Lorac Pro Brow Pencil in Light Brown: Not The End All Be All

Brows drive me crazy. I admit to being a bit of a novice at lining them/filling them/whatever.   I have tried Anastasia Brow Wiz and loved it, but I hated how fast it ran out and that the pencil sometimes broke. I currently use Anastasia Dip Brow and Benefit Gimme Brow.   However, I was intrigued by the new Lorac Pro Brow Pencil ($19).  

 At $2 less than the Anastasia version, I was really excited for this pencil.

 

One end is the pencil and the other end is a spoolie with a cap, which I also really loved as a feature. This comes in a range of colors: Blonde, Light Brown, Auburn, Brunette, Slate, and Dark Brown.

 This is a twist up pen and it twists very slowly, which I assume is to save product from being wasted. I chose the color Light Brown.

Because of the thin nature of the pen, you can make really precise hair-like strokes, but if you press even a bit too hard, product flakes off and makes little bumps (as you can see above)

Here is what Light Brown looks like on my eyebrows. I like the precision, but I hate the coloring for me. I am growing out my red now and most of my hair is light brown/blonde with some dark red at the ends but it is so unnoticeable. If I were still a red-head, this would be a great color, but it just doesn't work. Okay, I thought, maybe just try the blonde!

But here is why I do not like this product and won't be trying any other colors: Just pressing lightly to fill in one brow broke off a chunk of the product. I can't waste product like that for that much money, so this is going back. That was my same gripe with the Brow Wiz, but even that didn't break as easily.

Sorry Lorac Pro Brow Pencil, you weren't the one.

What are you using on your brows right now?

 

   

Benefit Gimme Brow Review and Swatches

Its funny, I never really used to care about my brows. But with brow icons like Cara Delevigne around, its hard not to pay attention anymore. My brows are far from perfect, but Benefit's new Gimme Brow is supposed to fix less than perfect and sparse brows! 

 Gimme Brow ($22) is an Allure Best of Beauty 2013 winner and one of the newest products from Benefit, which is such a fun brand. I chose the shade light/medium and there is one other choice, a darker brunette. I have what anyone would say is brunette hair, but it is tinted red from my recent adventures as a red head and so I have a little bit of warm/caramel tones. Needless to say it is kinda hard to find a shade that matches. Most of the time, blonder shades match well, and this shade is a decent fit, but maybe a little too warm. 

 

The Gimme Brow is a gel-like formula that has visible fibers (as you can see on the swatch above), and is applied with a very small spoolie brush. It does have a bit of a wet look but dries down.

 

Benefit claims it is waterproof and smudgeproof, which I found to be true for the 12 hours I tested it. It is supposed to create the look of thicker, fuller brows--and yes it does! However, it isn't really a substitute for creating brows where there aren't any. I still need a pencil for that. But this in conjunction with a pencil is great!

 

 

This little guy is actually really tiny for the price, which kinda kills me. However, you don't need much and it will last a while. I really do like that this mimics the look of hair, so it is very natural looking.

 

Want to see my before and after? Don't judge my brows too hard!

 

 

My brows are pretty light, have a gentle arch, and aren't always the neatest, but they do for now.

 

Now, lets add one application of Gimme Brow (no other product/pencil)

 

Thicker? Definitely? Looks like more hair too! But the sparser patch isn't covered with the gel and the pigment of the gel makes it look a little messy. I think this is a great finishing product for decent brows, but not a miracle worker if you don't have any!

 

Overall, I like that Gimme Brow is a fast way to amp up my brows---but I rarely ever use it alone. It does last through pretty much anything, but the gel-like consistency can make it a little messy looking without some definition from another product.

Pleased, but not overly psyched.

 

What do you think? Have you tried Benefit Gimme Brow?

 

 

Benefit Gimme Brow Review and Swatches

Its funny, I never really used to care about my brows. But with brow icons like Cara Delevigne around, its hard not to pay attention anymore. My brows are far from perfect, but Benefit's new Gimme Brow is supposed to fix less than perfect and sparse brows!  

  Gimme Brow ($22) is an Allure Best of Beauty 2013 winner and one of the newest products from Benefit, which is such a fun brand. I chose the shade light/medium and there is one other choice, a darker brunette. I have what anyone would say is brunette hair, but it is tinted red from my recent adventures as a red head and so I have a little bit of warm/caramel tones.   Needless to say it is kinda hard to find a shade that matches. Most of the time, blonder shades match well, and this shade is a decent fit, but maybe a little too warm.  

 

The Gimme Brow is a gel-like formula that has visible fibers (as you can see on the swatch above), and is applied with a very small spoolie brush. It does have a bit of a wet look but dries down.

 

Benefit claims it is waterproof and smudgeproof, which I found to be true for the 12 hours I tested it. It is supposed to create the look of thicker, fuller brows--and yes it does! However, it isn't really a substitute for creating brows where there aren't any. I still need a pencil for that. But this in conjunction with a pencil is great!

 

 

This little guy is actually really tiny for the price, which kinda kills me. However, you don't need much and it will last a while. I really do like that this mimics the look of hair, so it is very natural looking.

 

Want to see my before and after? Don't judge my brows too hard!

 

 

My brows are pretty light, have a gentle arch, and aren't always the neatest, but they do for now.

 

Now, lets add one application of Gimme Brow (no other product/pencil)

 

Thicker? Definitely? Looks like more hair too! But the sparser patch isn't covered with the gel and the pigment of the gel makes it look a little messy. I think this is a great finishing product for decent brows, but not a miracle worker if you don't have any!

 

Overall, I like that Gimme Brow is a fast way to amp up my brows---but I rarely ever use it alone. It does last through pretty much anything, but the gel-like consistency can make it a little messy looking without some definition from another product.

Pleased, but not overly psyched.

 

What do you think? Have you tried Benefit Gimme Brow?

 

 

Starting Off With My Brows

I am just starting to attempt to groom my brows. They are fair, sparse and kind of odd shaped. I have been getting slightly bolder with my perfect Tweezerman tweezers, but here are the products I now reach for.

 

 

This is Essence Eyebrow Designer in 04 Blonde. For $1.99 it currently does the trick until I upgrade and it comes in a surprisingly wide range of lighter colors. I am not a dark brown or a true brunette, so this was a good match.

 

 

It is a true pencil, needs a bit of a warm up but the hardness creates nice lines that you then smooth out with the brush on the end of the pencil. Pretty decent.

 

 

This is Julep's Boho Glam lengthening mascara in Espresso Brown. I got this in a Julep box a while ago and was kind of afraid to use it. I am skeptical of mascaras put out by nail companies and I normally gravitate towards black. However, when used lightly this can be a good brow tamer! It is actually a pretty decent mascara too. So if you got it in a box and haven't used it, try it!

 

 The brush is pretty cool as well!

 

Overall, this has been my brow routine. If you have any suggestions of products, let me know!

 

 

Starting Off With My Brows

I am just starting to attempt to groom my brows. They are fair, sparse and kind of odd shaped. I have been getting slightly bolder with my perfect Tweezerman tweezers, but here are the products I now reach for.

 

 

This is Essence Eyebrow Designer in 04 Blonde. For $1.99 it currently does the trick until I upgrade and it comes in a surprisingly wide range of lighter colors. I am not a dark brown or a true brunette, so this was a good match.

 

 

It is a true pencil, needs a bit of a warm up but the hardness creates nice lines that you then smooth out with the brush on the end of the pencil. Pretty decent.

 

 

This is Julep's Boho Glam lengthening mascara in Espresso Brown. I got this in a Julep box a while ago and was kind of afraid to use it. I am skeptical of mascaras put out by nail companies and I normally gravitate towards black. However, when used lightly this can be a good brow tamer! It is actually a pretty decent mascara too. So if you got it in a box and haven't used it, try it!

 

 The brush is pretty cool as well!

 

Overall, this has been my brow routine. If you have any suggestions of products, let me know!