eyebrows

The 17 Best Drugstore Products For Your Eyebrows

To define and fill in your brows, you don’t have to splurge on a trip to the salon to get microblading, lamination, or brow-tinting. Hell, you don’t even need to reach for an expensive, high-end brow product if you don’t want to. Your local drugstore offers plenty of affordable brow-grooming options — no matter what state your brows may be in. It’s got everything, whether you need an amazing clear gel because you’re blessed with perfect arches or a pencil to will fill in even the thinnest, sparest brows.

Keep scrolling to discover 17 drugstore eyebrow products beauty experts always keep in their kits!

Maybelline New York Brow Fast Sculpt Brow Mascara

Filling in super-dark brows can get messy without the right products, and that’s why Allure beauty editor Devon Abelman sticks to Maybelline New York Brow Fast Sculpt Brow Mascara. Its deep and widely spaced bristles coat every single brow hair, and its hardening formula holds them in place all day.

$8 (Shop Now)

Revolution Beauty Soap Styler

If you like fluffy, pushed-up brows, look to Revolution Beauty’s Soap Styler, a sticky formula that’s perfect for achieving the soap brow trend. It looks white in its pan but glides on clear, so someone of any skin tone or hair color can use it. 

$8 (Shop Now)

Hard Candy Brows Now! Precision Tip Brow Ink

The tiny, pointed tip on Hard Candy’s Brows Now! ink pen makes it a go-to for Allure staff writer Nicola Dall’Asen. Its dark, fluid pigment makes drawing on brow hairs one by one super quick and easy. 

$6 (Shop Now)

CoverGirl Easy Breezy Brow Powder Kit

The trio of shades in CoverGirl Easy Breezy Brow Powder Kit add extra depth and dimension, creating the illusion of fullness — and never the reality of smudginess, which is why it took home a 2018 Allure Best of Beauty Award for best brow powder.

$7 (Shop Now)

L’Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Boost & Set Brow Mascara

The angled brush on the L’Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Boost & Set Brow Mascara perfectly fluffs and arranges arches to give them perfect definition. The 2018 Best of Beauty winner for best clear brow gel holds hairs in place but also comes in three other shades (blonde, light brunette, dark brunette) to fill in any gaps.

$11 (Shop Now)

Nyx Eyebrow Cake Powder

For those who have natural brows that are hard shade to match, New York City-based makeup artist Stevie Huynh suggests the Nyx Eyebrow Cake Powder. “It comes with a wax that you could use before to intensify the powder and to groom the brow to shape,” he explains.

$6 (Shop Now)

Maybelline New York Brow Precise Fiber Volumizer

Thanks to fibers in the formula that cling to individual brow hairs, this Best of Beauty winner helps thicken and elongate your natural brow hairs. The Maybelline New York Brow Precise Fiber Volumizer is also a favorite of New York City-based makeup artist Ashleigh Ciucci because its formula has a “slight reflective quality which mimics the natural highlights in our brows.” 

If you want a sharper tail, she has a quick tip for you. “Dip into the applicator tip with an angled brush and paint the gel on for precision,” Ciucci recommends.

$10 (Shop Now)

L’Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Definer

Allan Avendaño, a Los Angeles-based makeup artist, has several drugstore brow product picks, but he calls the L’Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Definer his go-to. “It has a fine point that you can use to draw fine lines to mimic hair,” he says. “The end has a brush that you can use to blend those lines in and comb brows into place.”

$9 (Shop Now)

Revlon Brow Fantasy Pencil and Gel

“For those who are all about all-in-one products, I love the Revlon Brow Fantasy Pencil and Gel,” Avendaño says. On one end, you’ll find a traditional brow pencil formula that fills in the gaps along your brows. Then, you can comb it before locking it into place with the brow gel on the other end.

$10 (Shop Now)

CoverGirl Easy Breezy Brow Fill + Shape + Define Powder Eyebrow Makeup

Allure editorial director Sam Escobar likes to refer to the CoverGirl Easy Breezy Brow Fill + Shape + Define Powder Eyebrow Makeup as the ultimate lazy-day brow definer. The Best of Beauty Award winner is that easy to use. All you have to do is sweep the spongey applicator over your arches, and the powder fills in gaps while defining their shape.

$12 (Shop Now)

Joah Brow Down To Me Precision Brow Pencil

New York City-based makeup artists Vincent Oquendo and Nina Park are fans of the Joah Brow Down To Me Precision Brow Pencil, a super fine-tipped pencil inspired by K-beauty. “The colors it comes in are spot-on,” Oquendo says. “I find it very hard to get a good ashy brow pencil with depth beyond the makeup counter, let alone the drugstore. So when I stumbled upon this pencil, I was like, ‘Sign me up.'”

