Brow Pencils & Gels | My Hits & Misses

May 8, 2020

Hi Everyone!

Today, I’m sharing my favourite brow products!

Check out my other Hits & Misses posts!

MAKEUP || Primers | Foundations | Powders | Concealers | Mascara

SKINCARE || Eye Creams

BRANDS || Bobbi Brown | Burt’s Bees | L’Oréal | Maybelline | Nude by Nature | NYX | TULA | Volition Beauty

Before you read this post, please remember that we all have difference preferences and skin types. These are MY hits, misses and likes. You might love something I don’t like or dislike something I love.

My brow products of choice are pencils and gels. A few times I’ve used an matte shadow as eyebrow powder, but I prefer pencils. I’m not patient or skilled enough to use pomades.

Two years ago, I wrote a similar post reviewing brow products I’ve tried (read my post). I’ve tried quite a few products since then and found some that I like more.

I’ve also written a few comparison posts (with swatches), check them out below:

Lancôme Brow Shaping Powdery Pencil vs. Benefit Precisely, My Brow

Dior Diorshow BoldBrow vs. Benefit 24 Hour Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel

I don’t think they sell the Dior Diorshow BoldBrow anymore, they came out with a new product to replace it.

HITS

Colourpop Brow Boss Clear Gel – My friend recommended this clear gel and it’s my favourite clear gel that I’ve tried. It comes out of the tube white, but dries down clear. It leaves my brows feeling soft and not crunchy at all!

Benefit Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Eyebrow Gel in 5 Deep – One of my favourite tinted brow gels.

Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra Fine Shape & Define in 6 (read my review) – This has been one of my favourite brow pencils I’ve tried.

NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Black – A great drugstore micro brow pencil. This is a fave of mine as well.

LIKES

Anastasia Clear Brow Gel – This brow gel does get a bit crunchy, but it keeps my brows in place. I just wish the wand wasn’t so huge. It’s like a mascara wand. I would prefer a thinner one.

Lancôme Brow Shaping Powdery Pencil in Soft Black 09 (read my review) – I liked this brow pencil, but it felt like a waste to sharpen so much of it away. I prefer retractable pencils that you don’t have to sharpen. This pencil is nice for a natural look.

Kevyn Aucoin The Precision Brow Pencil in Dark Brunette – I wanted to try a different brow pencil, so I grabbed this Kevyn Aucoin one. It’s the first product I’ve tried from the brand. The shade is a good match for me, but it wipes off more easily than other brow products. I wouldn’t repurchase it.

NYX Fill & Fluff Pomade Pencil in Ash Brown – In my NYX Hits & Misses post, I put this in the HITS, but this is going into the LIKES section for this post. It’s a HIT for the products I’ve tried from NYX, but there’s other brow products I prefer. This is another pencil that I like from NYX. Although I prefer the Micro Brow pencil because it comes with a spoolie. This one comes with a little oval/paddle brush so you can diffuse what you drew on. You get a more filled in look with this pomade pencil.

MISSES

Benefit 24-HR Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel (read my review) – I don’t know if it was just the sample I got of this, but it was kind of tacky. When you pull the wandout, you would see a string of product from the wand to the tube. It kind of reminded me of clear lash glue in that way.

Benefit ka-BROW! Cream-Gel Eyebrow Color in 5 Deep – I got a deluxe sample of this and it’s just too intense for me.

Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil Easy Shape & Fill in 5 Deep – I prefer micro pencils so this was too thick for me. I prefer hair-like strokes instead of the filled in look.

Burt’s Bees Natural Brow Pencil in 1610 Brunette* – This only comes in two shades and the darker shade is too light for me. It was too waxy for my liking.

Maybelline Eye Studio Brow Precise Shaping Pencil in Deep Brown – This pencil was way too waxy for my liking and it never sharpened nicely.

Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows Eyebrow Gel in Perfect Brown – I just wanted to try some Charlotte Tilbury products so I bought this during the sale. I love the size of the brush and the colour was nice. It’s a nice product, but I don’t think it’s anything special and it’s the most expensive gel I’ve tried.

