Eyebrow makeup is such a big trend at the moment! Makeup brands are all launching new eyebrow products but some like Benefit, have released a whole new Brow collection!
So for me, eyebrow makeup is not really new. I always saw my mother using makeup on her eyebrows (this is almost the only makeup she does wink ) and I also applied makeup on my brows quite early, even when it wasn’t really a trend. In fact, it was a pain to find good eyebrow makeup products!!!
At the time, I quickly abandoned the idea of using an eyebrow pencil because the colors were all terrible (some ugly chocolate brown which turned orange once applied), not to mention a whole load of greasy textures resulting in way too much product in the eyebrows (and they didn’t last! Who doesn’t love some melted eyebrows? Yuk! uneasy )
I finally found an eyebrow powder by MAC (which no longer exists) that I applied with an angled brush. I didn’t use any clear brow gel to set it because I didn’t know this magical product existed at the time.
And then, 2-3 years ago, I discovered the brand Anastasia Beverly Hills and it was a brow revolution! I use the Brow Wizz, the Brow Definer and the Clear Brow Gel almost every day. A lot of different products, textures and colors: this brand is really ‘the’ eyebrow specialist in my opinion!
But recently, many makeup brands finally started releasing good eyebrow products and Benefit did the same with its new Brow collection that contains no less than 10 different eyebrow products!
Benefit Brow Collection, presentation:
What the brand says about it:
“A solution for every brow!
Filling and shaping your brows is the easiest, most important thing you can do to look polishes and put together.
Magically transforms brows with Benefit’s new brow collection. “
Credit must be given to Benefit here, because it always had eyebrow products in its range and the brand also has a real legitimacy in the brow field thanks to its brow-bars in Sephora and Benefit boutiques worldwide . The brow bars are like mini beauty salons devoted solely to the beauty of the eyebrows. You can go there for a quick brow waxing or a full re-shape of your eyebrows and you usually don’t need an appointment.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first eyebrow products made by Benefit, the brand has completely revisited and also expanded its range with 10 eyebrow products. Some are completely new and others are reformulated versions.
I chose 4 of them:
– Ready, set, BROW! clear brow gel, a new product,
– Gimme brow tinted brow gel, a reformulation,
– Goof proof brow pencil, a new product,
– Precisely, my brow pencil, another new product.
I stuck with products that I would normally use because I didn’t really want to try other products such as the 3D BROWtones eyebrow enhancer or the BROWVO! conditioning eyebrow primer that seem a little gimmicky to me, to be honest…
The metallic packaging is also new and inspired by a magician’s wand, with the idea of a magical transformation of the eyebrows. I like them, I find them a little bulky (as often with Benefit) but still nice! wink
I also really like the fact that the range is very wide in terms of colors: many products in the range have 6 different colors, which is quite rare in the current market (apart from some very specialized brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills for example).
I hesitated between shades 3 and 4, but finally, I chose 4 and it suits me (I’m Medium Brow in ABH if it can give you an idea of the color).
My brows:
Before starting my review of the Benefit Brow collection, I wanted first to talk to you more about my eyebrows.
My eyebrows aren’t very complicated. My natural shape is pretty arched, they are medium in size, not super thick and I have rather fine hairs. I have some more unequal areas, especially at the top of the eyebrow.
I pluck my eyebrow myself every evening. Basically, I remove 2-3 hairs below my eyebrow line and that’s it. I don’t touch the top of my eyebrows.
Sometimes I trim them with scissors a little bit but nothing more. I don’t let any beautician near them. Not due to any contempt for beauticians here, I simply have been trained myself. I just want to keep their natural shape intact, so I prefer to look after them myself. wink
So basically, I don’t really need to reshape them with my makeup, I just brush them a bit, fill the more empty areas with some color and I set everything with a gel so that it lasts all day.
That may be because I am generally satisfied with the shape of my eyebrows, but I ‘m not a big fan of the “Instagram eyebrows“. You know, these very unnatural and extremely dramatic eyebrows. They’re not my cup of tea and you will see that my idea of eyebrow makeup is rather simple and natural. I just intensify them a little and that’s it. No drastic transformation here! wink
Ready, set, BROW! clear brow gel:
– Presentation: it’s a clear setting brow gel and it’s also long-lasting.
The applicator has two sides:
– the first is comb-shaped and I use it to apply the product onto the eyebrows,
– the second is like a small brush and it helps to distribute the product throughout the eyebrows in a natural way.
– My test and thoughts: the formula is quite liquid, which I like because it’s thin, invisible in the eyebrows and dries very quickly. When it dries, you can feel it a bit in the eyebrows but nothing too annoying. It doesn’t dry completely matte which I prefer because eyebrow hairs are naturally quite shiny.
The clear brow gel Ready, set, BROW! retails for $24, which is not cheap but if it’s like the one I have by Anastasia Beverly Hills, this is the kind of product that lasts almost 1 year since a little goes a log way. It contains 7 ml of product.
– And on me:
Here’s a picture of my “naked” eyebrow, without any product (the first photo on the left) and the second picture on the right is the one with the clear brow gel Ready, Set, BROW !.
