The best eyebrow pencils for achieving a natural, yet defined, look

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Erin MayerAug 8, 2020, 03:54 IST
The best eyebrow pencils for achieving a natural, yet defined, look
  • Eyebrow pencils are a low-effort way to fill in sparse areas and add dimension and color to your brows.
  • Our top pick, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, is a cult classic beloved by beauty editors and customers alike. The tip is ultra-thin which means you can draw super fine lines that look like natural hairs.

Bold brows don't seem to be going anywhere, as evidenced by the million different products designed to fill in sparse areas and darken the hair above your eyes. While we love all sorts of brow products, a classic brow pencil is by far the least fussy option out there.

Brow pencils are versatile, giving you the option to draw new hairs in sparse areas or simply add a bit of definition. The formulas tend to look fairly natural and soft, mimicking the look of actual brow hair, which can be harder to achieve with other types of brow products like pomades and gels.

I personally like to keep my brows fairly subtle. Typically, I use a couple swipes of Glossier Boy Brow and call it a day, but I appreciate the level of control that pencils provide, and generally find them harder to overdo.

Methodology and criteria used to determine the best eyebrow pencils:

For each brow pencil tested, I considered how easy it was to apply and blend, the wear time throughout the day, and how well it resembled my real brow hairs. I also paid attention to the shape and size of each pencil to determine ease-of-use and value, and whether it had extra features like an attached spoolie. I wore each product at least three times to ensure the consistency of the performance.

The best eyebrow pencils you can buy:
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Best eyebrow pencil overall

Best eyebrow pencil overall
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz is a staple for a reason. The super-slim pencil and fool-proof color selection make it easy to fill in brows with a natural-looking base of color or by drawing on individual hairs.

If you're researching brow pencils, chances are you've come across Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz time and time again. It's an absolute cult classic — the brow pencil that all other brow pencils aspire to be. And it really is that good.

I went into this pretty skeptical. Did I really need a $23 brow pencil when plenty of other affordable (and practically identical) options existed at the drugstore? The answer is obviously no. We're talking brow pencils, not car insurance. But if you're looking for a brow pencil that does it all in record time, lasts all day, and looks natural while doing it, this is one really is the best.

One of the main selling points of Brow Wiz is its size. The tip is extremely tiny, which makes it tremendously versatile. My brows are fairly thin, especially on the ends, and many brow pencils are too thick for me, making it easy to overdraw and get color where I don't want it and requiring more finesse for a natural look. With Brow Wiz, I can easily sketch faux hairs only where I want them.

Color intensity is another plus. The pencils are not super pigmented but they are buildable, so you don't end up with Sharpie brows after one stroke. I also love the attached spoolie on the opposite end, which is much softer and more luxe than the others I tried. The color selection is not bad either, with 12 shades total.

To apply, just lightly outline the top and bottom part of the brows, blending with the spoolie, and then adding precise detail strokes to the sparse areas. I really appreciate how flexible the color is and how well it blends after you place it down, which means you don't have to get it perfect right away.

The one downside is that it can't be sharpened, but since the size of the pencil is so thin to begin with, it won't dull down to a tip that's too large to still use effectively.

Pros: small tip, solid color range, blendable, not too pigmented

Cons: expensive, can't be sharpened, not waterproof

The best eyebrow pencil with a brush-tip

The best eyebrow pencil with a brush-tip
Glossier
Brow Flick from Glossier is a waterproof brush-tip marker that makes fine, pigmented strokes that last all day long.

Glossier Boy Brow is my ride-or-die, desert island brow product, the one I reach for pretty much every day. So when the brand announced an extension of their brow offerings in the form of Brow Flick, a brush-tip "brow detailing pen," I knew I had to see what the fuss was about.

After testing it for a while, you can color me impressed. Brow Flick has a long, thin tip similar to what you might find on a liquid liner. This gives you a lot of control over where the product goes, so you can draw very fine lines to fill in the gaps in your brows. There's a bit of a learning curve — the first time I used this I ended up with a brown smudge under the arch. You need to find the right angle and draw with an extremely light hand. It's an ideal pick if your main goal is to artificially create a new brow shape.

The formula is waterproof (I actually find it a bit difficult to wash off unless I use an oil-based cleanser) as well as vegan and cruelty-free. Although the brand describes the finish as "sheer," I found it to be quite pigmented, but not aggressively so. I recommend layering Boy Brow over the top if you want bold all-over color, since Brow Flick is designed for targeted application.

Brow Flick is available in three shades, Brown, Black, and Blonde, but we hope to see them add an option for redheads or some tonal variations in the future.

Pros: waterproof, flexible brush, buildable

Cons: requires a bit of a learning curve, some reviewers note product dries out quickly, only three shades

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Best waterproof eyebrow pencil

Best waterproof eyebrow pencil
Benefit
Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil lives up to its name—it's nearly impossible to mess up. The formula glides on like butter, giving you natural and long-lasting brow definition in a few swipes.

