Brows are big news. Huge.
I am wowed by the time and dedication spent on grooming one’s eyebrows in some of the beauty youtube videos I’ve watched recently, they spend longer than I would take to paint my entire face.
There seems to be a growing trend for a quite obvious/thick statement look, it’s not my bag personally but I can appreciate how it suits others. And I definitely understand the importance of having some brows – mine are naturally sparse and very fair.
I’ve mentioned the ease of application and excellent staying power of Benefit Goof Proof eyebrow pencil before, I would highly recommend it if you want to create a more “defined” and fuller brow, the formulation doesn’t melt off in the heat either. The shade “light” is a good match for my ash blonde hair/yellow skin tone – a kind of cool-toned taupe.
Being a bonfide beauty junkie, even potentially finding the “one” doesn’t mean I don’t try other products that might take my fancy. I know I know, I have both commitment issues and an addictive personality. I am also an advocate for discovering make-up that offers value for money as well as performance. And that’s where the Urban Decay Brow Box comes in.
The Benefit pencil has 0.34g of product and retails at twenty quid, for the same price, the Urban Decay box has 4.4g of product, some mini tweezers, an application brush, a spoolie wand AND two excellent mirrors. Essentially it has 13 times the amount of product (I know?! had to get my calculator out to check!) and all sorts of other useful grooming essentials for on-the-go.
I love it because of the control it gives me, I apply as much of the powder as I feel gives me the fullness I desire on any given day and then I set it with the wax. The shade “Bathwater blonde” (currently only £17.55 as part of a Gwen Stefai range at feelunique.com) is the BOMB. The lighter hue is the perfect soft ashy shade for every day, I use the darker one for evenings if I’m going all out on the liquid winged eyeliner front and require something stronger to frame my peepers.
The tools are admittedly somewhat small – they are made for travel after all, but I find them easy enough to use and it definitely saves on packing separate stuff when I’m on an overnight work trip or a weekend away.
Feelunique.com have other shades from £11 at the moment by the way and the colours on screen appear very similar to in-store. If you are a golden blonde with warmer undertones I would recommend “Blondie”, I can’t really advise on other colourings but I’m hoping you can share your brow techniques, routines and favourite products in the comments section below.
How do you do your eyebrows? pencil? wax? a combination of the two? Are you a frequent tweezer or are you a purveyor of an altogether more bushier vibe? How important are groomed brows to you?
Please do reveal all and feel free to include links to your best buys!
I don’t spend ages on my brows but I do like to make them a little more defined for a night out.
I am a total convert to the Freedom Brow Pomade from Superdrug. It’s a fiver and I bought the brush for £1.99 to go with it. A little goes a long way (it would be easy to overdo it!) but the finish, staying power and shades are great. A definite bargain beauty buy.
Oooh Carly what a bargain! I’ll take a look x
I love the thicker brow look on models but I’m not brave enough personally. I’d say mine are medium sized? But I don’t feel ‘dressed’ unless I’ve filled them in a bit before leaving the house. I’m dark haired so any gaps or patches are noticeable and have to be filled in.
I prefer a powder to a pencil as I think it’s easier to achieve a more natural finish, though as pencils go I agree that Goof Proof is one of the best. In the past I’ve used the Blinc brow mascara, which is good for staying power and a sort of ‘no make up’ brow look, but it can be messy to apply and if you have stray light or fluffy hairs under your brow line it can catch them so you have to wipe it off.
As far as brow powders go, I really think that the application tool is probably more important than the powder itself. The ones that come in kits are good for travel but invariably too fiddly for me. I bought a Bare Minerals brow brush that has a small angled brush at one end and a spooly at the other, and it’s fab. The handle is a proper length so you can see what you’re doing when you apply the powder. I think I need to watch a few tutorials though, because I only ever apply one colour and can’t figure out what you’re meant to do with more than one! Are you meant to blend them?
Also, has anyone ever tried Wunderbrow? Is it any good? I’m tempted by the idea of it but have never taken the plunge…
Tracy I agree on the powder seeming more natural, the goof proof is great but I do have to use a light hand otherwise it can look quite “done” (which I know some folks love, but maybe because I’m so fair it can look a bit odd).
