They say “A well-shaped eyebrow is one of the best weapons in your beauty arsenal”.
After learning that well-shaped eyebrows make all the difference in giving the face an overall balanced and polished look, I went to do some casual research on which are the best eyebrow pencils. I wanted something cheap and of reasonably quality and when I saw recommendations for Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil, I was elated! We have Rimmel in Singapore! YES!!!
So the very next day I bounced into Watsons and got myself one in Dark Brown.
This was my very first eyebrow pencil so there wasn’t much (or anything) to compare it to. Here’re my thoughts on the Rimmel eyebrow pencil.
Industrial-strength Brush
A small brush with extremely hard bristles comes attached to the cap. I didn’t like it at all. When I applied more than a little force in combing my brows with the brush, I saw a few strands of my brows coming off! Noooooo….!!!
On subsequent tries I used less force (I didn’t even use a lot of strength the first time!), and my eyebrow hairs didn’t get ripped off. However the brush just didn’t make me feel very comfortable. I then stopped using the toilet brush and used my cheap Watsons house brand spoolie my mum bought for me some years ago instead.
Limited Colors
The Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil is available in 3 shades – Black Brown (004), Hazel (002) and Dark Brown (001). I swatched it at Watsons and even though I thought Dark Brown seemed pretty dark, I decided to give it a try. Hazel was too orangey red and Black Brown was WAYYYY too dark.
I have a feeling 003 would be a good match. It’ll be less dark than Dark Brown and more brown than Hazel. Too bad they don’t have it. (Trying to fill the void with speculation. LOL.)
I wore it for a couple of months and thought the eyebrow pencil actually made me look even fiercer with my dark and thick brows.
=|
Then came my company’s DND and our team was going for the Goth look. I did some research on what a Goth look entails – dark eyes, red/maroon/nude lips, plain cheeks, and dark and highly arched brows. So I whipped out the Rimmel eyebrow pencil that was sitting in a lonely corner of my makeup cabinet and put it to good use.
I did a ‘makeup rehearsal’ for the look I was going for for the DND. I emphasized the eyes with plenty of black, using NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean, NYX single eyeshadow in Black, MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack, Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero and of course, Urban Decay Primer Potion to ensure all those layers stay well through the night.
As for the brows, I gave them a sharper arch than what I normally wear and filled them in with the Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown. My hair was a much darker brown than it is now, and with the black eye makeup, they probably look quite okie. But it really is too dark for daily wear, especially now that my hair color is a much lighter shade of brown.
Rehearsal
(Pardon the poor quality image. I took it with my iPhone 3GS under poor lighting.)
Actual Day
(I don’t have a close-up picture to show my brows for the actual day. This is the closest I could find. Here applying makeup for my colleague.)
Pencil Form!
I personally don’t fancy pencils – eyebrow pencil, eyeliner pencil, lip pencil… I don’t like to have to sharpen them and deal with blunt tips and not be able to achieve the desired precision during application if I don’t have a sharpener in hand. I guess blunt eyebrow pencils aren’t as much a hassle as compared to a blunt eyeliner pencil or lip pencil, but still.
Staying Power
I like that the Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil doesn’t fade very much. Maybe the super hard bristles forced the color into the skin to make the color stay. O.o
Natural-looking Brows
If not for the wrong color match for me, the quality of this eyebrow pencil can actually triumph my dislike for eyebrow pencils that require sharpening. It creates really natural-looking eyebrows! With a light hand, draw on the eyebrows using soft strokes. The result is defined yet natural-looking brows. Unfortunately dark brown is too dark for me, and black and hazel are definitely out.
I’d have liked it more if they came in more shades to match more skintones. So if you manage to find a match from the 3 colors and don’t have an issue with sharpening pencils, this would be a great eyebrow pencil because it is not easy to find an eyebrow pencil that doesn’t smudge or fade easily. It is also cheap and can be found in most drugstores. Oh, just remember not to use too much pressure with the brush!
This to Bun Bun is:
Have you tried the Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil? What do you think of it?
