Rave Review: ZuZu Luxe Brow Pencil in Russet

They say that brows are the gateway to the soul...wait...or is it eyes? Whatever. Brows make a huge difference in how your face looks and ties any makeup look together. I love me a full, beautiful, well groomed brow and I always fill mine in regardless of whether or not I'm waring a full face of makeup. Sadly, years of waxing and plucking have resulted in bald spots and I now rely on a pencil to fill in the gaps. Damn you thin brow trend!! I've searched high and low for the perfect pencil, since I just can't stand to use powders. Why Nicole, what do you consider the perfect pencil? Let me tell you! 1. Great shade match: Seems obvious but, finding the perfect brown is really hard. Too light and it's wayyy too obvious. Too dark and all of a sudden your brows are virtually black and unnatural. 2. Texture: I prefer a brow pencil that's not too creamy and not too hard, I'm Goldilocks apparently. A creamy textured pencil, smudges and doesn't last long. A super hard pencil doesn't deposit enough colour, takes too long to apply, and tugs on the skin. The perfect texture is a mix of the both, this allows for feathering the colour on the eyebrow to give it that naturally full look. 3. Lasting power: Like any makeup you wear, you don't want to look like a disaster at the end of the day/night. After much searching, swatching, and experimenting...I have found THE perfect brow pencil (for me)!

Image Courtesy of Gabriel Cosmetics Inc.

Description: ZuZu Luxe Cream Eyebrow Pencils are available in four natural shades that sculpt and define brows. These pencils are specially formulated to shape, fill in and define to achieve natural-looking brows without harsh edges. Creamy pencil on one end and a brow brush on the other work together to shape your brows.

I love the fact that there's a pencil on one end and brush on the other. I can't even tell you how handy this makes it for applying on the go. It is a great shade match for brunettes because of the fact that it's taupe. It's not too light, warm, dark, red, orange, cool, it's universal. It fills in my brows, without making them look like I used a black Sharpie. The texture is fantastic! It applies with ease but isn't too creamy. The lasting power is way better than I expected. I went from a waterproof, chemical filled, brow pencil to this. I was super worried that I'd look like I had rubbed dirt around my brows and forehead by the end of the day. Boy was I wrong! This lasts ALL day. In fact, my eyebrows are the only part of my makeup that still looks perfect by the end of the day. People constantly tell me how amazing my brows look and I've been getting even more compliments since using this pencil. Nobody can even tell that they're filled in. The only negative I have, is that it has to be sharpened. If I loose my sharpener or don't have it on hand, I'm screwed. That being said, it's lasted longer than the ones you twist up. Gotta pick your battles. I used to go through those monthly. I've had this same pencil for like 2 or 3 months now, and it's still going strong! I absolutely love this brow pencil, it's my holy grail now, highly recommend, and will always repurchase. You need must go buy it, now!

Retails for approx. $20 CAN/$13.80 USD for .044oz/1.25g. It comes in 4 shades and can be purchased through Gabriel Cosmetics Inc and pretty much any health food store. I purchased mine at The Big Carrot.


Do you think brows are important? What do you use to fill yours in?

Excuse my dry hand. Left: lightly applied. Right: built up

Ingredients: Copernica Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Xanthan Gum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Crithmum Maritimum (Sea Fennel) Extract, Hectorite, Lecithin, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide