All about eyebrows. Part 2

So here we go again. Talking about my favorite eyebrow products, i have to say i kinda used more or less everything, or okay, A LOT of the most appreciated stuff. Some of them are products i still have, and some i have used. therefore here's my sincere and honest appreciation.

Powder or pencil- eyebrow shadows look more natural, but I personally can't get the entire brow done with only powder. I still need a pencil for more exact definition when filling in. Still, for the first half of my eyebrows i use powder. I went through many many brands, as i said, and stopped at one, for various reasons.
First of all, I am a bit sorry i can't talk more about the Mac eyebrow powders because i haven't used any. i know the powders are great and naturally looking but i didn't get the chance to shop for some due to the absence of a Mac counter in my city, and going to Stockholm always implies various activities that make me forget about brow stuff...mostly because i already have some.

In my quest for eyebrow magic stuffies i found many many good stuff...and i'm going to make a little top here, with pros and cons. Hope it helps, i would've needed this kind of help during the time i was researching a product and wanted to compare it with others, or just see the thing itself, realistically 'analyzed', not only on websites or in videos where the lighting is not always natural. So i begin with my favorite eyebrow pencils (drums):

1) Shu Uemura Hard Formula eyebrow pencil in Seal Brown:




Unfortunately I don't own this pencil anymore so i can't take a photo of what it looks like on my eyebrows. However, there are a lot of pictures of reviewers who wear this shade; didn't want to upload someone else's photo because well, it's unethical :) but from my experience i can say it is a very good product:

Color: Seal Brown is a very natural medium brown that has a sort of 'chameleonic' property- goes well with almost every skintone and hair color. The depiction of the shade on their website, that rich medium brown with hazel undertones is very close to reality, but just a little too saturated. Basically the hazel undertone is not so accentuated in reality (on the website the brown seems to have real green undertones, and it's not the case).

Quantity: by far the longest eyebrow pencil on the market, easy to sharpen, a little goes a long so you're gonna need just a little bit of it to do the trick.

Application: the well-known hard formulation allows for the perfect control of shading and buildability. The color is activated by the natural oils of your eyebrow hairs and skin therefore it doesn't smudge easily (their claim). It is a hard formulation meaning that the pencil itself has a hard consistency that won't come on the skin easily. You have to insist to draw your eyebrows on, which is a great thing for eyebrows that don't need a lot of definition- it gives a very natural effect and allows you to build up the color where it's needed.

Price: VERY expensive. I can't even get a hold of it here in Sweden, therefore i gave up trying to order online...always out of stock, high shipping prices, etc. So the price combined with their customer service is a little bit of a turn-off.

Therefore...: The cons are that the brown undertones are skin tone-sensitive- they will pop more or less depending on your skin color. They tend to look a little reddish on very pale skin, while perfectly blending in with darker skin tones. The brown actually appears more like an auburn-ish tint, which does not look good on someone with fair-medium complexion and dark hair like me. And a HUGE turn-off- it doesn't photograph well at all. Due to the hard formulation you don't get a powdery finish, therefore every little stroke in your eyebrow is going to appear 3 times more visible than when using even the cheapest eyebrow pencil. These are my major reasons for not repurchasing this product.


2) Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil in Medium Ash:




I uploaded a photo of this pencil in natural light, on the side of my palm, in natural light, no flash. I drew two lines, one of which i smudged, so the undertones would be clearly visible.

Color: Medium Ash is, in my opinion, the best color Anastasia came up with. it is very similar to Shu Uemura's pencil in terms of undertones, hardness, clever concept (the oils in the eyebrow etc..) and price (sigh). It is one of the few eyebrow pencils with no red undertones whatsoever, that caters to absolutely ALL hair colors and skin types. This one is even better than Shu's- though being perfectly universal in chromatic terms, paradoxically it doesn't appear different on different skin tones, despite fitting them all. I use this, and i have dark brown hair, my best friend uses it, and she's light blonde, my former classmate used it and she was a redhead, so on and so forth. It even works for that very difficult hair color, the natural 'mousy' light brown. Thumbs up for the magic in it, i seriously can't think of how Anastasia did this amazing job. It is simply THE pencil that goes for everyone and everything. I bought this and two days after i watched MacNC40's video on YouTube in which she uses this pencil, and her hair appears to be almost raven black. So five stars for the color. VERY natural undertones, but if you closely and carefully compare it with something else (especially with something with strong chestnut undertones) you'll see the weirdest thing ever- it has cocoa undertones, an almost imperceptible pink undertone if i can say so. I will upload a photo with a comparison, hopefully it's gonna be visible.

