One of the many struggles in my life are brows. I don't have full brows in the slightest. Like many people, I over-plucked my brows, leaving them a little sparse on the inside, and one with a more defined arch than the other. Even where I do have a good bit of brow going on, it's still on the fine side. It's safe to say that I love spending time sculpting my eyebrows, making them look a little more normal and even. Now I've tried pretty much every type of product going, from pencils to mascaras, pomades and powders. What I haven't tried (or hadn't until a couple of weeks ago) is a fibre-based product...
What initially appears to be a single pot, the Toppik brow set actually contains two compartments. The branded lid unscrews to reveal a solid clear wax, and the bottom part of the pot contains the brow colour. Packaged in a similar way to a loose pigment, this could be confused with a powder. The pigment is interestingly made up of teeny fuzzy-looking fibres to boost volume of the brows.
The kit also comes with a dual ended brush. Whilst it doesn't have the best build quality, it is more than usable. What it lacks in sturdiness of the handle, it more than makes up for in the design and functionality of the two ends. Funnily enough, the first time I used this product I was using the brush the wrong way round. I was using the flat side for the wax, and had assumed that the slanted side was for the powder. Apparently I was wrong!
Promising to make even the thinnest eyebrows look naturally thicker and fuller, I was keen to get stuck in and give this a go. First of all, you need to apply the Brow Conditioning Wax with the flat side of the brush. It contains nourishing mango, shea and cocoa butters, as well as avocado and jojoba oils to condition the brows. It's not something I've ever thought about before, but can only be a good thing. The wax is is really lightweight and gives a natural hold to the brows. It would be great for no-makeup days too.
The next step is to apply the Brow Building Fibers with the slanted brush. The fibres are uniquely formulated for the eyebrows with coloured keratin protein, the same protein that is naturally found in hair. The fibres anchor to the wax and have a natural static charge that binds them to the brow hairs. This step adds colour, fullness and dimension to the brows.
One of the great things about applying the fibres after the wax is that the colour only sticks to the wax, so application is precise. The kit gives a natural look as you're not just putting the colour on the skin, it is coating the individual hairs too. The whole process is a lot less messy that I initially thought it would be, I thought I'd have to go back in with a concealer to tidy up the edges, but it really wasn't necessary. One coat of wax and fibres gives a more natural look, but you can go back in for a second for a more intense look.
The effect is a lot more intense in real life than in the photos, however once I got used to it, I did think it looked more natural than pencil or pomade products. One of the things I did find (which you can see in the photos) is that it didn't quite cover the areas where I didn't have as much hair. I think you have to be careful as it goes a bit patchy in the sparser areas, so it is best to keep brush movements to a minimum, and use a dabbing technique.
Overall, I think I need a bit more practice with the Toppik Brow Building Fibers Set to be able to get the look I'm aiming for. I'll be keeping this for the daytime for now, as I like a more precise brow for the evening. In terms of value you are getting a lot of product, and you could use the wax on it's own too. The quality is good and the compact packing works really well. At £16.95, it is comparable to a lot of high end brow products. I have a lot of drugstore products in my stash, so I don't necessarily think you need to spend the earth to get great brows, however if you are looking for natural volume that isn't too scouse brow, this could be perfect.
What do you use on your brows?
*Post contains PR samples kindly provided by Toppik UK
*Post contains PR samples kindly provided by Toppik UK
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