Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Review (Brunette)

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz also simply known as the Anastasia Brow Wiz has taken the beauty world by a storm and it’s very hard not to hear many makeup artists raving about it and I can understand why. Anastasia Soare is the founder of the Anastasia Beverly Hills brand and she is indeed the Queen of brows who has been internationally recognised for her work and has beat many celebrities’ brows into shape including Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, J-Lo, Naomi Campbell, etc. She has also worked with a variety of A-List fashion and beauty brands to create amazing brows for their catwalks and fashion shows including Chanel. So naturally, I thought I need to try this product everyone has been raving about although you all know that my all time favourite brow pencil is MAC Brow pencil in Stud. I decided to start with the Anastasia Brow Wiz because I prefer using a brow pencil first.

Packaging

To be honest I am not too fussed about brow pencil packaging but I particularly like this one because it is so thin, sleek and glossy. It has rose gold inscriptions all around it and they have not come off. I say this because my MAC brow pencil’s inscriptions go off after I use it for a short while and I am not sure why that always happens...is it just me?possibly. Anyway, I like the packaging and it’s a good effort they have put in considering the price as well. I chose the shade Brunette which is also Dark Brown and I did my research before choosing this shade because I know it is very easy to make mistakes with these shades. I am pleased with the shade match to my brows as it is actually perfect. It’s impressive that they have a good variety of shades to suit any kind of eyebrows out there and I really like that. Currently, they have about 9 shades which include: Ash Blonde, Auburn, Brunette, Caramel, Chocolate, Ebony, Granite, Medium Brown and Soft Brown. I think it would be hard not to find a suitable shade for any skin tone; it's a nice range and I am impressed.

Contents

The brow pencil has two sides; one which lets out the pencil itself and the other end has a spoolie. I really like the spoolie because it feels firm and you can tell it’s good quality. I have used a few spoolies that are just way too dodgy and feel flimsy after a few uses but thankfully, the Brow Wiz spoolie really good. The brow pencil appears to be made form a hard gel (don’t quote me on that though!) because it certainly does not feel like a pencil although it applies like a pencil. The best thing about it is you can roll the pencil in and out or up and down and let me tell you, that is the major reason I prefer this to MAC Stud which you can’t roll in/out and it’s so frustrating.

How I use it

There’s not much to say about using it but I roll the pencil out but just a little bit. The nib is so so tiny that my camera was having a hard time focusing to get a shot which is why the pictures look a bit...bleh! I love the nib because it creates/mimics your natural brow hairs which make your brows seem very natural. I just use it to gently outline the natural shape of my brows and then fill in the sparse areas with light pencil strokes. Depending on how I am feeling, I may go back with a brow powder (Sleek Brow Kit in Dark) to shade in the outer tail of my brows and I use a concealer to smooth things out. Next, I blend everything out and it’s done. My brows stay on all day and no smudging or shifting or anything unpleasant and even when I want to take off my makeup at night, my eyebrows still look snatched and to me, that’s the real deal.

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Brunette VS MAC Brow Pencil in Stud

Comparing both brow pencils is very difficult for me because I love them both..hehehe. However, I would say I prefer the Anastasia Brow Wiz for the following reasons:

1. The Anastasia Brow Wiz nib is so tiny that it mimics your brow hair so well while the MAC Brow Pencil has a slightly larger nib which means you have to deliver really light strokes to achieve natural looking brows.

2. The Anastasia Brow Wiz has a spoolie which I think is really useful and very good quality so much so that you can still use it way after the brow pencil is finished while the MAC Brow pencil has no spoolie.

3. The Anastasia Brow Wiz can be rolled up so there is no wastage and there are no nasty surprises when it is on its last legs while the MAC Brow Pencil can’t be rolled up so if you roll out too much, it stays that way or get broken/smudged leading to wastage.

  

Cost

The Anastasia Brow Wiz is a little expensive as it costs £15.50 which is a little more expensive than the MAC Brow Pencil which currently retails for £13. To me, I don’t think it’s too expensive for the quality you get and the extra £2.50 I spend to get it instead of the MAC Brow pencil is so worth it. It has lasted me for over a month and I use it every single day. I purchased mine from Cult Beauty .You can also purchase it from Net-a-Porter and Beauty Bay who regularly have some nice offers so it's worth keeping an eye on their website on offers or just subscribe to their newsletter.