Quantity and packaging: It's not as long as Shu's but a little goes a long way as well. I also like that it has the greatest spoolie ever. I wouldn't actually go with saying that it lasts forever as some of the YouTube gurus have mentioned because it doesn't. I've had mine for almost a year now, kept sharpening it every three-four uses, and it's definitely shorter. Nevertheless, it doesn't disappear as fast as drugstore eyebrow pencils do.

Application: as hard as Shu Uemura, goes along the same lines of use- hard formulation that allows for perfectly controlling the coloring and buildability. You can either draw in your eyebrows or discreetly fill them in with the same natural results. Extremely, extremely natural. Easy to use, it's very hard to make a mistake. Very good for when you're on the run and you want to basically draw two lines and split. Either you're spending 30 minutes grooming your eyebrows in the mirror or just baby-drawing on your face, the result will be impeccable, and this is what makes it special. Can be used by professionals or by beginners with the same outcome.

Price: cheaper than Shu Uemura, but it remains a high-end product so it burns a little hole in your pocker (the equivalent of 20 euros here in Sweden...ouch!).

Therefore...: One big, major flaw: it doesn't photograph well at all in flash close-up pictures. Weirdly, it looks gray and unnatural, and very drawn on. BIG sadness. However, i will continue purchasing it because despite this major turn-off, it's still 'the one'.





3) Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows in 03 Deep Brown:




Color: This is as close as it gets to perfection. It is perfect for brown haired people, period. It has chestnut undertones, pure chestnut and not red. It is a deep rich brown that compliments very well the entire range of brown hair and even the black one, because it looks very natural. It photographs amazingly, what you see being what you're getting- VERY natural, very rich deep brown. This is the best choice of color i have ever found in a pencil. However...

Quantity and packaging: elegant fine pencil, okay, but the quantity inside is very small. The stick is short and slim, very fragile, and the worst is you can't screw it back, so the chances are you've pretty much screwed yourself if you twisted up more than you needed. Mine never broke but many ladies on Makeupalley said they experienced this when pressing a little harder. Big turn-off. It doesn't last long either, about two months or even less in case of constant use.

Application: again, i am terribly sorry because this pencil had serious HG potential but applying it is a hassle. It is simply too soft. You need at least 15 minutes to fill in your eyebrows, and its softness makes it very difficult if you need extensive eyebrow reconstruction, especially at the beginning of the brow. If not carefully blended it will look very unnatural. It smudges very easily so fixing it with powder is a must. It takes a long time and a light hand to work with this little guy here. Too bad...

Price: expensive but not very. I paid the equivalent of 15 euros.

Therefore...: I don't use mine every day, only for minor filling in, whenever i need more definition of the eyebrows. Photographs very well and looks natural because the color is very intense and the pencil itself is very pigmented. Will keep mine for as long as i can and then i'll think about repurchasing.


4) Isadora Eyebrow pencil in 22 Light Brown:




Color: Neutral brown with warm beige and very light gray undertones. No redness. Hands down, he best drugstore eyebrow pencil i've ever tried. Like Anastasia's, goes perfectly well with any skintone and hair color.

Quantity: The pencil is longer than Anastasia's but it doesn't last that long. The pencil is very soft and gets blunt very easily so i lose a lot of product because i have to sharpen it every time i use it. However, it is something i will continue and continue purchasing.

Application and packaging: as i mentioned, this is a pencil bordering on the soft edge yet it doesn't have Clinique's creaminess. It has a nice consistency and goes on smoothly, while remaining controllable. You don't need a light hand with this because it's not as pigmented as Clinique's, yet the effect is beautiful. It comes with a spoolie that's very similar to Anastasia's so thumbs up for it.

Price: here it's not extremely cheap, almost 9 euros, but i think in the US is definitely a cheapster.

