I went in the MAC store other day to grab a concealer, but also walked out with a brow mascara in tow. Well, I was overdue for a new one anyway! I was super curious about the limited edition MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set (P1,000), part of the Waterproof Brow Collection Summer 2014, so I chose this instead of the regular one. 

I originally wanted the color that's similar to Girl Boy, a golden blonde, but since most of the shades were already out of stock I went home with Quiet Brunette. Boy am I glad! It's a taupey brown shade with a reddish tint to it, just the perfect color for my dark hair. I think this is the first EVER brow mascara I've tried that doesn't require me to layer it with other colors. This is pigmented enough that I can just wear it straight from the tube, plus the color suits my hair and complexion. 

The wand is now small and conical so it's easier to coat eyebrow hairs without making a mess. Staying power is excellent - I've sweated quite a bit while wearing this, but it didn't fade or smudge at all!

Confession: last night, I spent seven hours watching a Korean show called "My Love From Another Star". It tells the story of a 400-year old extra-terrestrial man and a haughty actress set in the present. The story is good, and it's pretty funny when it needs to be! Love the characters, the wardrobe, and the makeup. You've gotta watch it if you have about 21 hours of your life to kill! One episode is like 60 minutes!

I don't have a lot of extra time lately but y'all know what I'm going to do this weekend. Watch it here if you're interested. ;) Do let me know how you like it, especially if you've already seen it. Thanks for the heads up Bea!

Anyway, since Korean makeup heavily figures in my mind today I thought I'd show you The Face Shop Style My Eyebrow Pencil (~P200). Koreans love their brows slightly thicker but at the same time utra light - no harsh lines must be seen, and the shading must look completely natural. This TFS pencil does the job!

It has a soft texture which makes it easy to shade and blend on top of eyebrow hair. It looks super soft when properly blended! It's a bit more pigmented than I'd prefer in a brow pencil, but as long as you use a light hand you'll be fine.

Sigh, I'm right in the middle of having them one of those insanely busy days. But, I always have time to blog! Even if it's just 30 minutes. :P Today I'd like to show you the Benefit Gimme Brows Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel (P1,000+). I remember loving the Brow Zings so I was pretty excited to get my hands on this one. 

Gimme Brows promises to define, shape, and volumize your brows in go. True enough, this does it for me! It's long-wearing too and hardly fades even when I'm out all day. It's pretty easy to use with such a small wand - you get a lot of room to shade small sparse areas and to build them up in segments if you wish.

The texture is watery and coverage is sheer upon initial application. It's definitely not your typical brow mascara in that regard! Others would be thick so you can't really go back to re-do certain areas, plus they rather dry up quickly. Gimme Brows is buildable and gives me enough time to work with it. 

The Estee Lauder Double Wear line is gold. It features the brand's longest-wearing products, which are a godsend in our humid tropical weather! I have the new pan concealer and it's quite reliable for all-day affairs. But that's a review for another day. Today I want to talk about the Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Brow Lift Duo (P1,000+), an excellent double-ended pencil for perfect, understated eyebrows.

If you liked my eyebrows in my recent looks, this is what I had on! At first I was unconvinced about the shades - the brown end looked very faint in the swatches while the champagne is almost invisible. But once they're on my brows all I can say is, much wow! This is my current fave brow product. <3 I am aware I have A LOT but I can't help it! I'm particular about my eyebrows and I get a high whenever I discover new products for them.

Have a look!

Left is Soft Brown, right is Highlight

I think I'm over my strong eyebrow phase. I currently prefer softer arches that make my face look less "done", if you know what I mean! I've given up my pens, creams, and even pencils to do my brows, instead relying on powder products to sculpt them to my liking. They're also quicker to work with and require less care when it comes to application.  

That said, my current favorite brow product is the Ellana Mineral Eyebrow/ Eyeshadow Quad (P350). This is technically pressed mineral eyeshadow, but the colors are intended to mix beautifully to create your perfect eyebrow match. Whether you're a brunette, blonde, or redhead, you can get brows close to your current hair color. Oh, and have a neutral everyday eyeshadow palette to boot!

Pigmentation and finish. The colors are pigmented when used as eyeshadow, but softer over eyebrows. Weird no? But it works! I use a large, bushy angled brush (from Ellana also) to apply this on my brows. Perhaps because the brush is synthetic, I'm not getting too much pigmentation from this palette. The finish is a creamy matte that looks totally natural. 

I lost my MAC Girl Boy (a moment of silence please) so recently I've been on the lookout for a more suitable replacement. Sure I can purchase it any time, but it's more fun to look for something new to try out, amirite? Anyway, I came upon this interesting eyebrow mascara from the Face Shop. I've been using it for about two weeks now!

The Face Shop Color My Eye Brow in 02 Light Brown (P395) is is a blonde brown that can be used alone if you have light hair. However, it needs to be layered on top of a dark pencil or powder if you have dark hair (as in my case). This has a gel-like, slightly thick consistency that coats brows evenly and stays put on me all day.

When I started (erm, mildly) obsessiing over my eyebrows, I loved using pencils. Then I loved powders, because I feel they give me face a softer look. Then I loved pens because they offer so much more precision with the same natural effect. But now, my absolute favorite formula when it comes to eyebrow makeup is cream. Nothing beats a cream formula when it comes to shading eyebrows - it is precise yet natural, creamy and soft-looking at the same time. The clincher is the color though. I find that they are more complex and more flattering on my skin.

I've only tried two gel/cream formulas so far, but I'm definitely interested to get more! I've already reviewed the MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme. This time, I have the Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Brow Mousse (P1,400 from Stuff In Style). I actually discovered this by accident only, while browsing through Instagram. Stuff In Style posted this and I was like, wow! This could be the dupe of the MAC Fluidline for brows, which is limited edition and already out of stock.

So is it? A dupe? This brow mousse has the same wonderful color payoff and super smooth, natural finish. It also stays on pretty much all day - I wore it to my yoga class yesterday and it didn't budge. But that's where the similarity ends.

A matte, neutral brown eyeshadow can do more than just shade your eyes - it can also perform well as eyebrow makeup. You're basically paying once for two items! How's that for a good deal? 

One of my favorite eyebrow powders is the MAC Espresso Eyeshadow (P1,000). This single eyeshadow is a neutral, mid-brown that suits most skintones, making it famous with makeup artists as a brow color. I actually like it better on my eyebrows than on my lids; it sticks to the skin so well, it can be a tad difficult to spread.

It lasts on my eyebrows all day. It's great for oily skin, where other more emollient products  seem to break down faster. It's also fairly easy to work with as long as you have a stiff eyebrow brush like this one from Charm.

I find that Esperesso isn't intense on the first layer so you can get more control in terms of pigmentation.

As you know one of my favorite eyebrow pencils is the Shu Uemura Hard Formula brow pencil. It is quite expensive, but it is AWESOME. Most people would think twice in spending for it (I know I did) but I find that it's totally worth the expense. Still, if you want something like it but don't have the cash to burn, I highly recommend the Majolica Majorca Brow Customize Sword Cut Pencil (P520 for the set)!

The shape of this auto-pencil is actually the same as Shu Uemura's Naginata sword cut. This shape makes it easier to get more precision when shading your eyebrows, although you do need to wear down the sharp sides first. The tip is just a little awkward in the beginning.