Brow Battle: 5 Micro Brow Pencils

Hi there!

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve tested 5 different micro brow type pencils, all with the shade name: Auburn. I quickly found that even though these are supposed to have the same colour, the difference is bigger than I expected. The colours seem to range from a brown with little to no red in it, to a very dark auburn. Another one of the biggest differences alongside the colour differences is the price. The most expensive item here is $23, while the least expensive is $6. The last noticeable difference I could find is the amount of product you get in the pencils. 4 of these have 0.003 oz of product (it seems to range from 0.08g to 0.09g), while 1 only has a third of this, with only 0.001 oz (0.03g).

I'm wearing light makeup and holding up 5 small brow pencils in white and black packaging while smiling at the camera.

In terms of the colours, they reign from a more neutral, light brown, to a lighter warm brown, and a deep brow with red-orange undertones. The most brown is the BH Cosmetics one, and the most orange is from NYX. The lightest in tone is a little harder to pick, since they all are different colours, but I will say that the NYX and the BH Cosmetics one appears the lightest on me. The darkest one is the one from ABH, and i find this when applied straight is too dark unless my hair is just dyed. I’ve found that i can blot the brow, and get a colour that is more suitable for me. All I do is wipe some of the product away, either with my hand or with a q-tip.  

In terms of colours, I look for a shade that isn't to dark, and that has visible orange and/or red in it. Since most of these are brown based, and my hair looks more orange I like to have the warmth of the pencil coming through. I like the NYX the best, since it’s the most orange. I also don’t mind the Colourpop brow boss, but it is a little more brown than what I prefer. And as I said, the ABH one is too dark, but I don’t mind how it looks blotted. 

5 Swatches on a white forearm. They range from more orange on the left, to more brown on the right. Left to right: NYX Micro Brow - BH Cosmetics HD Brow Pencil - Colourpop Brow Boss - Colourpop Precision Pencil - ABH Brow Wiz

When it comes to their consistency they fall into 2 different groups for me: soft and more firm. I personally prefer a more firm pencil, and with that it takes a little more work to get the product to transfer over a soft formulation. I find the softer formulation to be harder to control, and easy to over apply. With these the BH Cosmetics is the most firm, followed by the NYX, CP Brow Boss, ABH next, and I find the Colourpop Precision pencil to be the softest. I would group the ABH and the Colourpop Precision into the soft category. They are both soft formulations and transfer easily to the skin, and both of them tend to over apply products to my eyebrows. The BH Cosmetics, NYX and Colourpop Brow Boss are more firm and I find they give me more control over how much product goes on. The down side to the firmest ones is that I have to be careful not to wind up to much product since the tip can break off.

When I do my brows i tend to draw an outline on the bottom of my brow first, then do the front. I then do the tail end, and draw back from the tail towards the front to connect. I tend to fill inn a little here and there as I go. I tend to get the front filled in first so I can get more control of the shape, so it doesn’t get to angular in the front. I don’t really pluck my brows or anything, and since they aren’t always behaving, they never turn out the same 2 days in a row. But i prefer a more straight line under my brow, and with a slight arch on the top. How full they end up being depends on how much i fluff up when i draw the top and bottom line. I try not to draw where i don’t have hair growing, but since most of my brow hairs are so blonde they’re invisible, it’s a little hard sometimes when i can’t fully see where they all are.

They all last throughout the day for me, and i never worry about it moving. I haven’t tested them all in very hot, humid weather. But i know the NYX one lasts through a hot, sweaty, summer day. If I rub my hand over my brow, I do get some product transferring onto my hand, but not so much that I end up with a bare patch on my brow. I can also scratch and itch my brow if I need, and even if I get a little transfer, there is still more than enough at the end of the day, and i never end up with bare patches. 

ABH Brow Wiz:

My face wearing light and glowy face & eye makeup. I'm wearing the Anastasia Brow Wiz unblotted in my brows.

My face wearing light and glowy face & eye makeup. I'm wearing the Anastasia Brow Wiz in my brows, blotted this time.

This is the darkest of the 5 pencils. It’s a very soft formula and glides onto the skin easy. I dont like how soft it is, because it means it goes on very dark, and it’s harder to draw small details. It works great for filling in larger areas, since it glides on the skin so easy. As the darkest colour, it would work best if you have darker auburn hair. Straight on my brows this is too dark for me, and will only work when my hair is freshly coloured. I can make it work if I blend/blot after applying it. 

This would work best if you have dark red brown hair, and don’t want a hard pencil formulation.

