Reviews and Other Stuff

anastasia brow definer

Benefit Cosmetics Brow Contour Pro Review And Swatches

benefit brow contour pro brown-black light

 

Benefit recently released their Brow Contour Pro ($34) products and I couldn’t resist getting my hands on them. The Brow Contour Pros are brow colors that are pretty much contained in a multicolor pen type. Each fat pen houses four shades: A lighter shade for the inner part of the brow. A deeper shade for the outer half part of the brow. There’s also a definer shade to define the brow’s edge, and the last is a highlighter shade to clean and shape the brow’s arch.

benefit brow contour pro review

Personally, I’ve been waiting for a product like these. I usually use two brow shades in order to do my eyebrows since I like to create depth and dimension on them. I learned the technique from makeup artists who advised me to do my brows in that manner so they won’t look so flat. Normally, I tend to pick brow colors that are a shade lighter than my brunette hair, then I’d pick another color lighter than that brow color to use on the inner half of my brows so as to soften my look. Lately, I’ve been using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Soft Brown and Medium Brown) or the Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil in shades 3 and 4. I love them a lot, however, I thought it would be kinda easy if I don’t have to lug around two brow products in my makeup bag all the time. I could go with one, but I really love the look of having a contoured ombre-like brow, since it just looks more natural and less harsh to me. So with these Benefit Brow Contour Pros, I feel like my prayers were answered.

 

There are five available shades of these new Benefit Brow products. Three of them are swatched below. The shades/pens I picked are based on what would look good on my hair color and skintone.

benefit brow contour pro swatches

Brown Light – was worried this would be too light for me, but I actually could pull this off, and this softens my look.

 

Brown Medium – this complements well with my black hair color and this also makes my brows look less harsh. The definer and the highlighter shades look pretty identical though.

 

Brown-Black Light –ย thought this is very much the same color as my hair and this makes my brows look a little too harsh, given my light-medium skintone. This would be great if your complexion is very warm to deep. Also, the deeper and lighter shades are quite similar to each other.

 

benefit brow contour pro swatch

 

These Brow Contour Pros are meant to be waterproof and long-wearing, so there’s definitely no worries about them fading so soon. The pigment of these is really good. They apply easily like a cream and set well on my brows after a few minutes. They even stay put after I workout or after I sweat. They can pretty much withstand heat and humidity especially in this Summer and I love that they’re easy to correct or blend. You just use your own pinky finger to sorta correct any smudges or blend the shades perfectly to achieve a natural look.

brow contour bro benefit

As much as I love these brow products, I’m sure you noticed that there’s one thing missing – The Spoolie! There’s no spoolie attached to this multicolor brow pens, it’s actually sold separately (available HERE). So that’s kinda inconvenient, especially since I’m used to having spoolies at the other end of my brow products, which really makes things easier for me. Another thing I wanna point out is that since the pen is thick, it tends to rub against my brow bone which makes the application a little less precise. Other than that, I really love the diversity of shades in these Benefit Brow Contour Pros. They are convenient since you get all the shades you need to create the perfect multidimensional brow, but you’re really going to need that Spoolie with you all the time.

 

benefit cosmetics brow contour pro review

 

Have you tried these already? What are your thoughts?

 

The Benefit Brow Contours Pros are currently available at Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, JCPenney

 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette & Amrezy Highlighter Review + Swatches

Why Hello There! I recently tested some newness from Anastasia Beverly Hills and I am so excited to tell you guys about the Anastasia Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette ($42), as well as the Amrezy Highlighter ($28).

 

soft glam eyeshadow review

 

The ABH Soft Glam Paletteย has 14 shades composed of matte and metallic finishes. The colors looked to complementing and wearable not just for my own skin tone but also for everyone. As a fan of Anastasia products, I knew I couldn’t let this palette pass me by. Also, I got curious at Anastasia’s latest Highlighter collab with Amrezy, so I tried it in-store and I was really amazed by it.

 

anastasia beverly hills soft glam eyeshadow palette review

anastasia soft glam eyeshadow palette

Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette ($42) – This palette is something that I’ve been anticipating from Anastasia. I wasn’t much of a fan of the Subculture Palette. I thought the colors looked so unworldly, LOL. But, I’m a big fan of the Modern Renaissance. Anyway, enter the Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette. My first impression of this is really positive, and I love how the colors looked well-curated. Not too crazy on reds, pinks, coppers, and rusts, but geared towards everyday neutrals and earthy colors that are more in tune with most skin tones. Each color’s texture is very soft and smooth, almost buttery and the pigment is superb. They are also pretty easy to blend and you can pack the colors on the lids for a more defined look. The glittery shades feel very soft as well, and never rough nor scratchy. The colors are something you would want to wear every day and application-wise, I haven’t noticed any fallouts. I find that the buttery smooth and velvety colors adhere well on the lids with or without any eyelid primer. The colors stayed on my lids for about 6 hours, yet they do crease a bit after that, but maybe that’s because I tend to have oily lids, but overall, this particular eyeshadow palette is still very reliable and it never smudges on me. Also, I love the dual-ended brush that came with this palette. It’s great for applying colors and it blends them well on the lids. The brush can contour very well and it feels really soft. I even like it better than the Urban Decay Naked Palette brushes. Another thing I love about this palette is its velvety yellow mustard packaging that feels really good to the touch and allows for a good grip.

 

anastasia beverly hills amrezy highlighter

Amrezy Highlighter (0.31 oz: $28) – This is the highlighter made in collaboration with Amrezy, which is currently making a huge buzz right now, and there’s definitely a reason why. When I first swiped my fingers on this highlighter, I was really impressed by its light gold shimmer. It felt so soft and smooth and it looked really pigmented. But when I applied it to my cheekbones, it didn’t really show much. I got a bit disappointed because the color of this highlighter actually seems to be too close to my light-medium skintone, and it didn’t seem to be as pigmented as I expected it to be. It is definitely quite soft, so its effect is very subtle and very natural upon application, kind of like one of those Dior Nuder Air Luminizers (reviewed HERE). The problem is, I like my highlighters to be quite pigmented, and this isn’t quite that. Since this can be applied wet or dry, I tried to apply it using a wet dense brush and it works much better. I do recommend that you apply this highlighter dry if you want a soft natural finish, but apply this wet if you want an all-out glow.

 

anastasia soft glam eyeshadow swatch

 

amrezy highlighter swatch

 

Don’t these new ABH products appeal to you? Are you a big Anastasia fan?

 

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Highlighter and Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette is currently available at Sephora, Ulta, Dillard’s, Nordstrom, JCPenney, Macy’s and Urban Outfitters