Power to the Brows: My daily brow essentials

Growing up, I had extremely thick, hairy eyebrows that for the most part, I was extremely embarrassed of. Thin, heavily plucked brows were the sign of the times and everywhere I looked I got the message that my naturally bushy brows were anything but cute. As early as middle school, my aunt took me to get my first eyebrow waxing and the obsession snowballed from there. In retrospect I wish I’d learned to own the natural growth and personality of my eyebrows and focused on proper brow maintenance rather than plucking furiously every night.

Nowadays, the trends all point to full and healthy brows and I think it’s about time. I’m more in-tune with natural brow care and sadly, trying to regrow my eyebrows back to their natural, hairier existence. I’ve never shared about my favorite eyebrow products before, so here are the beauty products I’m currently using to maintain a polished, healthy brow:

Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow: Though not a “clean” beauty product, I’ve been trying to use up my “dirty” favorite. I like the unique texture of Aqua Brow: it’s a gel-like cream that dries quickly and stays in place all day. Not even sweat, humidity, or water can budge this baby. It takes a while to get used to working with this texture but with practice, it’s worth it. The shades aren’t the best and I find that the color I use, 25- Ash,  sometimes looks a bit unnatural on me. You also have to use a light hand with this product as the pigmentation is really dark. I also use the tiniest bit and always have enough for both brows.  I used to wear this product everyday but I’ve limited my use of it as I’d like to find a natural alternative. There are plenty of great options that have jumped onto the scene recently namely, EcoBrow, which I’m curious to see if it compares to (and can replace) my love for Aqua Brow. $22 at Sephora.

I like using the EcoBrow Eyebrow Defining Brush when applying Aqua Brow. (Yes, I bought the brush before even trying the actual EcoBrow product because I’m weird like that. Also wanted to finish up the MUF product before buying other things.) This brush has a nice angled design with short, dense hairs. The vegan bristles are stiff and short enough to create a more precise brow shape and the brush is easy to use. I also love the short spoolie end for effortless blending. $23, EcoBrow or The Detox Market.

ZuZu Luxe Natural Brow Pencil: I’ve gotten increasingly lazy, er– more simplistic in my approach to beauty and one of the products I must always have in my possession is a good eyebrow pencil. Maybe it’s the age-old Asian tradition of never leaving the house without at least your brows “on” (yes, it’s definitely a cultural thing or at least it is in my family,) but I never feel quite myself without my trusty brow pencil.  I was quite obsessed with the Benecos Natural Eyebrow Designer pencils (yes, that is the actual name) but after using them for ages, most of the Whole Foods markets I’ve visited seem to have stopped selling them. I resorted to picking up one of the other brow pencils available at my Whole Foods from ZuZu Luxe and I actually like it much better than Benecos’. Though I do miss the cheaper price-point of the Benecos pencil…

ZuZu Luxe’s pencil is really pigmented yet has a great waxy texture that keeps hairs in place, as opposed to the softer formula of the Benecos pencil. I was a bit scared by picking up the pencil in the color “Jet” because it sounded like a really harsh color, but for someone with dark black hair, this actually matches nicely to my natural brow color and doesn’t look so obviously penciled-in. I’m really pleased with how well I can keep my brows sharp and defined with this pencil, it’s a new staple that I’m going to keep stocking up on. $13.99 approx. at Gabriel Cosmetics, Pharmaca, Whole Foods stores.

Beautycounter Color Define Brow Pencil*: I was recently introduced to a lot of Beautycounter’s beauty product thanks to my friend Amy, who recently became a rep for the popular brand (full review coming soon). While I’ve heard great things about Beautycounter’s face and lip products, I was mostly curious about how their eyebrow pencil formula stacked up. Another great pencil alternative, the Color Define Brow Pencil (I use the shade, Dark) provides a natural, buildable appearance and holds up very well throughout the day. It is definitely more brown-toned than the ZuZu Luxe pencil, but it is also more subtle. I would say this is the most natural-looking of the bunch and a little bit goes a long way. You might be a bit hesitant by the lack of shades available, there are only 3 shades, but I think the buildable pigmentation makes up for this fact. The formula could have a bit more hold, but I find that whenever I use this eyebrow pencil, my brows last all day. $20 at Beautycounter.

Make sure you have a good pencil sharpener if using eyebrow pencils. I always have my trusty NYX 2-In-1 Pencil Sharpener on hand. It has a small sharpener hole for eyebrow and eyeliner pencils, a larger sharpener for jumbo pencils like eyeshadow crayons, and all pencil shavings fall inside the packaging for no mess sharpening and easy cleanup. This dual-use sharpener features high quality German steel blades that always leave my products on point (pun intended)! It’s also a steal for $4 and can be found at most drugstores carrying NYX products. $4.49 at Ulta or Target. 

I’m always looking to pump up my brow routine! I’ll be sharing more about how I’m maintaining my brows with natural products soon.

Have you tried any of these products? What are your favorite products to use for brows? Do you have any recommendations for natural, organic eyebrow products I should try next?

Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow #25 ingredients: Water, Isododecane, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Propylene Carbonate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Magnesium Sulfate, Methylpropanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Mica, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Silica, Talc, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Myristate, p-Anisic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tromethamine, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Tocopherol, [+/- CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides)].

ZuZu Luxe Eyebrow Pencil ingredients: Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax*, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Xanthan Gum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Crithmum Maritimum (Sea Fennel)Extract*, Hectorite, Lecithin, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide.

Beautycounter Color Define Brow Pencil ingredients: Synthetic Japan Wax, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Ozokerite, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Silica, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Mica,Carmine, Iron Oxides.

*Indicates a product sent for my consideration. Post contains some affiliate links.