Benefit Brow Wax* | £11.50 - £13.50
For a very long time I've maintained the natural shape of my eyebrows at home by tweezing stray hairs. I'd never interfered with their natural shape and - luckily enough - I'd steered clear of over-tweezing. However, earlier this month I had my first ever brow wax and was incredibly surprised at how quick and easy the process was. It was so much less painful than tweezing and the shape didn't alter my eyebrows dramaticly, it simply enhanced their natural shape. Personally, this is something that I think is really important and I was really nervous to give up control to a complete stranger! However, the trained beautician who did my brows listened to all of my requests and talked me through the procedure, giving me a lot of control over the final appearance of my eyebrows.
Basically, I love how easy and quick the process was and since I had my brows waxed I haven't really had to do much brow upkeep. I think I'll definitely be going back next month to have the shape maintained and I would highly recommend the process. I can't stress how quick and easy it is, and although it might seem expensive to anyone who maintains their brows by themselves I've found the time I've saved very valuable.
For a long time on a day-to-day basis I'd been filling in my brows with pencils (alternating between on from Catrice and No. 7) but I always struggled to find the perfect colour match and I also never remembered to sharpen them. On days when my pencils were just too blunt to use I used to reach for tinted brow gels, I used Catrice's tinted brow gel for years and it's probably the best drugstore option I've tried - the brush and the formula are both really nice. I did also try L'Oreal's brow gel but I didn't get on with it at all - the brunette shade is way too dark for me and the brush just isn't very functional at all.
I had my makeup done at the Japonesque counter at John Lewis Kingston back in January (you can read my post about my experience here) and for a long time I umm-ed and ahh-ed about picking up some of the products that were used on me. I finally made a little Japonesque haul and picked up a Velvet Touch Eyeshadow Duo in 05, with the intention to use the light matte brown shade to fill in my brows. On first inspection the colour is so much fairer than any other products I'd previously used but I find that this gives a really soft and natural-looking finish. If you're not into "bold" eyebrows and just want something to help fill in the more obviously sparse patches then I'd highly recommend opting for something a tad lighter than you think you need.
To apply the powder to my brows I've been using a brush I picked up in a Greek Sephora haul, but it's also available on Sephora's American website too. It's a pretty basic brow brush that's larger and slightly less tightly packed than the other brow brush I own from EcoTools. It's small enough to still give precision but it doesn't heavily distribute product. I find that this makes it impossible to overdo my brows which helps them to look as natural as possible, but at the same time it isn't the easiest brush to use to fill in the thinner "tail end" of my brow. I'm glad I own this brush but I wouldn't go out of your way to pick one of these up - I mainly bought mine because there was a 35% discount that made it a very affordable option.
Benefit Gimme Brow in Light Medium* | £18.50
After filling in the sparse areas of my brows with powder, I then usually proceed to use a tinted brow gel. I don't usually apply very much, but I find that this addition helps to give the best finished look and really helps the longevity of my makeup. I spoke briefly about the brow gels I'd used previously - from Catrice and L'Oreal - and Benefit's Gimme Brow eyebrow gel is undoubtedly far better than both of these. Not only is the shade a better match as it's much fairer and less warm-toned but the brush is also much better suited for eyebrows.
Benefit's Gimme Brow brush is about one-third of the size of a typical mascara wand which allows for precise application. I find that the smaller brush size significantly reduces product overload and application mistakes - I've never had to correct my application in the same way that I have had to with the L'Oreal brow gel. Benefit's Gimme Brow also contains fibres which help to thicken the appearance of your eyebrows, this makes it perfect for anyone with very sparse eyebrows or for those who want to skip "filling in" their brows altogether. I was instantly impressed with the effect it gives and with continued use it's become a firm favourite and I've ditched my other brow gels altogether!
How do you maintain your eyebrows?
Do you use any products that you'd recommend?
Gimme Brow sounds so good! I'll have to have a closer look at this next time I'm near a Benefit counter :) x
ReplyDeleteEvelyn @ We Were Raised By Wolves
Have to admit I've never given my eyebrows enough attention. :/ Benefit's Gimme Brow gel sounds really good.
ReplyDelete