$9 (Shop Now)

Maybelline New York Brow Drama Sculpting Eyebrow Mascara

Los Angeles-based makeup artist Fiona Stiles prefers this brow mascara option from Maybelline because of its the curved spooley. “I find it gives more control than a mini, straight one,” she explains. Plus, the Brow Drama Sculpting Eyebrow Mascara’s formula isn’t too thick or too thin, Stiles adds, and the color selection covers all the bases.

Maybelline New York makes several brow products that professional makeup artists swear by, though. If you prefer a pencil, Carissa Ferreri, who works with Gina Rodriguez, recommends the Total Temptation Eyebrow Definer Pencil. “This mechanical pencil with its unique diamond shape allows for defined strokes of hair that look very natural,” she explains. “It’s perfect for subtly filling in or adding a bold, bushy brow. It’s also my favorite because it has a short round spooley brush on the other end, which is essential when shaping brows.”

$13 (Shop Now)

L’Oréal Paris Havana x Camila Cabello Gotta Give Liquid Brow

The L’Oréal Paris Havana x Camila Cabello Gotta Give Liquid Brow could easily be mistaken for a liquid eyeliner in your makeup bag. It has a similar formula, but touts an angled applicator that helps you outline and fill in your brows. Avendaño says the unique way to fill in brows may be weird to use at first, but it’s easy to get the hang of. “I like to put the product on a brow comb or spooley brush to blend it and create a full brow,” he says. “It’s actually quite an easy way to do your brows.”

$12 (Shop Now)

Maybelline New York Great Lash Clear Mascara for Lash and Brow

If you don’t need any added color and just want to tame your brow hairs, the Maybelline New York Great Lash Clear Mascara for Lash and Brow is a great option. “It’s invisible but helps keep the brows in place,” Quinn Murphy, a makeup artists who has worked with celebrities like Lily Aldridge, Dakota Fanning, and Isla Fisher, explains. You can seal in powders or pencil with it, too. “It’s a great grooming product or final touch to the brows,” he adds.

$7 (Shop Now)

Nyx Micro Brow Pencil

Robin Black, founder of Beauty Is Boring, is a self-professed brow product snob who generally gravitates towards higher-end picks. However, she finds the Nyx Micro Brow Pencil “surprisingly good.” Reason being? “The thin tip allows for precise application,” she explains. “And I love that it comes in eight shades, including deeper cool tones.”

$7 (Shop Now)

Revlon ColorStay Brow Pencil

Another one of Black’s drugstore exceptions to her high-brow product taste is the Revlon ColorStay Brow Pencil. “[Revlon has] revamped this classic with an angled tip that makes filling in your brows easy and quick,” she explains. It comes in five shades, but Black wishes it came in a medium taupe and a cool dark brown. Let’s put that into the universe.

$9 (Shop Now)

Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Mascara

When Avendaño needs a basic tinted brow gel, he reaches for the Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Mascara. “Sometimes you don’t even need to fill in your brows with a pencil,” he says. “This tinted brow gel does all the work with a couple of simple swipes.” He loves how it comes in three shades, which he considers to be great universal hues that suit most brow colors.

$16 (Shop Now)

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The 9 Best Brow Pens for Creating a Microblading Effect

Because the ink doesn’t go as deeply into the skin as body art, microblading fades over time. Depending on your skin type, it could last one to two years. Sometimes, you even need a touchup four to eight weeks after your first appointment.

However, getting that touchup right now isn’t exactly an option. With salons across the U.S. shuttered due to the COVID-19 outbreak, people have been trying professional services on themselves, like facials and haircuts. But at-home microblading is absolutely not an option. Luckily, brow pens that create the same effect — no painful incisions necessary — exist. Sure, their hair-like strokes for the illusion of fuller, defined arches last only about two days, but the pens work in a pinch. They provide a quick touchup for your next Zoom meeting and will hold you over until you can finally make an appointment with your favorite cosmetic tattooist once again. For those who’ve never gotten the procedure done before, consider this a way to satisfy your microblading curiosity, too.

Most of the brow pens on this list take a three-pronged approach to master a microblading effect — literally. Milk Makeup and Maybelline New York launched pens with toothed applicator for quickly etching on lines that look just like naturally grown brow hairs. MAC and Urban Decay also make ones with felt or brush tips like your go-to liquid liner, so you’ll be used to maneuvering it. No matter what applicator you prefer, you’re sure to find a suitable option for your brow grooming routine on this list of best brow pens for creating a microblading effect, below.

