Battle of the Brows
I'm a big believer in The Brow, preferring thick defined brows to those painfully thin over-plucked ones that you can't leave the house without facing. I'm a loyal lashes girl, but after mascara I'd say that a brow filler is my next 'I can't leave the house without wearing this' product. Defined brows make such a difference to your face shape and can really serve to enhance your eyes and lips.
Until recently I was a serial brow pencil user. When I first started filling in my brows back in sixth form the only offering on the high street was a Maybelline pencil which came in just three shades. The closest match to my brow colour was (in hindsight) painfully mismatched, far too light and red-toned for my nearly black brow hairs. With the advent of (what I like to call) the 'Cara Delevingne movement' brows became a thing, and before long the possibilities were endless, even in my tiny local Boots store. I then became hooked on Soap & Glory's Arch de Triumph Brow Pencil. Being a 2 in 1 brow shaper and highlighter, only half of this product served the purpose for which I purchased it (for some reason even with daily use the highlighter lasted twice as long as the brow pencil), and I was purchasing it on an almost monthly basis at £9 a pop. However, this was the closest shade I'd found on the high street to my natural brown colour - a dark, grey-brown. Soft and buildable, I do still really like this pencil. However, the last isn't great and it really isn't at all economical.
I'd seen a few bloggers recommend using eyeshadow as a brow filler, especially if finding a decent colour was an issue. Knowing that MAC come out tops when it comes to the variety and choice of their eyeshadow range, I did my research and found a few possible shades. The MUA at my local MAC store tried a few out on me and Charcoal Brown won with flying colours. I was a little dubious at first as this shadow looks quite pale and red-toned in the pan, however it could not be more of a perfect shade. I've been using this for a few months now and the pan is barely dented, so whilst £12.50 might seem a lot for one eyeshadow, it's much more economical than my monthly Soap & Glory purchase was, and I can see this lasting a long long time.
I apply this using my Benefit Hard Angle Brush. It's the perfect weight and size, but any hard angle brush will do. I always start filling my brows from the centre. It's a popular mistake to start at the front but this can lead to a heavy/Scouse-brow look (nicht gut), whereas starting in the centre allows you to work the product out and build it to a shade and consistency that suits you. I also find that using a shadow creates a much more natural look than a pencil. It avoids an straight lines or obvious errors and is really easy to blend and fix mistakes. I do use a brow gel over my shadow as I find it helps them to last that little bit longer, as well as keep any stray hairs in place.
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