Brow Products for Incredibly Sparse & Short Eyebrows

I have incredibly sparse eyebrows from growing up with brow muses like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and others in the 90's. I totally over-plucked and now I'm left with really short and sparse eyebrows. It took me a while to catch up with everyone else, but I think I've finally remedied that with a few trusty tools.

THE TOOLS



To fix "SPARSE" I turn to...
Etude House Drawing Eyebrow Pencil in 01 Ash Brown
NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown
elf Eyebrow Kit in Medium

And to fix "SHORT" I lean on...
Etude House Mini Brow Class 3rd Class Drawing Guide





SOME MINI REVIEWS

FOR NATURAL LOOKING BROWS...

Etude House Drawing Eyebrow Pencil in 01 Ash Brown
I like this product, but we're not in love or anything. THE GOOD: The color is a nice neutral dark brown, though I'd hoped for something a bit more taupe or gray. The tip is sturdy and slanted, which makes it easy to get precise lines and it comes with a spoolie. THE BAD: Some people (those who are eyebrow hair-rich.. I'm jealous of you) may like this, but I find that I have to press really hard to get the product to deposit color.

NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown
This is my favorite brow pencil of the moment. It's basically an Anastasia brow wiz dupe, and if you can find a shade match for you in this range, you will not be disappointed. THE GOOD: The tip of the pencil is SO fine, you can get really natural looking brow strokes with it. It will last through the day, though it's not as long-lasting as a brow gel. It comes with a spoolie, and it's cheap. THE BAD: It would be great if NYX colors could be swatched, because this color that I picked up is a bit too warm. I still use it, but will be going back to see if NYX do any ashier colors. You'll see in the swatches below, that it's not too bad... just a smidge too warm.

FOR MORE DRAMATIC, INSTA-BROWS....

elf Eyebrow Kit in Medium
This is the one brow product I've been repurchasing over and over again. I've used the elf eyebrow kit since I discovered it in 2013. And this is AFTER I'd experienced Anastasia Beverly Hill's (hallowed be thy name) Dip Brow. THE GOOD: The color match is perfect, and the lasting power is insane. The brush that comes with the kit is really tiny and precise... and the brow powder (that I don't use on my brows) is great for contouring the crease. THE BAD: The only bad thing is that the brush is difficult to use the first few times around, as it starts off really flimsy. After it's been used a few times and been whetted in the vat of murky brow gel, aka gotten product on it, the brush stiffens up.

NOT-GONNA-HAPPEN BROWS....

If you have really sparse eyebrows, it's best to avoid brow mascaras, or "browcaras". They're great for taming unruly brow hairs, but see the prerequisite is that you actually have to have hairs to tame... :*( Really the only suitable use for browcaras for guys/gals like us are to tint the eyebrow hairs lighter or darker on top of the other products, or to set the products. You may see a slight volumizing effect, but it won't be enough on its own.

Just the tips... :X

Neutral, too warm, just right

THERE WAS A MENTION OF STENCILS? ARE WE COLORING?

Yizzur! We are.
I found that I could buy all of the brow products in the world, but it wasn't going to give me the results I wanted unless I could shape them correctly. I mentioned earlier that my eyebrows are not only sparse, but short. Just to elaborate, they kind of start a little too far away from my nose. I'm not entirely sure how they got to be that way... It seemed that young Joan was really afraid of unibrows.

I considered the elf brow stencils and the Anastasia Beverly Hill stencils before deciding on the Etude House Mini Brow Class 3rd Class Drawing Guide. The elf one didn't have great reviews online and everyone seemed to say the Anastasia ones are on the bigger/wider side. I also felt the ABH ones were a bit one-note. All three in the pack had roughly the same highly arched shape.



These brow stencils come as a set of three. There is a "chic" shape that has a medium-high arch. A "natural" shape that comes with a low-rounded arch, and extends a bit further. And last but not least, the "babyface" or "young face" straight-across brow a la Natalie Portman and every Korean A-lister ever.

I think these are a great pickup. There's a lot of variety in the shapes and they're made of a soft, silicone-y material that's easy to clean.

They're also really easy to use, and helped train my eye to make even my free-hand eyebrow drawing better.

See them in action below!

Today's skin courtesy of Sulwhasoo Evenfair Perfecting Cushion in 23. Review coming soon!

This skin is not Sulwhasoo, just sunscreen.

HOW TO USE BROW STENCILS VIDEO BELOW...


SHOP THE POST 

Thanks for reading! If you stuck it out until the end, I just wanted to let you know I picked up an extra set for a little giveaway! The giveaway is open to people in the U.S. and Canada. This time entry will be super simple. Just comment down below with a number from 1-100. The winner will be the commenter who gets the closest to the number I have in my head right now! The winner will be selected on Saturday, 12:00am Central.

If you're curious about my policy on press samples, affiliate links, and sponsors, see my disclaimer and policies.