Budget Beauty: Four Brow Pens Under P500
There’s something traumatizing about looking at the mirror late in the afternoon, only to see that you’ve only got one well-drawn eyebrow left. It’s an embarrassing situation that I’ve found myself in a couple of times because of my oily skin, and because I was stuck without any products for retouching, I resorted to go bare-browed instead as the lesser evil.
Don’t get me wrong: there are tons of great brow products in the market. But my skin type and my bad habit of eyebrow scratching have proven to be a challenge to a good number of pencils, mascaras, and gels. Brow tattoos are currently out of my budget so I looked for the next best alternative: brow tattoo pens whose liquid formulations make them ideal. When they dry on the skin, they are practically budge-proof! Best of all, there are bang-on eyebrow pens that you can get with a budget of just P500!
Nichido Acti Brow Tri-Tip 24Hr Eyebrow Marker (P238, beauty section)
This eyebrow pen is perfect if you have a lot of brow ground to cover! It has a three-tip design made of a firm, felt material that’s designed to help drawing brow hairs much easier. It’s also quite pigmented with a vibrant color payoff so you have to make sure to blend it well to keep your brows from looking to strong and drawn-on. The catch is: the shade options are limited and look too reddish on natural brunettes so we’d only recommend trying this if you have reddish colored hair. This has survived through rain, sweat, and oil on me, so you can rest assured that you’ll be headed home with your brows intact. Find our full review here!
Catrice Long Lasting Brow Definer (P349, SM Beauty)
If you’re after creating light, natural-looking brows, the tip of this pen is similar to that of the thin tip of an eyeliner. It makes it easier to create fine, hair-like strokes for filling in gaps in your brow hair and extending the tail without making it look unnatural. The brow pen is also available in three quirky shades: flASHy Brows (ashy blonde), Brow’dly Presents (reddish brown), and Chocolate Brow‘nie (dark brown). The color also stays on for a good 8 to 10 hours!
The Face Shop Ink Graffi Eyebrow Tint Pen (P495, The Face Shop boutiques)
The firm, jumbo tip admittedly looks pretty intimidating but with a good amount of practice, it’s pretty easy to use. If you’re worried about caked-on color, this has a thin formulation that sits well on the while giving it a faint amount of color. It appears light but the color is buildable and can be applied in layers for a more intense appearance.
Image via jasmijncherubijn.be
Tony Moly 7 Days Tatoo Eyebrow (P398, TonyMoly boutiques)
That’s not a typo: it’s really spelled that way. It doesn’t actually last 7 days but you really don’t want to keep your makeup on beyond a single day anyway! It has great staying power though and can withstand sweat, water and a fair bit of rubbing. The pigmentation is light and natural-looking. Funnily enough, the instructions say to apply them the night before your intended use so if you want to skip having to do your brows the next morning, make sure to clean your face very well before applying this. Don’t worry - it won’t transfer to your beddings!
As these brow pens have a liquid formulation, they dry quite easily and can end up making blending tricky if you don’t act fast enough. Make sure to secure the cap and store them horizontally, with the tip facing down. If you’re not sure about which shade to get, it’s usually better to err on the side of the lighter shade as they have a more natural effect. Apply with a light hand and short strokes to mimic the look of hair rather than coloring the full area as a solid block.
Are you a brow pen convert? What are your budget picks? Share your thoughts on the comments below!
Header image via kirschbluetenblog.at