Therefore...: will continue purchasing this until they discontinue it. It photographs very nicely and i don't need to set it with powder because it doesn't smudge.

5) Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in 01 Dark Brown:




Color: very beautiful, a perfect dupe for Clinique's Deep Brown eyebrow liner. Strong rich chestnut undertones, however the chromatic difference is that this one can appear a little red. But for a drugstore product is more than i would have ever expected.

Quantity and Packaging: normal length, nothing special. Has a different brush on top that's a little harsh but very good for intensive blending- if you have coarse eyebrow hairs like i do and need to seriously blend on a short portion, then this is the brush you want. The spoolie brush is more suitable for even blending, while this one is perfect for specific delimitation. However, you have to be light handed with it because the bristles are stiff. Lasts for a long time because the inside is thicker than in other pencils (the top is also thicker).

Application: this is softer than the Isadora one thus a light hand is again needed. it is VERY pigmented and quite soft so again, go easy with this. That's the minus of this pencil- tricky application, you can't just do it fast but need to be exact and careful. It tends to smudge pretty much like the Clinique one so fixing it with powder is a must, especially if you're planning to go clubbing.

Price: cheap. i got two of these on sale for about 4 euros. yay!

Therefore...: will definitely continue purchasing, but for the moment i'm set with 2 of these. it photographs very nicely as well.


6) H&M Eyebrow Liner in Dark Brown:



Color: this is the cheapest alternative for an expensive eyebrow product. the color is surprisingly natural and similar to the Shu Uemura Seal Brown (i'm so sorry i don't have it so i could compare them...argh!). However, the undertones are a little less pronounced and the color goes more towards a chestnut-hazel light brown. Very natural and especially suited for lighter-haired people. It appears very neutral with absolutely no red undertones.

Quantity and packaging: has the same brush like the Rimmel one though the bristles are much softer. The pencil is shorter and the color stick inside is thinner so you're getting less product. It lasts for a while because you don't have to sharpen it upon every application.

Application: The pencil is naturally soft, harder than the Rimmel one, more similar to the Isadora one in terms of consistency and drawing-ness. It doesn't smudge easily so fixing it with powder or Fix Plus or whatever is optional. It lasts the whole day, looks very natural yet is easily blendable within the eyebrow (doesn't make the creamy mess like the Clinique one). many people don't know about this or just don't even want to think of using it since it's H&M, and i used to think the same until i saw this girl with perfect eyebrows and had to ask her what she was using, and was pretty amazed when she said it was this cheap pencil. Cool.

Price: cheap. 3 euros or so.

Therefore...: because i don't use it very often (it's smaller and gets lost amongst my other pencils...) it's going to last me for a while. But i will definitely continue purchasing it.


Eyebrow powder:


My favorite is again one from H&M, in Brown Shades:



This little box deserves a post of its own. It is a fantastic product because I CAN'T NAME THE COLOR. Seriously, it looks like a dusty shadow and not brown at all. Inside there are two colors, one neutral, a light mousy gray that i can't describe, and the other one a darker 'brown'. I took a flash picture because there's no other way i could've made the color pop. It's simply fantastic. It is the most neutral thing i have ever seen. It's maybe gray...with a little light brown, full stop. These are the swatches:



I love them. Period.
The brush inside the box is obviously crappy so i never use it. I have one from Kicks (Sweden's Sephora), number 109 i think, i'm not sure (will write about my makeup brushes later). But this color is simply fantastic. Just the tiniest amount is enough to give my eyebrows an extremely natural color that doesn't smudge, doesn't change, doesn't oxidize. The consistency of the powder is smooth but not extremely creamy, and the pigmentation is good towards very good- i don't need a light hand with this, just dab the tip of my brush twice in each shadow and then shake it to remove any product excess. It just goes very well with my eyebrows and looks very very natural.
However, since it is a powder, i only use it for the first half of my eyebrows. I cannot stress enough how natural this powder is, and cheap, and wonderful! I do NOT follow the same eyebrow routine as the YouTube gurus do, namely drawing a line on the upper part of the eyebrow as a 'stencil' because if you tilt your head down the line usually appears very visible. This powder goes so smoothly yet discreetly, passing the brush through just doesn't create a visible line which I ABSOLUTELY LOVE. Then, if i want to continue filling in, i just keep building it. Fabulous.