Colour (1 more brown, 5 more orange): 2

Depth of colour (1 lightest, 5 darkest): 5

Firmness (1 more soft, 5 more hard): 2

Ease of use (1 easy to apply, 5 harder to apply): 3

Wear (1 wears off through the day, 5 stays on through anything): 5

BH Cosmetics Studio Pro HD Brow Pencil:

Close up of my eyes, nose, brows and forehead. I'm wearing light, glowy face and eye makeup. I'm wearing the BH Cosmetics Studio Pro HD Brow Pencil in my brows.

This is the least red of the 5, and the most firm. On me this looks like a light brown colour, without any red in it. It’s the most firm, and therefor takes a little more pressure to transfer it onto skin. I like the formulation of this because is gives me great control and I don't have to worry about over applying. The colour of this is too brown for my liking though. I also don't like that this has 1/3 of the weight off the other pencils. 

This would work best if your hair is more brown than red, and not very dark. And if you prefer a harder pencil over a soft one.

Colour (1 more brown, 5 more orange): 1

Depth of colour (1 lightest, 5 darkest): 2

Firmness (1 more soft, 5 more hard): 5

Ease of use: (1 easy to apply, 5 harder to apply): 3

Wear (1 wears off through the day, 5 stays on through anything): 5

Colourpop Brow Boss:

Close up of my eyes, nose, brows and forehead. I'm wearing light, glowy face & eye makeup. I'm wearing the Colourpop Brow Boss Pencil in my brows.

This has ended up in the middle for me. I like the formulation; it’s not too soft, but a little softer than the BH and NYX one. It's easy to use both for smaller detail work, and for filling in larger areas. I like the colour ok; it’s more brown than i prefer, but it has enough warmth in it. I also like the size of the pencil, and find I have good control. When I look at this colour, it looks like it has a more pink-red undertone rather than an orange-red one. I prefer a more orangey undertone, but I don't mind this since it still has some warmth.

Works best if you don’t want a very orange pencil, and don’t want anything too soft or too hard.

Colour (1 more brown, 5 more orange): 3

Depth of colour (1 lightest, 5 darkest): 2

Firmness (1 more soft, 5 more hard): 3

Ease of use (1 easy to apply, 5 harder to apply): 1

Wear (1 wears off through the day, 5 stays on through anything): 5

Colourpop Precision Brow Pencil:

Close up of my eyes, nose, brows and forehead. I'm wearing light, glowy face & eye makeup. I'm wearing the Colourpop Precision Brow Pencil in my brows.

This is one of the softest formulations here, and it's the only non retractable pencil of the 5. I find it hard to get precise lines with this, and find it difficult to use since I can only turn up a little bit of product at the time. It's decent for filling in larger portions since it's so soft, but it's not great for drawing hair like strokes since I can’t really get a thin edge. It’s almost the same colour as the other Colourpop pencil, but because this is softer I find it looks darker and more orange in my brows.

This works best for filling in areas, not drawing small details, and if you like a softer pencil.

Colour (1 more brown, 5 more orange): 3

Depth of colour (1 lightest, 5 darkest): 4

Firmness (1 more soft, 5 more hard): 1

Ease of use (1 easy to apply, 5 harder to apply): 4

Wear (1 wears off through the day, 5 stays on through anything): 5

NYX Micro Brow:

Close up of my eyes, nose, brows and forehead. I'm wearing light, glowy face & eye makeup. I'm wearing the NYX Micro Brow Pencil in my brows.

This is the most orange in colour, and also appears lighter in tone than most of the others. It's firm but easy to use. I find this the easiest to put on, and I like this colour the best. It can be a little hard to get it to transfer if I have foundation and powder in my brows. It’s easy to apply it to bare skin, but can be a little slippy. This can look darker when applied over foundation and powder, versus on bare skin.

This works best if you want a more orange tone, over a brown. It's easy to control, and can work great both for filling in, and drawing details.

Colour (1 more brown, 5 more orange): 5

Depth of colour (1 lightest, 5 darkest): 3

Firmness (1 more soft, 5 more hard): 3-4

Ease of use (1 easy to apply, 5 harder to apply): 2

Wear (1 wears off through the day, 5 stays on through anything): 5

My personal ranking: 1. NYX Micro Brow, 2. Colourpop Brow Boss, 3. ABH Brow Wiz, 4. BH Cosmetics Brow Pencil, 5. Colourpop Precision Brow Pencil. For me the colour of the pencil has a lot to say, and I love the colour of the NYX one the best. It's the most orange, and I find that that plays best with my hair. I also love the formulation of the NYX pencil the most. It is very similar to the formulation of the Colourpop Brow Boss, and even though I like that, I would like it more if it was a little more orange.

What is your favourite brow product?

-Anja