I'm in permanent panic-mode when it comes to my eyebrow pencil. I live in fear that my beloved Holy Grail eyebrow pencil, Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Blonde, is going to be discontinued (some shades in this line were discontinued last year but, knock on wood, Dark Blonde hasn't been...yet).
So when I noticed that the new brand, Flower by Drew Barrymore (available exclusively at Walmart, in-store on online), had a line of brow pencils, I ordered two shades from Walmart in the hopes that I might be able to find a new go-to product. Since I prefer automatic pencils for my brows, I was delighted to see that these are twist-ups! Let's see how they've been working for me...
Flower Raise Some Brows Defining Brow Pencils in Blonde and Light Brown
(retail: $5.98, 0.01 oz)
Before I get into this review, I want to point out something VERY cool about this brow pencil range. There are eight shades available, and three of those shades are for "unconventional" hair colors such as green, blue and purple! Check out all eight shades here. I've never seen brow pencils in purple, green or blue offered at the drugstore level before, so kudos to you, Flower!
Keep reading for my full review....
As with all of the Flower products I've reviewed to date, the packaging indicates that these products are made in the USA and not tested on animals.
All of the products that I've purchased (that come in plastic/cardboard packaging) have these cute little "Drew-isms" hidden beneath the product that you can only see once you've opened the package. They're like little beauty fortune cookies. A very cute touch!
These pencils comes with a sharpener that you access by pulling off the end of the pencil:
Blonde
Light Brown
Blonde (top)
Light Brown (bottom)
Looking at the swatches above, the first line was done using quick little brush strokes (I tried to replicate the look of application) and the second line is just a straight line.
You can see that the shade Blonde has a lot of red to it. I would definitely suggest that you only purchase this shade if you have warm blonde hair or red hair--it is NOT going to work if you're an ashy blonde (like me).
As for Light Brown, it's definitely an ashy brown (no warm tones at all), but it's a bit dark for me personally. I have to use a very, very light touch to get this shade to work. Here's a pic of me wearing Light Brown:
Light Brown
I deliberately did not comb my brows after application because I wanted you to see something. This pencil is creamy, so what happens during application is that my brow hairs often get stuck together when I'm trying to get down between the hairs. I find that I have to apply, then stop, comb my brows, and apply some more. The problem is that I always end up removing the product when I comb through my brows too much, so it's sort of an endless loop.
Pigmentation: Both shades that I purchased have great pigmentation. I had no issues with getting the color to show up on my brows.
Texture and consistency: These brow pencils are very creamy. Due to my oily skin, I prefer a stiffer, drier, waxier pencil because it's been my experience that pencils that are stiffer and drier tend to last much longer on my oily skin. I also like the precision that a stiffer, waxier pencil allows you. When a brow pencil is too creamy, it feels like you lose control a bit, and that is what I experienced with these pencils. I have to use a very, very light touch and really focus when I'm apply this pencil to my brow. I think that if you're just looking for minor fill-ins, this probably won't be too much of an issue for you, but if you need to seriously "construct" your brows every day (like I do), then you might find these pencils a bit too high-maintenance due to their creamy nature.
Staying power: Due to their creamy nature, I start to see fading and a bit of smearing on my (very oily) skin at about the six hour mark. I can't get through an 8-9 hour work day and find my brows looking perfect. I definitely need to touch up in the afternoon, and keep in mind that I've been testing this product during the winter. I don't have high hopes for this product during the dead of summer, but if you have drier skin, your results may certainly differ from mine.
Fragrance: I detect no fragrance to these pencils.
FINAL VERDICT: If you favor a creamier brow pencil and you have normal-to-dry skin, these might work well for you. But if you favor a drier, waxier pencil I'm not sure you'll be happy with these. They're quite creamy and if you're heavy-handed with your brow pencils, you'll find that you really need to pull back the reigns and use a very, very light touch to get these to work. Also, if you have oily skin like I do, you might find that these pencils fade and smudge before the day is through. I personally couldn't get them to last longer than six hours before I saw major fading. As for the colors I purchased, Blonde is definitely for those with warm blonde or red hair, while Light Brown would be good for dark, ashy blondes or light ashy browns, since it has no warm undertones whatsoever. These were not a love-match for me, but I can see them possibly working for those with drier skin who are just looking for minor enhancements to their brows. If you need serious precision from your brow pencil, you might find these a bit too soft and creamy.