Many brow pencils, even the really good ones, require trial-and-error. It often takes a few tries to figure out exactly how much pressure you should apply, exactly how to angle the tip for the most control, and whether you need to worry about sweating the whole thing off in a couple of hours.

Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil really is as easy as it claims to be. The color glides on easily without being too pigmented, and the unique shape of the tip makes getting the lines you want fairly simple. My skinny brows appreciate the angled, tear-drop shape, though it is a little bit thicker than I tend to prefer.

The pointed end can be used to fill in the tail-end of the brows, which tends to be the thinnest, sparsest area, while the thicker side can add dimension to the front and middle sections. This makes it easy to avoid over-drawing the area or smearing the pencil outside the brow-line, which is an issue I've had with thicker pencils.

I also appreciate how soft and full the attached spoolie is, unlike many similar designs which can be stiff and scratchy.

But this pencil's strongest selling point is the waterproof formula, which lasts for around 12 hours. It's not tough to wash off with an oil-based remover, but it also won't melt on hot, sweaty days or after a dip in the pool.

Pros: versatile pointed tip, waterproof for up to 12 hours, quick to fill in

Cons: point is a bit thick for very skinny brows, expensive

The best eyebrow pencil for blondes

The best eyebrow pencil for blondes
Sephora
The Fenty Beauty Brow MVP Ultra Fine Brow Pencil & Styler has a wide shade range that encompasses most naturally-occurring hair colors, including three different blonde tones.

As a brunette, I'm fairly spoiled with the number of brow pencil options available to me. Dark brown tends to be one of the default brow pencil colors, while blondes and redheads have a harder time finding a match. Leave it to Rihanna's shade-range-conscious brand Fenty Beauty to change the game.

The Brow MVP Ultra Fine Brow Pencil & Styler comes in 14 colors. Blondes have three options: Light Blonde, Medium Blonde, and Dark Ash Blonde. There are also several shades each for redheads, brunettes, and black hair. Since I am brunette, I personally tested the Dark Brown shade and found it to be a nice match.

One side is a roll-up pencil, while the other has a small brush for grooming the brows. The texture on the pencil is a bit waxy and I find that it needs some warming up before it runs smoothly. Once you get it going, it's easy to use.

There's a unique little brush in lieu of a spoolie on the opposite end that I think would be better for thicker, bushier brows because it's quite dense. I personally prefer a spoolie. The pencil is waterproof, so it stands up well to long wear times with smudging or transferring, and you don't have to fear your brows rinsing off if you get caught in the rain.

Pros: 14 shades available, waterproof, included brush

Cons: can be waxy, on the pricey side, no spoolie

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The best drugstore eyebrow pencil

The best drugstore eyebrow pencil
Amazon
The $10 NYX Precision Brow Pencil gives higher-end competitors a run for their money thanks to a blendable formula and a nice shade selection.

Expensive brow pencils get all the attention, but if you're on a budget, don't sleep on the NYX Precision Brow Pencil. At $10, it's a lot more affordable than most of the other options on this list and the formula is seriously impressive.

The first thing I look for in a brow pencil is ease-of-use, followed by the ability to give me natural-looking, non-Instagram brows (you know what I'm talking about if you've ever watched a brow tutorial). It takes me about two seconds to fill in my brows with the Precision Brow Pencil, and they don't look too dark or too thick when I'm finished. In the event that you do need some additional blending, there's a spoolie on the opposite end of the pencil.

One unexpected detail that made me fall in love with this pencil is the shape. Instead of a pointed tip, NYX Precision Brow has a flat tip. I find that it allows me even more control than a more traditionally-shaped pencil. Better yet, it doesn't lose its shape over time as you continue to use it.

This pencil is better at filling in and darkening brows rather than drawing on additional hairs because the point isn't super fine. The formula is vegan and cruelty-free, so you can rest assured that no animals were harmed in the creation of this product.

Pros: affordable, vegan and cruelty-free, attached spoolie, doesn't need to be sharpened

Cons: harder to draw precise lines

What else we considered:

What else we considered:
Anastasia Beverly Hills

L'Oreal Brow Stylist Definer ($7): This is another highly-rated drugstore option. The shade selection is not bad, with seven colors ranging from Light Blonde to Soft Black, but I didn't find it quite as blendable and easy to use as the NYX option included in the top five. The pencil is a bit dry and stiff.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer ($23): A second popular brow pencil from the experts at ABH, Brow Definer has a triangular tip and comes in 12 shades. It's designed to be multi-functional for both filling in brow color and drawing on hairs, but I found it to be more difficult to use than Brow Wiz.

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