Filipinos may love their lipsticks but eyebrow makeup is what they can’t live without! Having a nice pair of kilay is something of a national obsession, so it only makes sense that this would be the focus of Issy & Co’s newest release. ICYMI, this new Filipino brand recently broke into the local beauty scene with their vegan lipstick line in pretty, minimalist packaging. If you haven’t tried anything from them yet, I’m here to rave about their latest drop, the Brow Refiner!

This brow mascara instantly stands out because of its dual ended design: on one end is the brow gel to tint and tame brow hairs, while the other contains castor oil to encourage a lush hair growth. I haven’t found scientific studies that prove this claim but at least in Angela’s month-long test, she did notice that eyebrow hair got longer and thicker! If you have thin or sparse brows, this is a pretty convenient solution as you can wear the brow gel with your makeup routine, then apply castor oil at night to “treat” your brows while you sleep.

I’m actually pretty happy with my naturally bushy brows now, so I don’t use the castor oil much, but the brow gel is now part of my makeup routine. There are three shades available: Clear, Brown, and Ash. I like having a bit of tint to my brows and found Ash to be a great match for my dark hair.

The brow gel contains microfibers that help create a fuller brow look, so I can just lightly brush the small wand in the direction I want the brow hairs to be (up and out) and they instantly gain more definition. If I want to cover the sparse areas a bit more, I lightly press the brush against the skin so that it leaves more of a tint. This is a bit trickier to do and the gel sometimes looks a little dry. To prevent this, I apply a light coat of the castor oil before putting on the tint.

Apart from hair volumizing formula, a big part of why I love this brow mascara is the tiny brush that makes application pretty easy! I’ve long looked for a more affordable alternative to Benefit’s Gimme Brow but the drugstore options always had large, unwieldy applicators. Issy & Co’s version is a great dupe and it’s, gasp, just P349 for 6ml!

Brow mascaras are usually recommended for thicker brow types but I think they’re a great addition to any brow makeup routine. Before using the Brow Refiner, I normally used pencils but wanted something to add for better hair definition and hold. This has been a great solution so far, and I like to use it alone for days when I don’t want to spend more than 5 minutes on my face. Would definitely repurchase this, though I hope that they come out with an option for just the brow gel.

Shop Issy & Co at Shopee, Lazada, and BeautyMNL.

Photography by Nicole Quindara

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