Essence The Eyebrow Pen

The Essence The Eyebrow Pen is a no-nonsense take on the toothed marker trend. Rake it through your arches with short, upward strokes, and your handiwork won’t budge until you wash your face. Fans of the tool also speckle on faux freckles with the pen. 

$4 (Shop Now) 

Glossier Brow Flick 

Glossier Brow Flick fills in where Boy Brow doesn’t. The latter tames and fluffs up arches; the paintbrush-like applicator of Brow Flick, on the other hand, focuses on the details. 

Fill in gaps and add definition where you need it, but keep this tip from New York City-based makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes in mind: the pen works best on “completely clean, oil-free brows, so you shouldn’t have any moisturizer on them or any oils or serums or any skin-care product — and no highlighters.” 

$18 (Shop Now) 

L’Oréal Paris Micro Ink Brow Pen

Comb the L’Oréal Paris Micro Ink Brow Pen through your brows like a little brush to bolster every hair for up to 48 hours straight. Its applicator has the sharpest edge on the market. Flip it over and elongate the tails of your arches with it. 

$11 (Shop Now) 

Milk Makeup Kush Triple Brow Pen

The ingredient list for the Milk Makeup Kush Triple Brow Pen could be confused for a skin-care product as it touts aloe, sunflower oil, and CBD oil – all to help nourish your brows and the skin underneath them. The pen is offered in a whooping eight hues in warm, cool, and neutral tones of blonde and brown, as well as auburn and black, so you’re find to find your perfect match. 

$22 (Shop Now) 

Revolution Pro Build & Grow Brow Serum Duo

The Revolution Pro Build & Grow Brow Serum Duo wants to be a part of all of your beauty routines. While doing your makeup, uncap the pigmented side in one of three variations of brown: ash, warm, and dark to sculpt your brows. 

When it’s time for your nighttime skin-care regimen, remove the white cap to reveal a market-like applicator to coat your arches in a transparent serum. We can’t attest to its hair growth claims, but millet seed extract and panthenol are sure to moisturize the area. 

$10 (Shop Now) 

MAC Shape + Shade Brow Tint

The forces of a pen and powder join together in one powerful baton. One of the MAC Shape + Shade Brow Tint is an ultra-fine felt tip liner to fill gaps; the other houses a self-depositing sheer pigment in its cap that clings onto the spongey tip. Smooth it onto arches to add dimension and lock in your brow look all day long. 

$22 (Shop Now) 

Maybelline New York TattooStudio Brow Tint Pen

Press down the tip to conveniently replenish the long-lasting inkiness of the Maybelline New York TattooStudio Brow Tint Pen — a genius feature most of the other pens lack. (For the others, store them cap side down to force the pigment to collect at the tip.) 

$10 (Shop Now) 

Sephora Collection Microblade Effect Brow Pen

Another thin brush tip option if the three-pronged applicators intimidate you: the Sephora Collection Microblade Effect Brow Pen. You can pick from two universal shades – light and deep – to make the faux microblading process that much more foolproof. 

$12 (Shop Now) 

Urban Decay Brow Blade

Although the Urban Decay Brow Blade is the priciest option on this list, it’s the perfect selection if your partial to a pencil. The two-in-one solution has a tiny retractable one that’s equally as neddle-like brush applicator for a subtle stain. Its shade range is also the most numerous with nine to choose from, including a universal color called Taupe Trap. 

$26 (Shop Now) 

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This $5 Brow Gel Has Replaced My Favourite Pricier One

Oh boy, my eyebrows were a casualty of the early teens in the sense that when I say I tweezed them into one singular line of hair, it’s not at all an exaggeration.

After time passed and trends evolved, I finally decided it was time to restore the damage I’d done on my brows. Thankfully, my brows — through years of training — rose from the ashes like a phoenix, and now, I tend to them like the miracle story they are. That of course includes using a brow gel on the daily so they look their best.

And since I generally try to scale back my makeup-wearing days to care for my skin, I often prefer to restock my usual makeup staples from more budget-friendly options — which is exactly how I found my new holy-grail brow product, the NYX Cosmetics Control Freak Eyebrow Gel. 

As is the case with most great makeup discoveries, I started with a Google search and ended up on Amazon. In my quest to find a dupe for my usual brow gel, I came across this NYX one thanks to the thousands of glowing reviews of the formula. Then, after spotting the $5 price tag, it was on my mind to purchase within seconds. 