Brow Gels

Product	Price in CAD	Size	Cost per gram	# of shades available
Colourpop Brow Boss Clear Gel	7 USD = 8.85 CAD	3.10g	2.2	clear, 4 tinted
Anastasia Strong Hold Clear Brow Gel	29.50	7.85g	3.8	clear
L’Oréal Brow Stylist Boost & Set Volumizing Brow Mascara	13.49	3.2g	4.2	4 tinted
Benefit 24-HR Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel	32	7g	4.6	clear
Anastasia Clear Brow Gel (mini)	12	2,5g	4.8	clear
Benefit 24-HR Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel (value)	51	6g	8.5	3 tinted
Benefit Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Eyebrow Gel (mini)	19	3.5g	5.4	clear
Benefit Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Eyebrow Gel	32	3g	10.7	10 tinted
Benefit Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Eyebrow Gel (mini)	18	1.5g	12.7	10 tinted
Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows Eyebrow Gel	30	1.33g	22.6	4 tinted

Brow Pencils/Pomade Gels

Product	Price in CAD	Size	Cost per ounce	# of shades available
Benefit ka-BROW! Cream Gel Eyebrow Color	32	0.1oz	320	8 shades
Burt's Bees Brow Pencil	13.99	0.04oz	349	2 shades
Mini size Benefit ka-BROW! Cream Gel Eyebrow Color	19	0.05oz	380	3 shades
Maybelline Eye Studio Brow Precise Shaping Pencil	10.99	0.02oz	550	4 shades on Maybelline, 2 shades on Shoppers Drug Mart site
NYX Fill & Fluff Pomade Pencil	12.49	0.007oz	1784	8 shades
Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil Easy Shape & Fill	32	0.01oz	3200	12 shades
Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil Easy Shape & Fill (mini)	19	0.005oz	3800	3 shades
NYX Micro Brow Pencil	12.49	0.003oz	4163	8 shades
Anastasia Brow Wiz	28	0.003oz	9333	10 shades
Kevyn Aucoin The Precision Brow Pencil	32	0.003oz	10667	4 shades
Lancôme Brow Shaping Powdery Pencil	35	0.003oz	11667	9 shades
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra Fine Shape & Define	32	0.02oz	16000	12 shades
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra Fine Shape & Define (mini)	19	0.001oz	19000	12 shades

To Try

I have the Anastasia Brow Wiz in my collection, but I haven’t tried it yet. I bought it earlier this year and wanted to finish my Kevyn Aucoin pencil first.

Dior Diorshow Brow Styler Ultra-Fine Precision Brow Pencil
Dior Diorshow Pump ‘N’ Brow
Fenty Beauty Brow MVP Ultra Fine Brow Pencil & Styler
Hourglass Arch Brow Micro Sculpting Pencil
Hourglass Arch Brow Shaping Gel
Milk KUSH Fiber Brow Gel
Nudestix Eyebrow Stylus Pencil & Gel

What are your fave brow products?

Love,

Products marked with (*) were sent to me.

Dupe It Out | NYX Micro Brow Pencil vs. Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil

September 21, 2018

Hi Everyone!

Last month, I received the Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil from Topbox Circle. I thought I would compare it to my fave, the NYX Micro Brow Pencil. Keep reading to find out which one I prefer!

NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Black (brown-black)

Available in 8 shades, twist-up & retractable pencil with a spoolie on the other end.

Build full beautiful brows with our ultra-thin Micro Brow Pencil. So precise it coats even the finest hairs with color for a natural-looking finish.

In the picture, I don’t have a cap on the spoolie, but it does come with a cap.

Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra Fine Shape & Define in 6 (cool soft black)

Available in 8 shades, twist-up & retractable pencil with a spoolie on the other end (mini doesn’t come with a spoolie).

This ultra-fine eyebrow pencil draws incredibly natural-looking, hair-like strokes that last 12 budge-proof hours.* A few strokes of the rich yet blendable colour will transform brows from shapeless & undefined to filled & defined eyebrows.

Top is the NYX Micro Brow Pencil (you can tell it’s slightly more brown).

I have the darkest shade for both pencils and the NYX pencil looks darker and more brown while the Benefit pencil is more gray-black.

For both pencils, they are available in 8 shades. No need for a sharpener, you twist it up and you can retract if you need to. They both come with spoolies on the other end (although the Benefit mini size doesn’t have a spoolie).