I usually never use it alone, only on top of my brow pencil to set it. But I still wanted to show you the result on my brows.
Gimme brow tinted brow gel:
– Presentation: a tinted eyebrow gel which contains some microfiber for a volumizing effect. I chose the color Medium, which is new. The brush is super small and conical, which makes it easy to use, even on very thin eyebrows. It’s very precise.
The product already existed in the old Benefit eyebrows products range but it has been reformulated.
– My test and thoughts: a really good surprise! I tried the old Gimme brow and I wasn’t a fan, there wasn’t enough pigmentation for it to be used alone and I never really saw its supposedly volumizing effect.
The new version is 100 times better: really pigmented, super easy and quick to use, and this time, I really feels like it helps to “thicken” the eyebrows. The medium color is perfect for my eyebrows (there are 3 different colors). In short, a true good 3-in-1 product: it colors, thickens and sets the brows in a few seconds!
However, I’m afraid it will get empty rather quickly. It’s a small vial with a small capacity (3g) and you need to use a lot for a nice effect. So, I’m not sure it’s really economical.
Gimme Brow retails for $24.
– And on me:
On the photo, I’m also wearing the black gel liner Inglot, some Makeup Geek eyeshadows (Voltage, I’m Peachless, Latte, and Mirage) and on the lips, it’s a ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in the shade Cozy.
Goof proof brow pencil:
– Presentation: it’s an eyebrow pencil with an angled tip that fills and thickens the eyebrows. It’s a dual-tip, it also has a spoolie brush that helps to blend the product and brush your eyebrows.
– My test and thoughts: the formula is quite easy to apply, not too stiff, not too dry and pigmented enough without overdoing it. It’s easy to blend with the spoolie brush.
It’s also a long-lasting formula (it’s waterproof) but personally, I always use it together with the setting brow gel Ready, set, BROW! because I live in Dubai where it’s 1 million degrees and super humid at the moment. And I also have an oily skin so clearly, 2 products are better than just 1.
This product is ideal if you don’t have a lot of corrections to do on your eyebrows and if you want a super quick product to use. The angled tip allows you to be super precise if you need to fill very fine eyebrows for example.
However, as you use it, the tip can lose its shape and becomes slightly rounder but let me give you a simple trick to sharpen it: you can just use a nail file to sharpen the edge and it will be good as new! wink
There are a wide choice of colors (6 different) and I hesitated between the 3 and the 4 to finally opt for the latter. And it’s not too dark, it’s perfect! I swatched in store the number 3 which I was afraid would be too orange but it’s not the case at all, it’s a neutral color and could also be a good match if I decide to lighten my hair one day (you never know). wink
The Goof proof brow pencil retails for $24. It’s a bit expensive in my opinion as it’s the kind of product that doesn’t really last a long time but I still think that there is a good amount in it (0.28 g).
– And on me:
I used it with Ready, set, BROW! clear brow gel on top.
On the photo, I’m also wearing 2 liners MAC (Cool Jazz and Broque), some Makeup Geek eyeshadows (Pretentious, Homecoming, Rapunzel, Latte, and Mirage) and on my lips a Vice Listick in the shade Ravenswood.
Precisely, my brow pencil:
– Presentation: it’s an eyebrow pencil with a teeny tiny tip for a very precise result. This tip is so small that you can actually draw eyebrow hair with it. It’s a perfect product if you want to reshape and redefine your eyebrows.
It also has a spoolie brush on the other side that helps to blend and brush the eyebrows.
– My test and thoughts: I’m not sure that the product is the most suitable for my needs. I don’t really need to redraw my eyebrows. So I tend to use it like the Goof proof brow pencil, which is such a waste because there’s not a huge amount of product (it’s even a bit ridiculous with its 0.05 g of product).
The formula is easy to apply, and to blend with the brush. It’s also a long-lasting and waterproof formula.
Precisely, my brow pencil retails for $24 and for me, it’s way too expensive considering the tiny amount you get. I probably won’t repurchase it.
– And on me:
I used it with Ready, set, BROW! clear brow gel on top.
On the photo, I also wear the Charlotte Tilbury liner in the shade Bedroom Black, some Makeup Geek eyeshadows (Mirage, Sorbet and Confection) and the Vice Listick in the shade Psycho.
Finally, here are the swatches:
In summary:
It’s a good brow range but I find the price pretty exaggerated. Anastasia Beverly hills products have a similar quality and they’re slightly cheaper (at least in the USA where I order them).
I really like the new Gimme brow that I find super effective and really quick and easy to use, but it’s quite overpriced given the tiny amount of product you get.
I also like the Goof proof brow pencil and the clear brow gel Ready, set, BROW! but I probably won’t repurchase Precisely, my brow pencil which I also found overpriced.
The Benefit Brow collection products are available on the brand’s website and Sephora.com.
And you, do you use eyebrow makeup products? Have you tried some of the new Benefit Brow collection eyebrow products? Which ones? Feel free to tell me more in the comments! smile
Photo credit: bonnie-garner.com