Thought I’d do my very first review post! I recently purchased some new NYX brow products from Ulta. I’ve been OBSESSED with brows for the last month or so, and I’ve been experimenting with a few different techniques.
What I look for in a brow product is something with an ashy undertone that is long-lasting in Texas heat, but doesn’t necessarily need to be water-proof.
First up is the NYX Eyebrow Marker, found here for $10:
This one I’ve actually had for about six months. There are only two shades, medium and deep. Since the medium was almost red it was so warm, I chose the deep shade.
Although this is the cooler-toned shade, it is still warm as HECK, and still leans red. The nib is pretty fat, but has a thin tip for definition. It doesn’t claim to be water-proof, which is great because it definitely isn’t. I feel that, when the product sets, it is extremely long lasting and does set to a shade darker, but as SOON as water hits my brow, it’s gone. I do find that I can get a little moist/oily/sweaty (it’s Texas, y’all), and the brows still stay in place, so long as I don’t touch them.
So despite my bloodshot eyes and smeared 11 p.m. wing, you can see that the product is quite warm, but does do well in defining my brows.
I used this product for a good two months, so I obviously loved it! I was okay with the warmer tone when I first started using this product because I had just dyed my hair a warm, honey-toned blonde. The one little tube has lasted me all this time. Now that my roots have grown out and my natural dark brown-black hair frames my face, I don’t reach for this product as much. For $10, it’s worth the try, but I don’t recommend this pen for anyone any darker in skin tone than I am, or with dark hair. It could end up looking a lot like a brown Sharpie.
Second product I have been trying is the NYX Micro Brow Pencil, found herefor $10:
This pencil comes in eight shades online, but only five at the Ulta that I purchased it at. The only three shades that I felt were even close to what I was looking for were Taupe, Ash Brown, and Espresso. They did not have Taupe, but going off of the swatches done by BeautyBuzzHub, it looked a bit too light:
(credit for this picture goes to Sarah of BeautyBuzzHub - you’re the bomb!)
I got to actually swatch the Ash Brown, the Espresso, and the Black in the store. I found that Espresso was still too warm and that Black was way too dark for my coloring. So I chose Ash Brown!
They really mean it when they say micro brow, too! The pencil is tiny, but very firm, so there’s no breakage if you go ham on your brows, and no smudging because the kohl isn’t soft. The product also comes with a teeny, tiny spoolie. I actually find that, for my brows, it’s a little too rough, so I end up brushing away all the product that I’ve applied. I purchase my own Disposable Mascara Wands from E.L.F. ($3), only because they’re cheap, hygienic, and they’re soft, so they don’t erase all the hard work I’ve done on my brows.
I really love this product because of how buildable it is - here I’ve tried to show how you can build the product. The first picture is my naked brow, the second picture I’ve done a really simple, “natural” brow to fill in big holes, and the third is a “full” brow.
Overall, I’ve been really loving this product. It holds up really well in moist situations - like when there is light rain or humidity in the air. Because the kohl is waxier, it tends to be a little more water-resistant than the other products I’ve featured. The shade is a little off here, and it seems a lot warmer than it looks in person. It gives me a really natural brow, which is an awesome alternative to the concealer carved brow.
The third and final product I tried was the NYX Tinted Brow Mascara, foundhere for $7:
This product comes in five shades, four of which were at my local Ulta. I tried the Brunette, Espresso, and Black shades. The Black shade was absolutely too dark, almost like regular mascara. The Espresso shade was, as the micro pencil, much too warm. I opted for the Brunette shade, which seems light in the package, but swatches much darker.
This is a difficult product to use in that I can’t get a very precise brow. This is a product I typically use in combination with the micro brow pencil, or when I use an eyeshadow to fill in my brows. One thing I have to say…. this stuff SMELLS. Like. SMELLS. It reminds me of fresh paint, but really cheap, old paint that’s been sitting in a garage for a couple years. But, because I like the product, I deal with the smell on application because, once set, the brows don’t budge and the smell goes away. Again, though, this product is not water proof, and will literally be erased if water touches your brow.
The precision and edginess shown here are from wiping the excess product off my skin with my finger; otherwise my brows would look like a two year old sketched them on with a skinny crayola marker. This product is SUPER pigmented and does the job in two to three swipes. I was really happy with the product b/c of how easy it was - I have dubbed this application process my “lazy girl brow”. Word of warning: It definitely is the least natural if not carefully applied because of how pigmented it is.
So that’s it folks! As a comparison, I like all three brow products! Not a big surprise because I do research like a lunatic before buying anything, no matter how cheap. The picture above shows a side/side comparison of the three products I’ve mentioned, starting from the tinted brow mascara on the left to the eyebrow marker on the right. It’s a bit of an easier way to compare precision, color, and application.
Other brow products I wanted to try from NYX are the Tame & Frame Brow Pomade (Here for $7) and the Eyebrow Gel (Here for $7). They are apparently dupes for the Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade (Here for $18) and theMake Up Forever Aqua Brow (Here for $20). A brow product that I did try from NYX which I HATED and almost immediately gave away was the Auto Eyebrow Pencil (Here for $5). None of the shades worked, the consistency was too waxy in that the application was patchy, and it was not long-wearing at ALL. Even though it is only $5, that is absolutely a product that I would skip.
If you guys have any recommendations for products I should try, for brows or not, let me know! Leave me a message so we can chat! :)
Xoxo, Kassy
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