#97 ELF Brow products review
Affordable brow gel to save a few quid
When I was in the UK last year, I was so intrigued by what ELF has to offer. I managed to resist my temptation as I know most of them will end up in the bin - expired - because I work mostly from home and I rarely bothered to look groomed. Then I thought, I really wanted to try something from the brand. So I ended up to getting ELF Instant Lift Brow Pencil and WOW Brow Tinted Gel thinking that they might be a more affordable alternative to my trustworthy Shu Uemura Hard 9 formula – spoiler! they are nowhere close to the iconic Shu Uemura.
ELF Instant Lift Brow Pencil
This is a dual-ended, retractable eyebrow pencil with a spoolie on the other end. Brand say it is smudge proof, I will strongly detest that. As with any soft crayon eye pencil (with considerable amount of oil content), they simply goes on easily but get rubbed off very easily as well. More so when I always wear a nourishing sunscreen and the product just wouldn’t stay on even I tried to powder the brows right before. The crayon tip is a not fine enough to create thin, fine strokes that mimics actual brow hairs. I end up painting gaps between the hairs, looking very aged with a 2D-looking brow. Also, I struggled to colour match. Deep Brown is too dark and Neutral Brown is too light. So this is an easily no repurchase for me.
Wow Brow Tinted Gel
The brow gel on the other hand is very lovely. The waxy formulas have fibers that make the natural brows look fuller. Brand says it is buildable, but I would be cautious to not over brush. I’d say 2-3 strokes would be a desirable finish – anymore would makes the brows excessively crispy and non-natural looking. If you go over 3 strokes, the chances are you are getting brow dandruff. To take off the fibers completely, I would massage my make up remover (usually with a cleansing balm or oil) slightly longer to properly dissolve the products before removing them with a flannel. If you have sparse hair and find eye brown pencil/powder too technical to maneuver, a tinted brow gel is an easy way out. This is a product I would recommend for the buck you are paying.