I have eyebrows, so I feel quite #blessed considering the whole Brownaissance that kicked off the moment anyone saw Cara Delevingne. However, they're a bit grey in colour (!) and sparse in places, so I like a good strong, filled in brow. After having spent a lot of money on things I'd heard were really good, and finding out that they were actually impossible to use, I thought I'd use my brows as guinea pigs to see what works and what doesn't.
We've got powder, a cream, a marker pen, a mascara plumper and a pencil. But which ones get a brows down, and which ones get a brows up (this doesn't make sense)?
Benefit Gimme Brow
**Price: **£18.50
Use if: You have light brows, you're hopeless at colouring in and always go out of the lines.
Tips: Sweep the brush against the hair growth (yes), and then smooth it down to give extra plumpage and extra browage.
Did it work? ER, YES. I basically did nothing, it was the easiest way to get cool eyebrows I could ever have dreamed of. And they looked totally different once they'd been Gimme Brow'd. Like proper eyebrows that had been done by someone who doesn't have hangover shakes. Only thing is, I wanted to paint a bit in because there's this blotch that sits in the middle of one eyebrow that needs some work, and you can't do that with mascara.
Anastasia DipBrow Pomade
Price: £15
Use if: You have a steady hand, need to both fill in and plump, and like people saying 'OOOH YOU'VE GOT THAT ONE' when they look in your make-up bag (it's The Eyebrow Product Of The Moment)
Tips: GO EASY ON IT, OK
Did it work? This was my favourite in terms of result, although it's not the easiest to use; I screwed up the first stroke on the first brow due to overzealous dipping. I wiped the excess off and it was still too much, so go really light with this and apply using really short, soft strokes. Like a lover. It's not surprising this is a cult product all the famous people use, because it made my eyebrow look like a famous person. If you squint and think of Reese Witherspoon, my eyebrows look like Reese Witherspoon, for example.
3.5/5
GOSH Long Lasting Eyebrow Marker
Price: £4.49
Use if: You're Monet. As in, you're really good at art.
Tips: Have a steady hand, and a strong heart
Did it work? Not really, because I'm not an artist so when I started trying to do little strokes it just looked like I'd paid a child to draw on my face. Actually, I wouldn't pay a child to do that. Forced a child to draw on my face. The end result was pretty bad, but if you want a dramatic look and have dark eyebrows (as well as being Monet) then this would work for you. It's just really not easy.
2/5
Seventeen Brows That! Brow Kit
**Price: **£5.99
Use if: You want the option between subtle and dramatic, you have room in your make-up bag for a compact, and you don't want to spend loads of money.
Tips: Use another brush, maybe
Did it work? Yeah! I tried one eyebrow with the pencil, and one using the wax/powder combo and both worked really well – although the brush was a bit short for my very long, extra-terrestial man-hands. And the downside is that it's quite chunky to carry around in your make-up back so might be one for the dressing table. But this was the cheapest one by far, and did a bang-up job. You could start subtle with just the wax, and build up slowly too which is a plus for anyone who has ever experienced Sudden Scouse Brow Syndrome. The pencil is also really, really subtle and it's hard to go wrong.
4/5
Soap & Glory Archery
**Price: **£10
**Use if: **You're shit at colouring in and want something a bit subtle and sophisticated
Tips: Use the brush, it genuinely helps.
Did it work? Yeah! This is a bit subtle, so at first I didn't realise that anything was happening. But you keep going, and then when you've finished your brow looks like it doesn't have any makeup on it... it just resembles a Great Brow. Like when someone gets really subtle highlights and you jsut think they look amazing but can't put your finger on why. Also, it's hard to fuck up with Archery because it's a crayon, so really soft and forgiving. Love it.
4/5
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Follow Stevie on Twitter: @5tevieM
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.