Tweezerman began in 1980 with a single product, a splinter tweezer, according to the company's own account in Modern Salon. Founder Dal LaMagna writes that he first sold them to hardware stores and that hairdressers started calling him Tweezerman. Two years later came the Slant, the angled brow tweezer most of us picture when we hear the name, and LaMagna's timeline says Time named it one of the ten best products of 1994. He sold the company to Zwilling J.A. Henckels in December 2004.

What I like about Tweezerman is how narrow the idea still is. It makes small metal tools and it cares about the tips. The brand offers free sharpening on its tweezers, scissors and cuticle nippers for as long as the tool can be sharpened, which tells you it expects you to keep them for years. Eyelash curlers are not part of that program, so treat the pads kindly.

The lash curlers are the newer chapter. ProCurl has a 60 degree bar for round eyes, and ProMaster has a softer curve for almond and deep-set eyes. Picking by eye shape is the one thing that makes a curler stop pinching.

The first grid is Tweezerman, from curlers to a clipper. The second grid is the other curlers, brow tools and a razor I compared them with. My tip: tweeze right after a warm shower, in daylight, and pull in the direction the hair grows.

ProCurl Eyelash Curler is the most reviewed Tweezerman tool here. Its 60 degree bar and wide opening suit round eyes, and Tweezerman UK says it won an Allure Best of Beauty award in 2017. ProMaster Eyelash Curler is the one for almond, hooded or deep-set eyes, and Tweezerman says the two are curved differently on purpose. If a standard curler catches your lid, try this one first. Curl before mascara, hold for a few seconds at the root, then give one soft pulse halfway up.

The Pink Perfection Slant Tweezer is the classic 25 degree slant tip in pink, and the Stainless Steel Slant Tweezer is the same shape in rose gold. Both have hand-filed tips that close evenly, which is what lets you grab one short hair without pinching skin. The Pink Perfection Petite Tweeze Set is the small version for your bag, with the same hand-filed tips in a shorter body.

The Point Tweezer has needle-fine tips for splinters and stubborn short hairs, which is closer to the original 1980 idea. The Rockhard Cuticle Nipper trims hangnails, and the Stainless Steel Fingernail Clipper has a curved blade that follows the nail.

What I would skip: the point tweezer for everyday brow shaping. The slant is easier to control, and the point is sharp enough to nick skin if you rush.

Shiseido Eyelash Curler is the most reviewed product in this edit, with an edge-free design that keeps it from pinching. If you have wide, flatter lids, it is the one to compare with ProCurl. Grande Cosmetics makes the GrandeLASH-LIFT, a heated, rechargeable curler for lashes that drop by lunch, though its rating is the lowest in this grid. Use it on clean lashes or over dry mascara, never wet, and let it warm fully before the first press. The ergonomic curler here has a handle that curves toward your face, which some people find easier to angle.

Anastasia Beverly Hills has three tools in this grid. The Slant-Tip Precision Tweezers have calibrated tension for tiny hairs, the Dual-Ended Firm Angled Brush 12 has a spoolie on one end and a firm angled brush for powder on the other, and the Brow Freeze Applicator is a spatula and spoolie for brow wax. Brush brows up before you tweeze so you only remove what sits outside the shape.

The metal facial razor handles peach fuzz and stray brow hairs, and Jack Black Bump Fix is a liquid for razor bumps and ingrown hairs, which is handy if you shave or tweeze along the jaw.

What I would skip: shaving your brow shape with the razor. It is fine for peach fuzz, but a tweezer lets you take one hair at a time.

I think Tweezerman is still the brand to start with for tweezers, mostly because of the tips and the sharpening program. Begin with the slant and the curler that matches your eye shape, then add the nipper and clipper when you need them. For curling, the Shiseido curler is the fair comparison, and it is worth trying both on the same day to see which one meets your lid. Whatever you pick, clean the tips with alcohol after each use and keep a cap on them in your bag.