So yep. these are my favorite eyebrow products but due to my nature i'll always be scooping for some more. so most probably i will soon rave about new findings...

The perfect concealer

I'm talking about the Kanebo Sensai Brush-type concealer, hands down the best thing ever.

I have wacky undereye circles that sometimes appear purple-ish, sometimes look yellow-ish, but most of the time they're plain reddish. Horrible. so i've been searching for the perfect product for years and i keep getting back to this one. It's simply unbeatable.

It is pretty expensive, i think around 35 euros or even more. It looks small, but it has a lot of product inside; i like the brush, soft and pointy, pretty much like the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat one.




I love it because:
- it makes a difference because it's very moisturizing. it doesn't dry out my eye area at all, it's creamy and lasts all day. waterproof, smudge proof, anything you want. I have read some reviews on Makeupalley and a few people mentioned they were disappointed with a certain dryness around the eye area, or heaviness of the product because they have set it with powder. This concealer is pretty much similar to the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation- you have to let it dry by itself, it takes a little while but the result is impeccable. I find that setting it with powder tends to dry the eye area, only because the product wasn't calculated for this addition. basically you don't need powder unless you're using it on the face, for scars or other imperfections, and you just want to make sure. i honestly never had a problem with transfer, oiliness, shine, dry patches or any other happenings that occur when using a concealer. This stuff is simply amazing. I've had mine for many months, almost a year, and i still have product left. i can't see the exact quantity that's left because the tube is dark gray, but i still get a lot of product out whenever i press the little button on the top of the tube.
-the brush is fantastically soft, delicate, and has that shape of YSL's Touche Eclat that i mentioned- basically it's not round or squared but gradually thins down to the tip, allowing for a flawless and easy application. with a click i get the perfect amount of product for both my eyes, and with another one i can cover all my other imperfections (nose redness, spots, etc).
- it looks very thin on the brush, that doesn't get gunky or sticky with product buildup (you will never experience that) but it feels satiny and light on the skin. you don't feel like you're wearing anything, which is good because it might be just me but sometimes i can 'feel' the concealer just as well as i can feel foundation layering on my skin, giving that suffocating impression of pore clogging. eeew.
-it does NOT settle into the fine lines if you let it dry accordingly. i used to make the same mistake some girls on Makeupalley mentioned, setting it with powder immediately after the application, and then getting frustrated when it showed my lines. you have to let it dry and it will look and feel extremely smooth
-it's also great for mature skin because it gives the optical impression of hermetically sealing the lines
-doesn't remain sticky at all even when dry; i never experienced eyeshadow fallout that i couldn't remove very easily, just with the stroke of a brush
-i use it as an eyeshadow base as well and is GREAT. doesn't dry out my skin, makes the colors pop out and i don't need another expensive primer- this one does a perfect job, it's like a 2-in-1 concealer and primer. yay!

so yep. i think i am going to purchase this for as long as they manufacture it. I'm currently using the number 2 shade, C02, that is the medium one, designed for all sorts of imperfections. It is a great shade, medium light with beige undertones, but the perfect one would be the 03 one, which is the darkest and acts a bit like a chameleon shade- it fits every skintone, every shade, every undertone (for light skin only). it is beige with a little bit of pink undertones on the hand or on a white sheet of paper, but when i apply it looks amazing, managing to conceal everything. a small complain would be that they could come up with more shades to cater to darker skinned women since there three shades are suited for white and asian skin only....that's because nothing in this world is perfect. but this is as close as it can get to perfection.

All about eyebrows. Part 1

I'm a big fan of eyebrows, in fact if i had to pick two products i couldn't leave the house without those would be an eyebrow filler (pencil or shadow) and foundation...clean skin and contoured eyebrows, these two little things mean so much for one's face and can literally change one's appearance overnight. I remember i read in a magazine that one of the hottest trends of a few years' ago was the 'tweezers lift'- basically the eyebrows were arched as highly as possible accordingly to their natural shape to give the eyes that 'fresh' look of a good sleep, like you just came back from vacation.

