Monday, August 3, 2015
Natural Eyebrows: NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Taupe
I will let you on a little secret: I hate Instagram brows. Drawing on thick, blocky, ombre eyebrows with a brush and cleaning up your lines with concealer seems like a living make-up nightmare to me. If it's a style that works for you, then great, but personally I think they're not only over the top, but a little... aging. Remember all those Disney villains with sharp, angled brows? They kinda remind me of that.
In about 95% of my face shots from the past year, I've been wearing Shu Uemura's Hard Pencil Formula 9 in Seal Brown, and I still love it (by the way, it's the little pencil that just won't quit). I was however getting a bit bored using the same brow product every day, so when I spotted the new NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Taupe ($9.99 for 0.003 oz/ 0.09 g, I got mine 40% off, muahaha) on Ulta's website, I pulled the trigger. Essentially, it's a dupe for Anastasia Brow Wiz; it features the same tiny nib, retractable mechanism and a small spoolie on the other end for combing through your brows - except, it's $11 cheaper for the same amount of product.
Speaking of the amount of product: yes, you only get a tiny bit in one pencil. The Shu pencil comes with 0.14 oz/ 4 grams of pencil, which is about 44 times the amount of the NYX - that's insane! So no, you're not getting good value for your money by buying one of those ultra-thin eyebrow pencils, but you do get the precision. While I do think that both Anastasia's and NYX's brow pencils should be priced lower to reflect their small volume, I'm quite glad that this pencil won't be lasting me another five years; I've wanted to try it, use it up, and move on to something else later.
As for the texture and performance of the NYX Micro Brow Pencil, I have absolutely no complaints. The texture is a bit softer than the hard Shu pencil, but still easy to control through the brows. The tiny tip allows me to fill in exactly where I need it, and it allows for drawing in short little strokes to resemble actual brow hairs. It doesn't look heavy or obvious in the brows and lasts an entire day on me.
The shade Taupe is a great match for me - although it's not quite as ashy as the Shu Uemura's Seal Brown. It's a bit darker and also warmer than the Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium (which is too light and ashy in my brows). I think if you need/ prefer very cool tones in your brows, I'd look at some of NYX's other shades - maybe Ash Brown would be a good option for those with slightly darker brows. By the way, sorry there are no arm swatches in this post - swatching firm eyebrow pencils on my inner arm is just not my idea of a pleasant blogging session.
Hopefully you can see in this photo that the NYX Micro Brow looks quite natural and effortless on me. I realize that for some, the way I do my brows looks just too messy and unkept, but I really like that slightly 'wilder' style - I enjoy bushy, textured arches and think they're very youthful. Now tell me, what do you make of the Instagram brow trend? What is your favorite way of filling in your brows - powder, pencil, gel or pomade?
That looks great! I think that Instagram eyebrows can look cool in photos, but in person (unless they are part of an extreme/dramatic makeup look where they make sense) it looks a little strange to me if it's obvious what part of the brow is actual hair and what part is just drawn on. And it tends to be obvious with big, overdrawn, perfectly shaped brows like that.
ReplyDeleteI agree Lyn, I think you can really see when someone has all of their eyebrow painted on with a thick pomade or heavy pencil! Kinda reminds me of my grandma - not that she had Instagram brows, but she had absolutely no eyebrows naturally and she would just take a dark pencil and draw in those thin lines sort of where her eyebrows were supposed to be - almost like a period make-up look :D
DeleteThis also looks similar to the S&G Archery Brow Pencil which I love! I really want to try the Shu one though, because the hard formula would give a lot more control. :)
ReplyDeletehttps://cherieedle.blogspot.com/
Hey Monika, thanks for the review! I just wrote a brow product round-up last week and I agree with you: the whole Instagram brow thing is going a little too far. I have Brow Wiz but don't reach for it very often at all. I appreciate the precision and natural finish, but it takes too long for my very sparse brows (thanks, mama). I prefer brow pencils with a bigger, slanted tip just so that I can get it done without having to spend 10 minutes drawing individual hairs. Incidentally, I did a price by weight breakdown and realized Brow Wiz is actually even more expensive than the Tom Ford one! My all-time HG remains Hourglass Soft Brunette. I appreciate it even more now after doing that price breakdown. It's about a third of the price in comparison with Brow Wiz, and Soft Brunette is a good match for me.
ReplyDeleteHi Sunny! I think these super thin pencils are a good option if you already have pretty visible brows but just need some fixing in smaller areas - I imagine that drawing a full eyebrow with this tiny pencil would be too time-consuming and mundane. I saw a post a long time ago discussing the price difference between Brow Wiz and the Hourglass pencil - I think I may try that one next! Thanks for the recommendation :)
DeleteAgreed on the topic of Instagram brows. I've lucked out in using a Wet 'n' Wild eyeliner (with a very light hand) and a brow brush for the past few years. It's 0.04 oz and I got it on sale for $0.69.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind instagram brows - but it's definitely a very strong look, and requires waaaaaayyyyy more time than I'm willing to commit. In all honesty, I very, very rarely do anything with my brows, aside from the getting them cleaned up with some threading. Like you, I think a natural brow, with the gaps filled in, looks more youthful and romantic than something more sculpted.
ReplyDeleteI feel like most of these trendy techniques require way more time than I like to spend on my make-up. Good for you to have such low-maintenance brows - mine can be a bit sparse and wonky in some areas :)
DeleteI totally agree...it looks so natural and it seems wearable too. This is something worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteI totally don't mind the Instagram brow (I mean it's not like I am forced to wear it) as long as the person already have a naturally high arch. Some time I thought it's really stunning on girls with super pale skin and dark dark hair.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't really get (maybe I am paying more attention than other) is forcing a different shape/size...I would see a whole strip of area above brow that's tinted but with no hair. I guess everyone has her peeves...Anyway, I recently bought an more expensive powder (because it seems that the kind of product that lasts for ages) and I am kind of excited to get all dressy with eyebrows again.