Eyebrows are one of my favourite parts of a look. They can really change the whole impression of a makeup look, bringing something from soft to bold or from sleek and clean to messy and natural.
I've been on the hunt for my 'Holy Grail' brow product for a while now, and I can't quite say I'm there yet (still holding out for Anastasia DipBrow to be honest). However, there are a few products I have in my possession that have helped me along the way, all with their redeeming features and not-so-good qualities.
The brow products I'm reviewing today are:
Australis Tint my Brow in Blonde
Savvy by DB Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde
This brow pencil goes for a nice $4.99 at Priceline, and was my first foray into brow products. It is fairly warmed toned, however I will point out there is a taupe option in the pencils - not sure why I didn't get it. It is super cheap and great for beginners who don't want to have too bold a brow and just fill them in a bit. I used it for ages before creating a proper brow routine, and loved it, however compared to my other products I struggled even getting it to show up in the swatch (felt like I was scratching my skin to be perfectly honest). Not sure if the product has dried out or just my standards have risen. The lack of pigmentation can have its benefits, making it not so easy to overdo the brows. A big thing for me, and one of the main reasons I don't use pencils anymore, is that it doesn't colour the brow hairs, which annoys me as a lot of mine are blonde and even if you fill them in, you can still see the blonde hairs, giving a very strange-looking finish.
It's $7.99 from Priceline (you can find it even cheaper on iHerb), and 100% worth it. It is so much thinner than any other brow brush I've ever tried, and I honestly don't know how you could use anything else. Compared to, say, the Angled brush from the Real Techniques Eyes Enhanced Kit, there's simply no competition. It's fine enough to make your brows sharp and defined, without looking drawn on. It's perfect (and I don't say that often!)
That's it for another review. Let me know if you want me to stick to some sort of schedule with my blog posts, I mostly just write whenever I feel like it at the moment, but I understand if that can be confusing to keep up.
Thanks for reading and hope I've helped!
I've been on the hunt for my 'Holy Grail' brow product for a while now, and I can't quite say I'm there yet (still holding out for Anastasia DipBrow to be honest). However, there are a few products I have in my possession that have helped me along the way, all with their redeeming features and not-so-good qualities.
The brow products I'm reviewing today are:
- Australis Tint my Brow in Blonde
- NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Blonde
- Makeup Forever Aqua Brow in Light Blonde
- Savvy by DB Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde
- Essence Clear Lash and Brow Gel Mascara
Swatches!
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| I was trying to be clever. |
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| Thick swatch on left, slightly more blended out on the right. I even put in a swatch of the clear gel. Not sure why. |
Want to know my thoughts? Keep on reading!
Australis Tint my Brow in Blonde
I'll start this off by saying this is my current brow product. I used the NYX Cake Powder for ages (as you can tell by the usage), but I mostly just felt like a different sort of finish to my brows, where you could see the individual hairs more so than an all-over colour. This is where Tint my Brow comes in. I tried it a few times using the spoolie applicator to darken and thicken my brow hairs, but didn't love the effect or the crunchy feeling that occurred. Now, however, I use the top of the spoolie to deposit some of the gel onto my hand, then use my Ecotools Angled Liner Brush (pictured at the bottom of this review) to brush it through my eyebrows, like how you would with a regular brow gel (like Aqua Brow or Dip Brow). It works really well! I get less crunchiness and a much more natural result.
Tint my Brow in Blonde is cool toned, but not to the extent of Aqua Brow (note the swatch above). It has a hint of redness to it that is especially noticeable when blended. It can be found anywhere Australis is sold for $9.95. There are only three shades available - Blonde, Light Brown and Dark Brown. That, obviously, means this is the lightest shade, which is a bit of a shame considering it is still quite dark. I have light blonde hair and like dark brows, but other people who prefer lighter brows might struggle with this unless they have a very light hand.
The spoolie applicator on the product is a good idea (reminiscent of Benefit's Gimme Brow), but has one fatal flaw - it is way too big. Like, I honestly am not sure what they were thinking. It's near impossible to apply cleanly with such a large brush. Which is another reason why I use the above method. Alternatively, you could buy a smaller spoolie, or use an old clean mascara wand. Considering the cheap price of the product, it could be worth taking one of these routes.
The gel stays put well in the eyebrows, and was the swatch that 100% stayed when I tried to smudge them on my hand. However, keep in mind it is also the first to go when water touches them. Like, immediately. Therefore, this product would be good for someone wanting brows that stay in place for day to day activities (work, school, uni), but would not hold up in humid climates, for someone who does a lot of sport or sweats during the day, or an Olympic swimmer.
NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Blonde
Tint my Brow in Blonde is cool toned, but not to the extent of Aqua Brow (note the swatch above). It has a hint of redness to it that is especially noticeable when blended. It can be found anywhere Australis is sold for $9.95. There are only three shades available - Blonde, Light Brown and Dark Brown. That, obviously, means this is the lightest shade, which is a bit of a shame considering it is still quite dark. I have light blonde hair and like dark brows, but other people who prefer lighter brows might struggle with this unless they have a very light hand.
The spoolie applicator on the product is a good idea (reminiscent of Benefit's Gimme Brow), but has one fatal flaw - it is way too big. Like, I honestly am not sure what they were thinking. It's near impossible to apply cleanly with such a large brush. Which is another reason why I use the above method. Alternatively, you could buy a smaller spoolie, or use an old clean mascara wand. Considering the cheap price of the product, it could be worth taking one of these routes.
The gel stays put well in the eyebrows, and was the swatch that 100% stayed when I tried to smudge them on my hand. However, keep in mind it is also the first to go when water touches them. Like, immediately. Therefore, this product would be good for someone wanting brows that stay in place for day to day activities (work, school, uni), but would not hold up in humid climates, for someone who does a lot of sport or sweats during the day, or an Olympic swimmer.
NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Blonde
As I said before, this, until recently, was my everyday brow product. It has a bit of a learning curve. When I first got it I just could NOT figure out the wax, and tried a whole bunch of application methods - wax before powder, wax after powder, putting wax all through my brows before powder, no wax at all, etc. However, I eventually realised that wax before powder is definitely the best option. I dip both sides of my Ecotools brush lightly into the wax and then into the powder.
The great thing about this product is that it is essentially a palette, including a spoolie and angled brush. Personally, I wouldn't use the angled brush unless I had nothing better, but the spoolie is a useful thing to have in there to brush the product through your brows to create a more natural look.
This NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder comes in six colours - Blonde, Brunette, Taupe, Dark Brown, and Black/Grey. However, only Blonde, Brunette and Dark Brown are available for purchase at Target in Australia. I forgive them for this, though, as the price point - $9.95 - is much cheaper than some of the other NYX products available in Australia.
The powder has two shades - a lighter and darker option. I use both in the Blonde one, but lean towards the lighter one since the dark one is really dark. For a 'Blonde' option, I feel as though the powders should be much lighter to differentiate them better from the darker options.
The product itself is very long-lasting, doesn't quite set in your brows but doesn't smudge easily. One downside is the amount of wax compared to the amount of powder - I have been very careful with the amount of wax I've been using since I hit pan, and it is still going to disappear much quicker than the powder, especially since there are 2 pans of powder.
Overall, it is a great product for those looking to take 'one step up' from their current single powder or pencil routine, but doesn't make your brows the best they can be. I'd say it is a perfect day-to-day choice for the majority, especially considering it last months.
The great thing about this product is that it is essentially a palette, including a spoolie and angled brush. Personally, I wouldn't use the angled brush unless I had nothing better, but the spoolie is a useful thing to have in there to brush the product through your brows to create a more natural look.
This NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder comes in six colours - Blonde, Brunette, Taupe, Dark Brown, and Black/Grey. However, only Blonde, Brunette and Dark Brown are available for purchase at Target in Australia. I forgive them for this, though, as the price point - $9.95 - is much cheaper than some of the other NYX products available in Australia.
The powder has two shades - a lighter and darker option. I use both in the Blonde one, but lean towards the lighter one since the dark one is really dark. For a 'Blonde' option, I feel as though the powders should be much lighter to differentiate them better from the darker options.
The product itself is very long-lasting, doesn't quite set in your brows but doesn't smudge easily. One downside is the amount of wax compared to the amount of powder - I have been very careful with the amount of wax I've been using since I hit pan, and it is still going to disappear much quicker than the powder, especially since there are 2 pans of powder.
Overall, it is a great product for those looking to take 'one step up' from their current single powder or pencil routine, but doesn't make your brows the best they can be. I'd say it is a perfect day-to-day choice for the majority, especially considering it last months.
Makeup Forever Aqua Brow in Light Blonde
MUFE can be hard to get your hands on in Australia (I know it's available online here but I've personally never used this website), so when I saw it for sale on Reddit I had to have it. I only use it for special occasions because it's fairly expensive (PM Studio sells it for $35), but the colour match is definitely the best out of all the products I own. It's the only one light and cool-toned enough to match my brows perfectly. It is also the most waterproof option, not setting as much as Tint my Brow but sticking around for much longer.
Aqua Brow is a thick gel that you squeeze out and apply with an angled brush. It creates a very natural looking brow, but can be hard to master if you aren't used to this application method. It is also worth noting that it's the only one of my products that requires a separate tool for application (technically, Tint my Brow doesn't, and NYX comes with one), which isn't an issue for me who uses one anyway but could affect a newbie or someone on a budget.
