Without a doubt, my brows are the most problematic area of my face. I can deal with concealing redness and old acne scars, but if I'm having a bad brow day, forget it. I might as well lock myself up in my room until my brows decide to cooperate again.
As many of you know, I've been using
Maybelline Define-A-Brow for quite some time on my brows, which has kind of stopped me from reviewing other brow products. But when I was recently asked if I'd like to review the brand new
Kiss Tinted Brow Gel & Pencil Duo, I just couldn't say no.
Let me explain to you before we get into this review why I so desperately wanted to try this product. The gel end of this pencil is not your normal eyebrow gel. There is shimmer to the gel, and I've been reading about this "shimmery eyebrow trend" for a few years now with absolute fascination. Some say that shimmer can help make the brows look more defined, while I've heard others say that it actually can give your brows a more realistic look that mimics the hair on your head (varying shades of dark and light).
So let's take a look at how shimmery brows worked for me, shall we?
Kiss Tinted Brow Gel & Pencil Duo in Medium Brown
(retail: $6.48)
(enlarge this photo to see the shimmer)
To use this product, I apply the pencil side first, followed by the gel. Here are some swatches with before-and-after shots:
In the above photo, you can really see the shimmer in the gel. The "after" shot was taken after my standard rub-test, where I rub the swatches vigorously with my index finger for about ten seconds. Let me tell you, that brow gel is going NOWHERE. The part of the gel where you see it's sort of been "chipped away" was caused after I was determined to remove even a bit of this product (rubbing it with my finger removed nothing). I ended up using my fingernail to scrape it off my skin. So in other words, this gel stays put until you take it off (both the pencil and gel remove easily for me with a makeup towelette, by the way).
I'd also like to point out that this gel did an excellent job at keeping stray hairs in place. With the exception of a few stubborn hairs that even Super Glue would not be able to keep flat (hairs that literally grow perpendicular to my face), this gel worked some serious magic for me. My brows look quite tame and smooth when I use it, and for that I'm grateful.
Now let's take a look at some before-and-afters of my brows:
If you enlarge this photo, you can see (especially on the left) the shimmer in my brows. Guess what? I actually kind of love it! It tends to give my brows more depth, if you will, and it mimics the multi-colored hairs on my head a bit.
I asked Mr. G if he thought it was too over-the-top (he's the type to tell me if he thinks I'm wearing a bit too much makeup or if something looks just plain funky on my face, so I knew he'd really take a close look and evaluate this to the best of his abilities). He spent all day in the outdoors with me yesterday while I was wearing this product and every time I asked him his thoughts, he'd say, "No, your brows look really nice, actually." So there you go.
After wearing this product in a variety of different temperatures, I can confirm that it stays put on my oily skin (without flaking or fading) in temperatures varying from 85 degrees to 40 degrees (it's been a bit drastic in San Diego these past couple of weeks, so I was able to really give it a good test).
I'm not sure if I could wear the gel part of the pencil in more conservative environments (especially if the rest of my look consisted of matte shadows, matte blush and matte lip color), but on special occasions or if I'm doing a special shimmery or bronzey look, I would most certainly reach for this.
The pencil part of the product is worth the price alone. It's so smooth and pigmented, I find I don't have to press with any pressure whatsoever when applying the pencil to my brows. Unfortunately, the shade itself is so pigmented that it's a bit too dark for my current hair color, so I think I'd be better suited to the shade Blonde, as opposed to Medium Brown (it also comes in a third shade, Dark Brown).
Final Analysis: If you've been curious about the "shimmery eyebrow" trend of late, this product would be an excellent way of trying it out without breaking the bank. Instead of being gimmicky, I found both the gel and pencil to be of excellent quality, they're a cinch to use and both possess fantastic staying power. I think this a fun, and quite useful, new addition to the drugstore eyebrow product scene. I say give it a whirl if you're looking to jazz up your brows. I don't think you'll be disappointed by the quality of this product. Whether or not shimmer on your brows is for you, you'll have to decide on that yourself (or I can send Mr. G over to evaluate).
You can find Kiss Tinted Brow Gel & Pencil Duo at Walmart stores across the nation.
Do you own any eyebrow products from Kiss? How do you like them? Are you curious about this new gel/pencil duo?
A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.