I am also a bit convert to how brushes can make a huge difference to the finish of a product, I love the Real Techniques bold metals range (they also look lush on my dressing table ha!)
http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=2082&awinaffid=195689&clickref=&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lookfantastic.com%2Freal-techniques-bold-metals-202-angled-liner%2F11216325.html
I love the RT Bold Metals too Charlotte, but don’t have that one. Yet. I need two brow brushes, right? 😉
You absolutely do! This is the BEST and it’s currently only £7.50 🙂 x
I have used the Wunderbrow and really liked it. My cousin’s 18 year old daughter told me that my eyebrows were on fleak when I wore it at a family bbq (not sure if that’s the spelling but I hear it’s a good thing).
I’m even more tempted now Laura! Did you buy it online? Getting the right colour match without being able to try it on is one of the things that is putting me off… x
I got it in boots but you can’t try it and it is a bit if a risk with the colour.
This made me laugh out loud!
I am a bit lazy with my eyebrow tweezing to be honest, so tend to favour the heavier eyebrow.* However, I do use the Rimmel London brow this way kit. I have to admit i do love the powder. The setting gel is better for a night out, you couldn’t really wear it for a day in the office!
http://www.boots.com/rimmel-london-brow-this-way-eyebrow-kit-10182723
*I did tweeze my eyebrows the other day only to discover two white hairs. At 23 i have to admit I am a tad alarmed. I may have to start dying them as my hair is chocolate brown!!!
This looks fab Amelia. I actually cheat at eyebrows – I have so much blonde “fluff” I always shape on the wonk, with one eyebrow always thicker than the other. Now I just let my friend Kelly wax and tint them every few weeks and I just tweeze the odd stray in-between. I don’t have facials or anything so this is my one regular “beauty” treat x
The wonky part made me laugh! I spent three months when I was 15 “growing out” my eyebrows as I was convinced one was lower than the other!!
I think I am going to have to take up getting them professionally tinted, I can’t have white eyebrows and brunette hair!!!
Amelia I went through a stage of shaving my brows 😱
True story. I just couldn’t deal with blonde fluffy bits which look kind of sparkly. Kelly rescued them for me after I butchered them. I had to do a lot of painful growing out for months. I love having mine maintained by a professional – worth every penny x
Brows are a complete non negotiable for me. I have very fair brows so even though I do get them tinted, they are invisible from a distance. My holy grail is Anastasia Beverly Hille Brow Wizz in Taupe (a very good ashy shade for blondes / light browns). I also have the ABH Dip Brow in light brown for when I want to go bolder.
I’ve tried lots of other Brow pencils / palettes, including Charlotte Tilbury and the very spendy Tom Ford but always come back to ABH. It’s one of the only products I’m loyal to (Max Factor false lash effect mascara and Alpha H Liquid Gold are the other two).
I am yet to try any Anastasia Lynsey, can you believe it?! it’s so much easier to get hold of in the UK nowadays too. I am so tempted by her highlighter palette……this eyebrow wiz sounds immense x
I’m a bit lazy but recently got one of the Rosie Huntingdon Whitely at M&S (Rosie for Autograph) pencils and I LOVE it. Its a good shade for me and I can just bung it on and it always seems to look okay.
I recently got a few bits of makeup in M&S simply because out shopping one day my 4 year old REFUSED to go into any other shops and I really needed some things for a wedding. It reunited me with Stila – not bought that in years!!! I picked up a liquid eyeliner pen and its been pretty good too.
Nikki – huge Stila fan over here, I was gutted when it disappeared for a while (I used to bulk buy leftovers from eBay!). I actually really rate the M&S beauty hall, they have lots of interesting brands and the sales assistants are never pushy/over your shoulder the whole time x
I currently use Maybelline ‘brow satin’. It is a twist up type pencil that has a powder on the other end. It works really well for me as I like more of a subtle look to just fill in my patchy brows. I use the medium brown shade and it is actually brown – I find a lot of pencils can be quite orangey.
But, my days of filling in brows are soon to be over! I am having my brows microbladed soon! I’m a bit nervous but I love the work done by the lady who I am booked in with, it all looks really natural. Wish me luck.
Claire I was going to mention microblading, my friend Kelly (a beautician who maintains my brows with waxing/tinting) has trained in it and she’s REALLY good. I’ve seen some of her clients and the results are so natural. Good luck! x
I’m a big fan of the Estee Lauder brow multi-tasker https://www.johnlewis.com/estee-lauder-brow-multi-tasker-eyebrow-makeup/p3017156 . Currently on my second one and can see myself staying pretty loyal. I’m really rubbish when it comes to any make-up brushes so the pencil/powder/brush combo suits me perfectly and is handy when on the move.
I’m all for a combo Kat, love a multi-tasking product x