The packaging is surprisingly small - when I received it in the mail I couldn't believe how tiny it was! Many reviews say that it lasts forever but mine seems to disappear fairly quickly - maybe I just use more than most people, who knows.
This product is definitely best for those who want a waterproof brow product, and doesn't mind the hunt it may take to find it, nor the above-average price point.
Aqua Brow is a thick gel that you squeeze out and apply with an angled brush. It creates a very natural looking brow, but can be hard to master if you aren't used to this application method. It is also worth noting that it's the only one of my products that requires a separate tool for application (technically, Tint my Brow doesn't, and NYX comes with one), which isn't an issue for me who uses one anyway but could affect a newbie or someone on a budget.
The packaging is surprisingly small - when I received it in the mail I couldn't believe how tiny it was! Many reviews say that it lasts forever but mine seems to disappear fairly quickly - maybe I just use more than most people, who knows.
This product is definitely best for those who want a waterproof brow product, and doesn't mind the hunt it may take to find it, nor the above-average price point.
Savvy by DB Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde
This brow pencil goes for a nice $4.99 at Priceline, and was my first foray into brow products. It is fairly warmed toned, however I will point out there is a taupe option in the pencils - not sure why I didn't get it. It is super cheap and great for beginners who don't want to have too bold a brow and just fill them in a bit. I used it for ages before creating a proper brow routine, and loved it, however compared to my other products I struggled even getting it to show up in the swatch (felt like I was scratching my skin to be perfectly honest). Not sure if the product has dried out or just my standards have risen. The lack of pigmentation can have its benefits, making it not so easy to overdo the brows. A big thing for me, and one of the main reasons I don't use pencils anymore, is that it doesn't colour the brow hairs, which annoys me as a lot of mine are blonde and even if you fill them in, you can still see the blonde hairs, giving a very strange-looking finish.
The low-down: cheap, lacks pigment, great for beginners. Try it out if everything else in this post scares you.
Essence Clear Lash and Brow Gel Mascara
This product doesn't quite fit in with the rest, as it's not a coloured product and I never use it independent of others. However, it is an important product in my collection, so here goes.
This Essence Gel is the cheapie in this post, going for even cheaper than the Savvy Pencil at only $3.50. It doesn't stay clear for very long, which sucks, but the ugly exterior is worth it for the wonderful product that is inside.
This gel keeps your brows in place and defines the hairs, which as I've mentioned above is a very important part of the 'look' for me. It makes your brows look wet initially but that effect goes away once you brush a spoolie through a couple of times. I often use it over one of the other products on here as a final little touch, but definitely isn't necessary.
The only issue is that it can dislodge the colour you've put in your brows if you brush it through too heavily, but this is mostly an issue with powders, not so much other gels. The product itself is also quite liquid, it's not much of a gel, which doesn't really matter but I thought I'd point it out anyway.
You can supposedly use it on your lashes as well but I never understood the purpose of clear mascara - maybe because I have blonde lashes so it would literally do absolutely nothing to them.
For $3.50, this Gel Mascara is a good option to try out for your brows if you feel as though the hairs don't stay in place, or if they are already nice and thick and you just want to groom them a bit.
Extra little tidbit, this is the brush I currently use for my eyebrows, and is the only one I'll ever want to use:
This Essence Gel is the cheapie in this post, going for even cheaper than the Savvy Pencil at only $3.50. It doesn't stay clear for very long, which sucks, but the ugly exterior is worth it for the wonderful product that is inside.
This gel keeps your brows in place and defines the hairs, which as I've mentioned above is a very important part of the 'look' for me. It makes your brows look wet initially but that effect goes away once you brush a spoolie through a couple of times. I often use it over one of the other products on here as a final little touch, but definitely isn't necessary.
The only issue is that it can dislodge the colour you've put in your brows if you brush it through too heavily, but this is mostly an issue with powders, not so much other gels. The product itself is also quite liquid, it's not much of a gel, which doesn't really matter but I thought I'd point it out anyway.
You can supposedly use it on your lashes as well but I never understood the purpose of clear mascara - maybe because I have blonde lashes so it would literally do absolutely nothing to them.
For $3.50, this Gel Mascara is a good option to try out for your brows if you feel as though the hairs don't stay in place, or if they are already nice and thick and you just want to groom them a bit.
Extra little tidbit, this is the brush I currently use for my eyebrows, and is the only one I'll ever want to use:
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| Ecotools Angled Liner Brush |
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| As close up as my phone would allow. |
That's it for another review. Let me know if you want me to stick to some sort of schedule with my blog posts, I mostly just write whenever I feel like it at the moment, but I understand if that can be confusing to keep up.
Thanks for reading and hope I've helped!
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