To see the rest of my Flower product reviews (with more to come!), click here.
Have you tried any Flower by Drew Barrymore products yet? Thoughts?
I just love that they did green, purple, and blue! How cool!
ReplyDeleteLol!
DeleteIn excited about this too!
I knew you'd dig it :)
Haven't been hearing too much positive stuff about this line :( I was so excited too but I might not be hauling anything from this collection.
ReplyDeleteToo bad for oily me, I'll pass. Still love Drew though!
ReplyDeleteI love that they are twist up and come with a sharpener. I might check these out if I ever find this brand in stores.
ReplyDeleteHmm this actually sounds like my cuppa tea!
ReplyDeleteI often have hair colors from the rain rainbow, and have fairly dry skin...I may check this out!
Have you tried Pixis brow corrector? It's a retractable pencil with a cool slanted edge, and the other side is a brow mascara...very lightly tinted the same shade. It's been my go to since I bought it, an ill likely repurchase. My only problem is that it's a bit too dry for me, so you may like it! The color I have, I believe it's light brown or dark blonde, is very much a cool ashy color, as well.
Check it out!
Thanks for the scoop Simone! I like both tinted gel and retractable pencils so I'll look for it. For a basic retractable Avon makes a good one, and if anyone likes their pencils creamy Milani's is pretty decent I think. I haven't found a good drugstore tinted gel, Revlon's is meh- too wet and patchy or something.
DeleteDid they only have those two colors? I am a natural light blond, and have a heck of a time finding a color that works for me :( I agree with most pencils seem to think blonds are more red than we really are.. any suggestions then?
ReplyDeleteI was very interested to read your review, because we have the same HG eyebrow pencil (except mine is Light Brown). Sorry this one doesn't seem to be as good! My WM is finally getting their display up. It was about half-filled today, so I picked up the eyeliner pencil in Khaki Shimmer. I love it! It's easy to apply (no tugging); great neutral shade; and it stays on!
ReplyDeletethe crazy colors are actually the eyeliners! they just combined the two products on one page on the walmart website. it's the same exact packaging but if you look at the pencils (zoom in on the images), the brow colors say "defining brow pencil" and the colorful ones say "long wear eyeliner"
ReplyDeleteawesome review though! might have to check out the light brown color myself :D
That's too bad about them being on the too-creamy side. I've been looking for a good brow pencil for AGES, with my main problem being finding a color match. I'm a natural redhead with dark strawberry-blond hair and almost invisible brows. Every brow product I've tried looks very fake, but that Flower blonde looks spot-on. But with my oily skin, I'm thinking it might not work for me.
ReplyDeleteI just bought the light brown for the first time & love it! I have medium to dark brown hair & it is the prefect shade! I love that there is no warm, reddish tone to it like so many others.
ReplyDeleteThe link you gave us was to eyeliners, not the brow product. Also, aside from the diorshow universal shade brow styler, my HG is the nyx auto eyebrow pencil. It's retractable and comes in shades for everyone, even a black or a charcoal for gray. I like to use a lighter neutral brown or taupe color to shape my eyebrows and fill them in a bit, then I draw on individual hairs with the pencil. The texture is, I think, the kind you will like, hard so that it's more precise. It also lasts and lasts and is smudgeproof on me. It lasts me even through sweaty p.e. days though I never jumped into a pool with it on, so I don't know if it's water proof. The shape at the end is a little blocky, but I like that it gives you more variety in the brush strokes(I usually go for thin, though.). I think you may like Taupe, though maybe, based on Nyx comments, you might find it a bit too dark or warm. One comment describes it as barely cooler than honey but not cool in itself and another goes as far as to call it golden, like a light bronze color. I didn't find them metallic, by the way.
ReplyDeleteI love this eyebrow pencil in BP2 - Light Brown because the Blonde is to red for me. I have not been able to find it anywhere for months. Walmart is out in the store and online in this color, even Amazon only offers the Blonde or Dk Brown. Any suggestions on where else may have this product??
ReplyDeleteI've tried pencils, but prefer powder. I just find a compatible brown eyelid powder that is not glittery, but a matte, and use it with an eyeshadow brush to pounce into my eyebrows. It stays all day. Hair gel applied with an old used, but meticulously cleaned, mascara brush to smooth eyebrow hairs in place finishes it off.
ReplyDelete