I've been doing my own eyebrows for years and i never felt like going to a beautician because i never thought i needed it...and because my natural eyebrows have always had a high arch i could work very well with, experimenting, doing everything on my own without fear of infections or ending up with a shape i didn't want in the first place. Then i started doing my friends' eyebrows and i got more experienced; so i can honestly say i have tried almost everything, technique or product, regarding eyebrows...from high end to cheapos.

I do think the more expensive products will do the trick in terms of resistance, waterproof-ness, maybe color range (more choices) and more sophisticated ingredients. But my current favorite products are drugstore brands and i couldn't be happier. anyways.
On YouTube there are many gurus talking about eyebrows, about shaping techniques, how the arch should start here and it should end there and all that chit chat. I do agree with them...to a certain point. Mainly because the most important thing in shaping one's eyebrows is taking into account one's facial features. I have seen a couple of YouTube girls (no names given) whose eyebrows were not close to perfection yet they still gave advice about shaping and grooming. Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying i know it all and nobody else is right, i'm just pointing out something that is left out.

What i have seen in myself and the girls whose eyebrows i did is that you have to start working on what you have- the natural shape. In most cases the natural shape of the eyebrow is the most fortunate material one has, and it's a pity trying to change it in a radical manner. Not to mention other extensive changes, like tweezing all of the hairs and drawing with the pencil, creating the extremely high arches or maintaining a droopy shape- you don't wanna look like Droopy D or have people call you Cruella. But since 99% of the girls seem to have understood the importance of carefully and most important of all, naturally groomed eyebrows, i'll skip that.

what i have on the other hand noticed is the lack of consensus with regards to thickness. some ladies prefer the thinner eyebrows and claim it feminizes the look and the face, while others advocate the thick, au naturel shape on grounds of giving a more youthful appearance. and this is where your face gets to play an important role. This is more or less what Anastasia of Beverly Hills had in mind when she conceptualized her 'brow system'- five major types of arches and styles that are fit for all face shapes. Her concept is great and i myself am a fan of Anastasia's products, including the eyebrow stencils, but i also think there is one more thing to be taken into consideration- the face. Your appearance per se, the type of traits you have.

Basically, a thicker eyebrow does indeed give a more natural and youthful look, if you have the traits to back it up. With aging, or in case one has a more 'masculine' face, the thick, natural eyebrow needs to be thinned and more groomed to give the face a more demure, feminine look. Check this out:





This is a young and gorgeous Brooke Shields with her trademark eyebrows. I think this was the secret of her beauty since many girls had the popping blue eyes, the baby face and the pouty mouth, but none had her thick, natural, almost childish eyebrows that gave her that romantic, unripe, adolescentine look. Her natural eyebrows drew the attention away from the makeup attracting the eye to the out-of-bed look. Now...:





This looks like disaster to me. This is an older Brooke Shields, as gorgeous as ever, but looking rather masculine and harsher. The contours of her face have become softer and 'low', making the forehead go down a little, as it is perfectly normal at this age. Unfortunately, keeping the same eyebrow style darkens her eye area, making it look like she's squinting to get to see from under those two bushes.

And this doesn't apply to aging only. I'm talking about harsh features-imagine someone with a more 'masculine' face, like Madonna or Gisele Bundchen, sporting Brooke's eyebrows. It would look a little scary.

Same here. This is an old photo of Marilyn Monroe at the age of 16 i think,and it makes a good case:





Marilyn is of course younger and not so made up as in her later years, but there's something missing- her trademark look. With thin eyebrows she's nothing but a pretty face. Her signature full, high-arched brows gave her that eclectic, baby-faced goddess look:



Basically my point is that she could 'keep' this look with naturally groomed eyebrows even in her '30's due to her extremely feminine face. Someone who doesn't belong to that category should try a little harder- i am myself one of the girls who constantly fidget with the tweezers because i feel like my face can't sport the 100% natural eyebrows look, yet i prefer them to be as far as possible from pencil thinness.

Another example and I'm done :) :




The beautiful Camilla Belle with some Groucho Marx eyebrows. Too thick, too black,they just don't do her any favor but downplay her femininity.



...but Keira Knightley can definitely swim in the 'hairy' pool- she simply has the features to back it up, namely the square-roundish face, the pouty lips and snub nose.


Hope i'm making my point here...