L'Oreal Paris Brow Artist Genius Kit

Aloha! 

I'm just gonna cut to the chase on this one because I'm too excited about this product to begin with an elaborate introduction. So, meet my new brow BFF! L'Oreal Paris Brow Artist Genius Kit This isn't a newly released product in fact, it's been around for a while now but I tend to steer clear of experimenting with my eye brows. I think we've all experienced a brow dilemma, when trying something new, so once we find a product that works for us we naturally stick with it but this has certainly encouraged me to branch out a bit more! As a fair red head, I have naturally blonde eye brows so I get them tinted to a medium brown but finding the perfect shade, in a product, has proven difficult. They're either too dark or too cool and sometimes appear grey (?!) but whilst browsing for new beauty buys, I casually picked up the light-medium shade, and to my surprise it was perfect so this is a definite recommendation for my fair haired beauties!

I love the compact packaging, I mean it's basically a tardis! It's so sleek and dainty yet it includes a good sized, high quality mirror, brow wax, powder, a double ended brush and the cutest pair of tweezers! The quality of this product is what impressed me the most and I honestly believe it's worth every penny. Normally, with an item like this I find when the actual product is good, the brush it comes with is completely useless and so it gets tossed aside along with the many other free brushes; only to be used for face paint or nail art. However, this super soft high-density angled brush works wonders to create defined lines and structured angles. The only fault I have is the handle is too short to use on a daily basis so I have being using my regular angled brush more often than not. Saying that, it won't go to waste as I'll certainly be using it for on the go touch ups and whilst travelling.

When I first used the wax I felt skeptical as it seemed barley noticeable, although it has a very smooth consistency, which made it easy to shape and define my brows in the way I wanted to. However, when I applied the easy-blend powder it was like BAM- instant transformation! I wouldn't say it was essential to brush my brows afterwards (as it is with other brow products) but doing so did add a certain sleek-ness.  Admittedly, it does take longer to apply than a pencil or brow mascara but for the finish I think it's worth it. What's more, it stays in place for 12+ hours and is somewhat smudge proof so you can rely on this to cater for all your brow care needs. I personally wouldn't recommend this to someone who's a beginner in brow defining or looking for a quick fix but for those of you who's brows are precious I'd highly recommend.

Neeks ☯ 

Maybelline BROWdrama Sculpting Mascara

Aloha! 

Let's start with a little background info on my brows. Being a natural red head I'm subject to the annoyance of having translucent eyebrows that in no way shape or form provide a frame for my face. They've always needed a little assistance but the hassle of getting them tinted every 4 weeks means that I had to befriend the trusty brow pencil. Don't get me wrong, this works fine but when humidity or a careless touch to the face strikes again it leaves me on a continuous search to find a better alternative. 

Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara promises a 'a long-wearing formula that won't streak, clump or flake' for a 'natural  finish'. I was really excited to try this as I thought a more natural effect would be better for the summertime but to tell you the truth I was a bit disappointed. After umming and arring I felt compelled to buy the  'dark blonde' shade as the brown was way to dark for me. I got the impression that it would be really easy to apply but on my first attempt I actually had rub it off and start all over again. Baring in mind, I'm pretty make-up savvy and usually brows are a piece of cake, I felt the small mascara brush with the rounded end made it more difficult than it had to be. For me, in order to achieve the even, streak free coat, that Maybelline promised,  I actually had to spend a good 7 minutes on them and despite all that effort I didn't think it was worth it for the result I got.

It's not all that bad through! It does stay on all day, doesn't clump or flake, and it does provide a natural finish but for me it was just too natural and barely noticeable. I did attempt to add more product to see if that made a difference but unfortunately it just made matters worse and once it dried I was left with crispy eye brows (eww). If you already have well shaped, dark brows I would imagine this would actually be a good product for you because you wouldn't need to use it to actually 'colour' your brows and the sculpting aspect is actually rather good, however, for us fair haired ladies it simply isn't enough to use it on it's own. 

After a few more attempts to get the best out of this product I finally started to shape my brows with a pencil first and then add the mascara over the top to seal it in. This seems to work quite nicely and despite being dissapointed in the product, overall, if you have the right kind of brows and are looking for a quick polish this mascara is the ideal product for you and could potentially work wonders! 

Wax, powder, pencil, gel or mascara? How do you shape your brows?

Neeks x