicker) end 122 to a second (thinner) end 124.

The openings, which define individual "strokes" making up the eyebrow, are oriented in an almost vertical direction (i.e. inferior -superior) at the medial end 114 of the brow. Moving to the lateral end 116, the openings become more oriented in the lateral direction (i.e. lateral -medial). The first ends 122 of the openings 110 are at the inferior! medial ends, and the second ends 124 at the lateral / superior ends.

It will be noted that according to the invention, the openings 110 are configured to give the appearance of "overlapping" eyebrow hairs, which enhances the realistic appearance. For example, referring to Figure 2, openings 110a and 110b are discrete, but lie on a single hair line HL that overlaps opening 110c.

The backing layer 104 may be e.g. a wax coated plastic for ease of release.

Referring to Figure 4, a method of application of make-up using the stencil according to the invention is shown. Sheet 102 is peeled from the backing layer 104 as shown in Figure 1. It is then held against a human face 126 as shown in Figure 4, at the desired location of the eyebrow. Make-up (in this embodiment a powder) is loaded onto a brush 128 having bristles 130 in the manner known in the art.

The make-up from the brush 128 is applied to the face 126 by performing strokes in the general direction of the openings 110-that is primarily in an upward (inferior -superior) direction at the medial end of the brow, to a primarily outward (medial -lateral) direction at the lateral end of the brow. The brush strokes are also in the direction of the openings 110 from the first end 122 to the second end 124 in direction BS (see area A of Figure 4). As the bristles 130 of the brush 128 move along the opening 110, they start to be compressed inwardly by the tapered shape of the opening 110 (see area B of Figure 4). This has the effect of forcing more make-up from the brush, which is pressed onto the subject's skin as the brush moves. Therefore the tapered shape of the openings has the effect of assisting the transfer of make-up from brush 128 to face 126.

In this embodiment, one stencil could be used for both eyebrows (simply by cleaning it and turning it over).

Figures 5a to 5e show a variety of eyebrow patterns 132, 134, 136, 138, 140 that could be created with the present invention. In one embodiment, a kit is provided having a plurality of stencils of different shapes and sizes. Figure 5a shows an eyebrow patters 132, Figure 5b shows a different pattern 134 and Figure Sc a different pattern 136 again. Figures 5d and 5e are progressively larger versions of the pattern of Sc.

Figure 6 shows an alternative type of eyebrow pattern 142. This pattern has a first (medial) region 144 comprising a plurality of "stroke" like openings 110. It also has a second (lateral) region 146 comprising a single large opening defining the boundary of an eyebrow 148. This pattern provides a "shaded" effect. The large opening can also allow the user to reshape and redefine the lateral end of the eyebrow as required.

Figures 7a and 7b show further types of eyebrow patterns 150, 152 respectively. Each stencil has openings that are substantially "5" shaped thus creating S-shaped strokes 151, 153 respectively.

It will be understood that although not always shown, the openings in each embodiment are always tapered.

Variations The stencil may be used with other types of applicator, e.g. make-up pens.

A thin layer of adhesive may be applied to the first side 106 to provide a tacky surface to retain the sheet 102 on human skin. The tackiness is such that the weight of the sheet 102 is supported, and easily peeled off after use. This type of product is more suitable for users without any hair at all (for example because it has been removed, or due to a medical condition). As such, there would be no risk of the adhesive pulling any existing hair from the face.

The above embodiments have been designed to replicate human eyebrow hair. It should be noted that the pattern of openings in the stencil may also be configured to replicate permanent or semi-permanent (as opposed to temporary) make-up. In particular, the openings may be configured to replicated eyebrow shapes that are the result of "microblading". Evidently the advantage is the provision of the appearance of microblading, without the associated hygiene risks.

Claims

Claims 1. An eyebrow stencil comprising a flexible sheet of material defining a plurality of openings, the openings positioned so as to define the boundary of at least part of a human eyebrow, wherein the openings each have a tapered profile along their length.
2. An eyebrow stencil according to claim 1, wherein the openings taper inwardly from a medial end of the eyebrow to a lateral end, and / or from an inferior end to a superior end of the eyebrow.
3. An eyebrow stencil according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the all of the plurality of openings are oriented within a 135 degree angle range.
4. An eyebrow stencil according to claim 2, or claim 3 dependent on claim 2, wherein the openings are oriented in a primarily inferior -superior direction at the medial end of the eyebrow, and in a primarily medial -lateral direction at the lateral end of the eyebrow.
5. An eyebrow stencil according to any preceding claim, having an adhesive layer for skin contact.
6. An eyebrow stencil according to any preceding claim, wherein at least two of the openings define a common hair line, which hair line intersects a third opening.
7. A method of applying eyebrow make-up comprising the steps of: providing a stencil according to any preceding claim; providing make-up; placing the stencil in contact with human skin; applying the make up to the skin to form a pattern in the shape of the openings.
8. A method of applying eyebrow make-up according to claim 7, comprising the step of: applying the make-up with a brush.
9. A method of applying eyebrow make-up according to claim 8, comprising the step of: applying the make up to the skin in a direction from a wider end of each tapered opening to a narrower end of each tapered opening.