This week I'll be talking about products for my absolute favourite feature- my eyebrows. No feature has the ability to transform your face, and look, as much as your brows. I personally prefer a defined, dark, groomed big brow, so essentially I want Audrey Hepburn's eyebrows. Em Ford shows they don't need to be as thick, while the absolutely stunning Lex shows you don't need thick, dark brows to be beautiful. Once they are properly groomed for your face, to enhance your natural beauty rather than to be the main feature on your face, all sized and shaped brows are beautiful. Some of these products I have, some I sit at home mooning about, and some seem so intimidating that I don't know if I'd ever be enough of a Billy Big Balls to use them!
7 years of a difference!
Before we talk products, let's get one thing straight. If you're serious about brows, you need to get a professional to shape them, at least once. As a teen, I abused mine to the point of the social services taking them away. I say as a teen, but it was until I was about 22. I'd say 9 good solid years of abuse. I never thought I could have decent brows. I honestly never even expected them to grow back. But with patience, hope and the skills of an AMAZING brow artist they will eventually emerge. I've been going to Sharon for the past 4 years, and the woman is absolute magic. The above brows were done by the beautiful Jane and I'm obsessed. Either of these women will perform a miracle if you let them.
Image taken from the Benefit Cosmetics website
Upon the foundation of a good shaping, you need bricks, mortar and tools to build your beautiful brows. I adore my Benefit Brow Zings, available easily from Boots, Debenhams and Brown Thomas. For me, living in Cork, these are my easiest options, but I generally buy from Boots, when possible, as they have the best points system if you have a rewards card. I buy this in the darkest shade, as I adore dark brows on me. I either wear black glasses, or a strong coloured lip generally so I can balance it out. This kit is expensive at €34, but I've had mine for at least two years. Manky yes, but I don't share it and it doesn't smell. I also don't use it anywhere close to my eyes and spot clean my brush before use, to minimise the bacteria as best as possible. Look I spent €34 on this. I'll be buried with it if there's still some left in the pan. I have heard that the Sleek kit is comparable, but as I haven't used it I couldn't say. I do like that it comes in an extra shade, making it a more universal product than the original. I love both of these kits as they come with brushes for application.
Personally speaking I only used the angled brush, carving out my shape on the top and bottom, and filling them in from the tail to the front. I am dire at imitating hair (some people make it look so effortless), so I carve out the front of my brow only on the bottom, and sweep/blend it up towards the top, if that makes sense. While I loved the brush that came with my Brow Zing, my First World Problems life has been changed by the Blank Canvas Cosmetics E30. This is a double ended spoolie/brow brush. It is just the perfect brush for my brows. Gives me the sharps lines I need, while blending the product beautifully, and the spoolie is the perfect size- not too long or too thick. Absolutely worth the €7.99, and also available from Cloud10Beauty (slightly cheaper, but slightly less selection). Also available in some pharmacies, so well worth checking up on. If you are in the market, please buy this brush. I don't know how you could regret it.
Image taken from Boots.ie
Next I like to set my brow. I am obsessed with the Benefit Gimme Brow setting gel. This gives hold, coverage, texture and depth to brows, and has a lovely small brush. It also costs €24.50 and lasts me less than 5 months, so it's just too much for me at the moment. So I've been using the L'Oreal Paris Perfection Brow Artist Plumper of late, and at €8.49, it may not be love, but it is companionship, which is okay for now! I've been using mine for at least 6 months and it's still going. The brush is nice and petite, meaning I can apply and build where I want to, as well as manoeuvring the hairs where ever I need them. The colour pay off isn't as good, and while giving some texture and depth, the Gimme Brow is better. It does come in a transparent shade, giving more versatility. I've also used the Rimmel Brow This Way, and I hated it. The brush was far too large, the product was just too wet, and too much ended up on your face rather than in your brows. Please don't buy this. Spend slightly more on the L'oreal if you're not sure you need a brow gel.
Now to talk about a brand I want to try, but I honestly feel so intimidated by- Anastasia Beverly Hills. I have no idea why I feed so intimidated by this brand. The people who use it tend to be perfection and their eyebrow skills are just something else. And they all seem to be able to draw fake hairs! Can someone please sign me up to a fake hair masterclass please? Their best known products are the Dipbrow and the Brow Wiz. The Dipbrow gives that very sharp, defined shape, while the Wiz gives a slightly more natural finish (based on the effect I feel I could achieve with them with my method of application). I tend to prefer more of a medium. Natural with a sharp edge is the best I could describe it. I also prefer to see/paw my product in person before spending big bucks. I think the main reason I'm so afraid of this brand is because the Dipbrow is a lot like the Inglot AMC liners, and I have quite a heavy hand, so I'd definitely end up with sharpie brows!
Two other companies come to mind for their dupes. Soap&Glory for their Archery 2-1, which is meant to be very similar to the Wiz, but comes in much less of a colour selection. Inglot have amazing dupes for the powder/wax duos, as well as their own brow pomade. I feel like Inglot actually have a better colour selection for ginger hair as well (I mention as I'm ginger obsessed. I can not wait to dye it back). Both of these brands, for quality and quantity, are very affordable. Basically high end drugstore (is that an oxymoron?).
My one lust-have for this week is the Benefit VIB kit, which unfortunately isn't available for sale, it was a publicity kit given to some of Ireland's better known bloggers. I would never stop touching and loving this kit. This is all my hopes, dreams and aspirations in a box.
This has been a slightly different format to last weeks Wishlist Wednesday. I didn't include every link for each product I spoke about, rather I just used the ones I would use most often myself. Did you like this, or do you prefer more options? I know this is a long blog post, but I could talk for days about brows! I'm still finding my feet so any and all feedback is always appreciated- feel free to Tweet me or contact me on Instagram or comment on my blog posts! Should I make a Facebook page? Let me know what you think!
Love,
MyBuzzyBeauty
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