Most of you know that my Holy Grail eyebrow pencil is Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Blonde. I love everything about that pencil and, most importantly, Dark Blonde is a perfect match for my brows. I have dark blonde/light brown hair and the natural color of my brows is actually quite cool (as opposed to warm). As those of you who have looked for medium, cool-toned brow pencils at the drugstore know, there are NOT many of them. In fact, Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Blonde is one of the only ones I've come across at the drugstore. Most drugstore brow pencils designed for those of us who have lighter hair are usually very warm-toned. That's great for those of you with warm-toned brows, but what about those of us who have more ashy-toned brows?
Since Maybelline reduced the shade range in the Define-A-Brow line (they discontinued a few colors last year), and this pencil is becoming harder and harder to find in stores, I have been forced to start looking for alternatives in case the unthinkable happens. The very best alternative that I've found for my beloved Dark Blonde shade from Maybelline is this one:
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K-Palette Lasting Eyebrow in 03 Grayish Brown
(retail: around $7, 0.018 oz)
I buy this pencil at my local Mitsuwa Marketplace, but I've also seen it at Nijiya Market and Marukai Living here in San Diego. You can also purchase it online at Sasa.com for $7.10 (they only have two shades at Sasa but one of them is Grayish Brown) and on Amazon, and I'm sure there are other Asian beauty product etailers that carry it as well.
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This is a standard size double-ended pencil:
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My swatches above were taken both with a lot of pressure, and then with just a little pressure. I love that you can easily control the pigmentation of this pencil, and it's not super creamy (so it won't melt off in hot weather) but it's also not super dry or waxy. It's the perfect consistency. My swatches above make it look a little bit warmer than it really is, but take a look at these before and after pics to get a better idea of how truly ashy this shade is:
My "nude" brows (no pencil, etc.)
After using K-Palette Lasting Eyebrow in Grayish Brown
I can't tell you how much I love the fact that the color showing through isn't warm (orange)! It truly matches the color of my brows and does a great job at filling in the bald patch I have toward the left side of my brow.
Staying power is fantastic for this brow pencil. I can put it on in the morning and not have to worry about my brows all day and even into the night. It's still going strong a full 10 hours after application. Removal is easy as well--regular facial cleanser does the trick.
FINAL VERDICT: If you are looking for a true, ashy-brown eyebrow pencil and you can't find Maybelline Define-A-Brow in your area, at least now you know that another affordable option exists! I love everything about this pencil, from pigmentation to color to staying power. I also love that it comes with its own spoolie (great for travel). The only thing I don't love is that I now need a pencil sharpener for my brow pencil (I love automatic pencils) but that's totally something I can live with in exchange for a perfect match for my natural brow color. Oh, and you should know that this is actually my second purchase--I purchased my first K-Palette Lasting Eyebrow in Grayish Brown many months ago, used it up and bought another!
Do you own any K-Palette products? I'm so happy with this pencil that I'm thinking about branching out and trying some of their other cosmetics. Any suggestions?
The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.
I use the Nuance by Salma Hayek brow pencil in medium blonde. It has a spoolie and doesn't need to be sharpened. I think you would like it G.
ReplyDeleteOooh, is it ashy or warm? Thanks!
DeleteYou're welcome! It is ashy. Just to give you an idea I swatched next to Maybelline Define-a-brow in light blonde and it is almost identical in color. The texture is a bit drier, however.
DeleteP.S. I love your blog!
Thank you for this tip. I like the Define-a-Brow in light blonde but always have trouble with it breaking. I keep buying it because it is a great shade. (I am a strawberry blond with white blond eyebrows so anything too dark looks strange.) However, it only lasts me a few weeks because of the breakage. I'm going to look for the Nuance pencil.
DeleteI'm still trying to find a good greyeige (grey beige) powder for my brows. I'm a strawberry blonde with very ashy brows and it's near impossible! The closest I've come is Faint from the Naked Basics pallette and it's a little dark for me.
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem with a lot of powders... they seem to come off too dark for me too. :(
DeleteI have to check this out. I think it may actually work for me. Too many brow pencils fail my eyebrows.
ReplyDeleteI've been using a MAC brow pencil in blonde for mine (I got it in a swap), its almost gone and I'm not sure if I want to fork over my money to MAC for my sparse brows. I will have to check into these at Mistuwa, sadly they don't sell the lovely revlon one I was using in Japan here stateside.
ReplyDeleteIt's always difficult to find an eyebrow color that isn't too orangey or too browny or too pale or too dark... I may have to try this one from K-Palette.
ReplyDeleteOther things from K-Palette that I love: their BB cream (on sale at Marukai Living right now) and the felt-tip 1-day tattoo eyeliner. Both are excellent products!
k palette is famous for their 24-hr 1 day tattoo eyeliner pen; it came out way before they started popping up throughout the various drugstore and high end brands ^-^ i still prefer the koji-dollwink to it though, you really should try it, you wont be able to go back to anything else its THAT amazing!
ReplyDelete