I got my first Anastasia Brow Wiz Skinny Brow Pencil while working at Ulta and I've been hooked ever since. My first shade was Soft Brown and then I eventually got Taupe and Medium Brown to use when my hair was silver and grey. I recently repurchased Soft Brown and I figured it was about time I wrote up a review about these pencils. They retail for $21 each and contain 0.085 grams / 0.003 ounces.
One of my favorite things about these pencils is how small the pencil is. I personally don't see the "SO SMALL THEY CAN THIN HAIR-LIKE STROKES" because no way the pencil is that thin. It might just be me though.
The thin pencil does help me make more precise lines for the top and bottom of my brows. The pencil it self is also amazing at fill in the brows.
I did these swatches right after opening the product. It's not super pigmented from the start and takes a bit of heat and usage to make it show up more. I personally don't mind because that just means I can vary the opacity of each stroke.
For the above picture, I actually lightened my brows a bit so that they were easier to fill in to match my blonde hair at the time. I was going to take newer pictures, but I felt like these show off the color and effect a lot more.
L to R: Medium Brown, Taupe, and Soft Brown
For some color comparisons of the other two shades I have, I did some quick swatches on my arm. The effect doesn't change and so I felt like these arm swatches will be sufficient. I would say even though they're different shades, each color is pretty similar. I originally even had some problems figuring out the difference between Medium Brown and Soft Brown.
Taupe is in the middle and it is the coolest and probably lightest out of the three shades. It's too cool toned for my warm brown hair right now but I used to use it with Medium Brown when my hair was silver/grey. Medium Brown is also more cool toned, but it has the same level of darkness? as Soft Brown. Soft Brown probably fits my hair color right now the most and that's why I repurchased it.
I find the sharp line I start off with doesn't say that way throughout the whole day, but the filled in parts look perfect. The edges do stay clean when I set my forehead with more powder though. My t-zone gets a bit oily sometimes and that contributes to the pencil breaking down on the top line of my brow.
Final thoughts: I obviously love these brow pencils so much that I bought 4 in total! They are incredibly pricey for what they are and so I don't know how fully I can recommend them since NYX Micro Brow Pencils also work great. Personally, I really love the Soft Brown shade from Anastasia and feel like the her pencils are a bit softer. The Brow Wiz pencils do last a while for me though because I also sit/fill in my brows with a tinted brow gel to give them a more natural and fluffed up look. I guess my actual concise final say about this product is - I fully understand the hype and will continue to purchase this product in whatever shade that matches my hair.
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Almost every YouTube guru uses Anastasia products for their brows! Your after photo is so beautiful- natural but bold at the same time. I have very unfortunate brows that usually need an ink pen to draw on fake hairs because I have to fill in the gaping space under my arch every day :( when I draw across that area with a pencil it looks so fake and unnatural! Thanks for reviewing these, if my brows ever grow back, these look fantastic
ReplyDeleteOoooo I've been eyeing these but I think when I do buy something from them it's going to be their eyebrow powder duo! I prefer my brows to be cool tone dark brown. Taupe looks like a great tone. My hair looks black in photos but is naturally a dark brown next to anyone I know who actually has proper 'black' asian hair. I've always preferred using powder over pencil or colored mascara for my brows as I feel that I just want to give my brows a filled in look as I'm not in need of hair like strokes. Thanks for the swatches and review of their pencil, I have no doubt their products are awesome!
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to try ink pens!! I remember Essiebutton on Youtube used to rave about some ink pen before for her brows, but I just never got into it because I was already in love with powder and pencil products. Do you have a favorite brow pen?
ReplyDeleteI have a few bald spots in my brows that I use this product for, but I mostly rely on tinted brow gels now. For me, they're so much faster and hold my weirdly long brow hairs into place. hahaha
The skin under my brows kind of just eat up brow products and so powders fade really fast on me :( I've heard great things about their brow duos though!! I think there's a set where you can get a brow duo, brow brush / spoolie and maybe the clear brow gel? Not 100% sure, but if you do get the powder I do recommend that kit! The brow gel is highly raved about and the whole kit is a way better deal than just the powder itself.
ReplyDeletei love the anastasia brow wiz pencils - they come in the perfect shades. I use a combo of ebony and medium brown. you're lucky to be around makeup all day :)
ReplyDelete- le jolie
I don't work at Ulta anymore :( I'm just at a cubicle now and weirdly sweating all the time hahaha
ReplyDeleteI was trying to find alternatives with NYX and Sephora Brand brow pencils,, but Anastasia really is the best for brows!