Since I first tried Glossier’s Boy Brow years ago, I’ve been sold on it. It gives my brows just enough hold without feeling sticky and locks them in place throughout the day unlike any formula I’d used before. But with a $16 price tag, I wasn’t above finding a dupe, which in and of itself gives me a high, if you will. And based on the reviews, it’s clear I’m not the only one who’s made this discovery. 

“I bought this because I ran out of Boy Brow and didn’t feel like paying for a refill,” said one Amazon shopper. “I’m SO glad I didn’t. I will be using this from now on. This holds brows in place and isn’t heavy. You only need to sweep over the brows one time and you’re good. For such an affordable product I’m seriously so impressed, I don’t usually buy cheap makeup but this has blown my mind and now I’m wondering why I’ve been spending so much money on products that might work as well as drugstore brands.”

I’d have to agree. The clear gel tames my brows into a natural and defined shape, and keeps them that way throughout the day without ever feeling heavy or sticky. And at a price tag that’s less than a latte, it’s one staple I plan on keeping in my makeup bag for a very long time.

Buy on Amazon $5

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Glossy Posse-y

Products:

(Disclaimer: I do have Charlotte’s consent to post her images on designated websites including Facebook, Instagram, WordPress, and use in my digital portfolio.)

My Favourite Brow Gels At All Price Points

Set those babies for all-day wear; some recommendations are clear gels, some are tinted.

Essence Lash & Brow Gel Mascara ($2.99) & Make Me Brow Eyebrow Gel Mascara ($3.99)

E.L.F. Cosmetics Clear Brow & Lash Mascara ($2) & Wow Brow Gel ($4.97)

Rimmel Wonder’Full Brow Mascara $5.97

Almay Brow Styler Brow Mascara $6.99

NYX Cosmetics Tinted Brow Mascara ($7.50) & Control Freak Eyebrow Gel ($8)

Covergirl Easy Breezy Brow Shape & Define Eyebrow Mascara ($8.99) & Easy Breezy Volumizing Brow Gel ($9.49)

Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara ($6.99) & Tattoo Studio Eyebrow Gel ($12.99)

Maybelline Fast Sculpting Brow Gel $7.99

L’Oreal Brow Stylist Boost & Set Brow Mascara $10.99

Glossier Boy Brow $20

Make Up For Ever Brow Gel $20

Urban Decay Brow Finish Gel $21

MILK MAKEUP Kush Fiber Brow Gel $26

MAC Cosmetics Clear Brow Set ($22) & Eyebrows Big Boost Fibre Gel ($28)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Gel ($24) & Clear Brow Gel ($29.50)

Hourglass Arch Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel $28

Benefit Cosmetics 24-HR Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel ($32) & Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Eyebrow Gel ($32)

Grunge

Annie Tansley‘s face was an MUA’s dream to work with!

Products:
– Urban Decay Cosmetics NAKED3 eyeshadow palette, 
– Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz & definer in Dark Brown,
– BECCA Cosmetics highlighter in Moonstone, 
– MAC Cosmetics lipstick in Velvet Teddy.

(Disclaimer: I do have Annie’s consent to post her images on designated websites including Facebook, Instagram, WordPress, and use in my digital portfolio.)

5 Easy Makeup Tips That Make A Big Difference

  1. Learn how to use a felt-tip eyebrow styler for a more natural & fluffy brow look. It’s really delicate and creates hair-like strokes.

    MAC Shape & Shade Brow Tint
    Glossier Brow Flick
  2. Use multitasking products. For example, lipstick used as blush not only stays longer on the cheeks, but also creates cohesion in the look.

    There are also products that are designed to do both functions:
    MILK Makeup Lip + Cheek Sticks
    Many variations of Nudestix products
  3. If using a cream brozing/contouring product, don’t apply it directly on to your face (it can erase your base makeup and be harder to blend out). Pick up the product with your brush either directly from the product or the back of your hand, this allows for control over placement of it on your face and for a build-up to a desired intensity.

    Fenty Beauty Match Stix
    HUDA Beauty Tantour Cream
  4. Play around with different colours and looks when you have free time. You never know what looks you could create! You might find something that you like and something you don’t. You might incorporate some into your daily makeup routine.
  5. Learn how to properly line/overline your lips. Analyze the shape of your lips and only overline in the areas where there’s a more slim portion, and line the rest as regular. If you feel like you need to overline all over – please do! Makeup has no rules.

What are some of your makeup tips? Let me know in the comments below!