WINNER: Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil

It was a very close competition, but I have to give the win to Benefit. They are known for their brow products and they just came out with more shades for each of them!

My brows are black (and my hair has grown out since I last dyed it), so when I use a brow product that has brown, it looks like I’ve obviously filled them in with a pencil. The Precisely, My Brow looks more gray and looks more natural on me. My brow pencils last a long time because I’m fairly low maintenance when it comes to brows. I only fill in the gaps and nowhere else and then I’ll go in with a brow gel to keep them in place. So, for me, I’m okay with spending a bit more on brow products because they last so long.

If you don’t want to spend $30 on a brow product, then NYX is a great alternative, but I personally think the Benefit pencil works better for my brows because it’s not as harsh-looking. I think the NYX pencils cater more to blondes and brunettes whereas the Benefit ones just came out with more shades and they have the different undertones (warm, neutral and cool). I haven’t tried the Anastasia Brow Wiz, but I’m interested to see if it’s better than or performs the same as the Precisely, My Brow. Once I finish some of my current brow products, I will probably pick up a Brow Wiz pencil to compare (especially since it’s cheaper and you get a little more product).

I have a new review up! I compared the Benefit Precisely, My Brow with the Lancôme Brow Shaping Powdery Pencil (click here)!

What’s your fave brow product?

Love,

Read More
Review | GummiBand Hair Cords

December 11, 2017

Hi Everyone!

Last year, I first heard about the hair cords that leave your hair dent-free. They were the brand Invisibobble and they sell at Sephora for $10 for 3. I thought that was a bit expensive, so I went on Amazon looking for dupes. I purchased a pack of 3 black and 10 mixed colour hair cords for $6.99. They’re very big (size of a wrist- they look like those cords that people put their keys on) and thick like a telephone cord. When I wrapped it around my hair three times, it’s still a bit loose.

I found out about GummiBands, based in Vancouver, from a blogger group on Facebook. They were had a casting call for Contributors, Partners and Ambassadors. For Partners and Contributors, you need a certain number of followers and they had a limited number of spaces. So, I applied to be a contributor for GummiBand and they sent me a variety of their hair cords. Although I received the bands for free, the following review is my honest and unbiased opinion on the GummiBand hair cords.

Light Pink, Brunette, Clear, Purple, Black, Dark Pink, Teal

They offer Clear, Black, Brunette, Blonde, Light Pink, Dark Pink, Teal and Purple (I received a few of each colour except blonde). They retail for $7.99 CAD for a set of four hair cords and have free shipping in Canada. They gave me a code ‘BONUS38‘ for my readers to receive 2 extra GummiBands with the purchase of a 4-cord pack.

Hypoallergenic (They do not absorb water or sweat so they do not breed bacteria)

Suitable for all types of hair (Long and thick hair? Use 2 GummiBands for extra hold!)

Gentle on hair, reducing breakage and styling damage

Reusable for years. When the cord stretches out, warm it up with hot air from a hair dryer or hot water to return it to it’s original shape!

GummiBand hair cords come with a 1 year full replacement warranty

My hair is quite thick, so I wrap the cord around three times. I love that they’re plastic so if you get them wet, you don’t have to leave it out to dry like you would for an elastic. They don’t pull at your hair and they stay put (unlike regular hair ties where I have to adjust my ponytail after a few hours). After using them for a whole day, they are stretched out, but they get back into shape after a few minutes. When you put them around your wrist, they don’t make an indent around your entire wrist like a regular hair band. Although, they still make some indents from the spiral but it’s not as tight as a hair elastic.

UPDATE (Feb 2018): I’ve been using one hair cord basically every day for a month and a half. I wrap it around my hair three times and after a month or so, it was starting to curl like a figure 8 (but it wasn’t stretched out at all). I filled up my sink with some hot water and soaked it for less than a minute and it sprang back to place. It’s like new again!

UPDATE (Aug 2019): I have since purchased a few packs for myself and family. I had put quite a few of the Gummiband hair cords in giveaways, and found myself with only a few left.

RATING: 5/5

GummiBands are a great stocking stuffer or for birthday party loot bags. I love the variety of colours that they have, they have both fun colours and colours that blend in with your hair if you don’t want it noticeable.

Have you tried hair cords? Do you like them better than regular hair bands?

Love,

Read More