Cons

I can’t really think of any cons apart from the cost and the availability as you can only buy it online currently and I got mine from Cult Beauty. I specifically waited till they had free shipping because I ain’t paying almost £20 for a brow pencil...nah, not happening! If it were available in store, I would have been super pleased. If you know any stores that sell this in the UK particularly London please let me know in the comment box below.

Personal Thoughts

I think I have said it all; the Anastasia Brow Wiz has replaced my MAC Brow Pencil and I never believed I would actually be writing or saying this. I still love my MAC Brow Pencil and I have used it for at least 5 years back when it was less than £10 (now it’s £13..MAC sneakily increase their prices you know). Don’t get me wrong, MAC Brow Pencil still has a special place in my heart and I will definitely repurchase it because I love it but the Anastasia Brow Wiz seems to offer more benefits for me and seems more cost efficient given the above reasons.  I am thinking of purchasing the Brow Pomade when there is another free shipping code from Cult Beauty. That’s it folks. Have you tried anything from Anastasia Beverly Hills? See you in my next post..x

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Eylure Dip Brow Review- (DIY-Tinting my Eyebrows)

My eyebrows have always been sparse and I have never plucked it or done anything outrageous; that's just the way it grows. Over time, I have learnt to enhance it with various eyebrow pencils, brow kits and gels. I have threaded them more than a few times and I have even had it temporarily tinted (fail!) by a professional all in a bid to get the perfect eyebrows (do they even exist naturally?) and spend less time trying to achieve it. I came across the Eylure Pro Brow Dye Kit and I thought I may as well try having tried so many other things. So naturally, I was inclined to give it a whizz. Excuse some of my dodgy pictures; I took the pictures early in the morning and I was literally half asleep...all excuses!!!

Packaging

The packaging is quite clean and crisp with clear instructions of use. It comes with the dye cream (5ml) in a tube, a lil' bottle of activator(10ml) , a spoolie, a tiny applicator and a small groove in the plastic packaging for mixing everything. It promises to last for six weeks and you get 12 applications from this bottle.

 

How I use it

All instructions are included in the packaging but for the sake of this post; I would do a little rundown. I started off with washing my face and I patted it dry. Next, I went in with an astringent to take off any oiliness around my eye area because oil can interfere with the dye. While my eyebrows were getting dry, I released about 2cm of the dye into the groove and added about 5 drops of the activator. The instructions are quite precise and I suggest sticking to it at least for the first time. Next, I used the small applicator to mix it thoroughly until it formed a little paste. By now my eye area was dry, I applied some Vaseline around the perimeter of my eyebrow to prevent any dye spillages on my skin and it also acts a protective layer. Note I did not apply to my eyebrows; just the skin around it. I dipped the spoolie in the mixtures and gently brushed my eyebrows ensuring I covered all areas. Then, I used the mixing applicator to smoothen things out. It says leave it on for 10 mins; I left mine a little longer than 30 minutes because I had read other reviews who did the same. Once I was satisfied with the time, I removed the excess with a wet cotton pad and washed it off gently.

Results

Because I had recently threaded my eyebrows, the results seemed to stand out to me. My eyebrows were definitely much darker and much easier to work with and they just looked much more defined. I was really pleased and amazed at how much difference it made. Now, all I do is apply a little brow powder and concealer underneath to define it further; I am totally loving it. I am not sure I agree with it lasting for 6 weeks at all but it lasted for just 2 weeks which may be down to me vigorously washing my face. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has sparse brows as it is really good and easy to use. Depending on what kind of hair and skin you have, you may have a different experience to mine in respect to lasting power and how long you have to leave the dye on during the process.

Cost

Eylure can be purchased directly from the Eylure website. I bought this for £6 and there were no discounts and I was not really looking for any. I reckon you can get it for maybe less if you hunt for good deals or wait till there are sales in Boots and Superdrug or any beauty supply store you use. I got mine from Wilkinson which is my new favourite store for buying inexpensive beauty supplies.

Personal thoughts

I definitely love it and would be reapplying sometime soon because it is lovely and it has made a massive difference to my overall makeup and face as we all know eye brows frame the face so if you get it right, you have little to worry about. See you in my next post...x