Brows For Days

"Defined brows instantly make you look more polished" - Bobbi Brown

Brows are my very favorite thing to do on a face. No look is complete without a set of neatly trimmed, full brows! I've waffled around loving a powder and a cream and a pencil and a powder at alternate times in my life but have finally accepted that they're all fantastic formulas, just used in different settings and on different faces. Out are the mid-90s sperm brows and in are the Kardashian, Insta-famous brows. Thankfully, I'm seeing less of a harshly drawn shiny (usually a cream-based product) brow and more of a fluffed-out, natural brow, so stylistically speaking, it looks like we're headed in the right direction. In this particular blog post, I wanted to share my experience with retractable pencil liners which is what I use on myself daily...

Left to right: IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, & Benefit Goof Proof Brow

I researched heavily before nailing down these three pencils. I had been using the IT pencil for about a year and felt like I needed a change, so Ulta was having a sale on the ABH pencil, and Benefit was something I was seeing repeated positive remarks about in my social media feed.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencil in "Soft Brown" is the cheapest $21, but here's the catch: it only has .003oz of product inside. Yeah, hardly anything, right?! But I love its slender creamy point and how streamlined the packaging is. "Soft Brown" is the perfect shade for me, not too reddish and not too taupe-y.

Now the Benefit Goof Proof Brow pencil in shade "3" is $24 for .01oz, so you do get more bang for your buck. Its tip is oddly shaped - it is wide on one side tapering to a triangular point on the other allowing for you to gather the product at the base of the brow and flick up to create wispier hair tips. If you look at it closely, it actually resembles a spearhead! Though I don't mind the clever tip size, the color is off. This murky greige is too cool-toned for my hair color, but there aren't many options aside from that as there are only 5 shades to choose from. I also noticed that the product, though emollient, seems to crumble and pull once on

Think 5 shades are limiting? Try one! Introducing the IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow pencil in "Universal Taupe"! This single shade is $24 for .006oz, more than the ABH pencil but less than the Benefit pencil. Surprisingly it is fairly universal but it does have a red tint. That works for my hair color decently well, but it may not work for very icy blonde or cool black hair tones. Now take a look at these tips and the color swatches...

Left to right: Benefit, Anastasia Beverly Hills, IT Cosmetics

As you can see, the Benefit pencil has a nice even line thanks to its creamy consistency, and although the ABH pencil looks a bit crumbly, it eventually warmed up after repeated use. The IT pencil has a decent pull too, just not quite the shade for me especially in the summer months. Have any of you tried one of these pencils? Don't you love retractable pencils?