I haven’t had my eyebrows professionally tidied in approximately seven years. And it’s not through lack of need—trust me. My brows are dark, coarse and unruly. Straggly hairs sprout at all angles and are a far cry from subtle. But truthfully, I kind of like their wild ways. I have always been an advocate for big, bushy eyebrows, and I simply found that with every salon appointment, I got further and further away from the wild brows I craved. However, ever since going on brow strike all of those years ago, I have seriously struggled to find products that work for me.
You see, while growing your brows wild sounds great in theory, in practice, they require quite a bit of styling to make them passable. While pencils only make my already dark hairs look even darker, putties and pomades seem to give too much structure, resulting in a stencil-like finish. So for the most part, I’ve exclusively used brow gels, which hold the hairs in place without depositing too much colour, for the past few years. While I’ve had favourites, it wasn’t until I tried Charlotte Tilbury’s Brow Fix earlier this year that I really got to experience greatness.
The first time I used Brow Fix, I was just expecting it to be another bog-standard brow gel. In honesty, I’d learned to live with the fact that most brow gels are little more than satisfactory. But when I applied it to my brows, I realised this stuff was different. First up, it’s a clear gel, which is perfect for my no-makeup makeup preferences. While so many clear gels out there turn white and crusty once dry, this stuff does no such thing. It applies like a silky balm that makes brows look conditioned and glossy. For me it’s a brush-it-on-and-go sorta product, but for those who like their brows to look a little fuller, it’s ideal for use over pencil or pomade.
Secondly, I want to talk about the brush because I think it’s the pièce de résistance. For so long, my brow routine had to involve an additional spoolie. I would brush my brows up first, really getting into the root and lifting them up and out, and then I would set them with my gel of choice. The reason being that the majority of brow gels have tiny brushes that are great for depositing product but truly terrible at combing brows into place. This brush, however, is big and really works into the root of the brow, meaning I have been able to ditch my additional spoolie.
Finally, I want to talk about the finish because it wasn’t actually until the fifth person complimented me on my brows in one week (trust me—this never happens) that I realised just how great this stuff is. It sticks hairs in place all day long without turning them stiff and crunchy. It’s much more lightweight and low-maintenance than some of the new soap-like balms and has serious staying power. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll never need to use any other brow product ever again.
