Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Anastasia Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes

Eyebrows have always been a tricky thing for me. I'm not really a big "brow girl" and so I never do anything to my eyebrows besides pluck them and go for an occasional eyebrow threading. The brow products I have tried make me look strange and almost boyish, painting a momentarily intense look on my face. So, I have pretty much stayed clear of any brow products, which to me, just add another step in the routine. 

When I was contacted by the Confluence group to review an Anastasia of Beverly Hills product, I thought I would give brow products another go, especially because of all the hype around Anastasia products. So here is my opinion, as someone who is somewhat of a "newbie" with brows. 
This is the Anastasia Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes in brunette (it also comes in blonde). It comes with a wax, two shades of brow powder, two shades of highlight/lid eyeshadows, the signature brow stencils, an angled brush, and instructions on how to use everything. On first sight, the packaging is compact, but is not very exciting and even feels a little cheap. 
Moving past the packaging, the set comes with a detailed step-by-step outline of how to use the products, which is easy to follow and straightforward. For people who do their brows all the time, this is probably a no brainer for you, but for beginners, this is pretty helpful. 
The set of stencils that it comes with covers a whole range of brow shapes from which you are supposed to choose the one that fits your natural brow shape most closely. I was surprised to find that the petite arch fit my eyebrows almost perfectly and helped me pluck away stray hairs that didn't belong.
The brush also feels like nice quality brush - it has just the right amount of stiffness you would want when you are doing your brows. However, because it is a slightly large brush you don't get as much control as you would with a smaller brush. 
On to the product itself. Eyebrow wax is so good to have and I'm glad that it comes in this set. Not only can you use it underneath the brow powder to help it stick, but you can use it on its own just to smooth over your brows and keep them neat and in place. 
The shades of brow powder that come in this palette work really well for my almost black eyebrows, which is a hard thing to come by. Usually, shades for darker hair either come too dark, or too reddy brown. I use mostly the light taupe-y brown shade with a little bit of the dark brown to deepen it. This mixture blends in with my natural hairs and does the job of filling in the sparse parts in my brows without overpowering my face. 

Although I don't normally use eye shadows to highlight my brow bone, I tried it today with the highlight shade in this palette and really liked it. The shade looks kind of like MAC's all that glitters, but with a little more sheen. The other light brown matte shade is one of my favorite types of eye shadow colors - kind of like a lighter wedge by MAC or naked by Urban Decay - so I will most likely be using it a lot. 

To me, the whole idea of using stencils to fill in your brows seems a little complicated and not very practical if you're out and about. But in practice, it does give you an easy guideline to filling in your brows and is actually pretty quick. Also, the combination of the wax and powder stays on for the entire day so you don't have to worry about them after you've got it on. 
Having all these products in one convenient place will probably entice me to do my eyebrows more often, as it does really make a nice difference in your makeup =). 

Hope you enjoyed this and check out this video for more tips on how to use these products!

~Vida

14 comments:

  1. TBH: I've never actually known how to use stencils! Haha.

    I'm keen to try these but I don't think they make one in the slightly darker shade I need (that doesn't cross into black.)

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  2. Brows can be very tricky. Good to know there is a kit to help.

    www.geekettegazette.com
    www.thegirlieblog.com

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  3. stencils seem like a pain in the butt but ive seen videos and blog posts about anatasias brow kit and they get amazing results! id love to try this

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  4. Omg I am so happy you did a review on Anastasia products. Whenever we go to Sephora I always find myself wandering towards the eyebrow section. I might just have to try this out!

    MWAH love you!! and I miss you.

    mylittlesequindress.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've used her at-home-wacing kit before and it was messy but worked!

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  6. I got the same eye brow kit yesterday and I love it! :)

    P.s. U are welcome to check out my fashion blog anytime! Thecabinetoffashion.blogspot.com

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  7. Wooowwww...this post is interesting for my eyes! :-) I like your blog ,infact I have decided to follow you! :-) Maybe you’ll have time to visit my blog :)

    Kisses,
    Miriam
    Fashion Crazy Ball and My Facebook Page

    ReplyDelete
  8. love you blog, what a great post :) you are so pretty!

    im going to start following you!
    xx
    follow back?
    vt-chance.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. You have such a lovely blog, i must stalk you from now on, hope you don't mind x3
    Oh and just a curiosity, you know that your name "Vida" means "life" in portuguese? :) such a beautiful name! ^^

    Love * Monstros no Armário

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  10. Wow, the nars palette looks amazing, ! super orgasm is pretty!!

    CMPang x
    http://maisecrets.blogspot.com/

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  11. i can't find anastasia here.. if ever, its too darn expensive!
    btw, love all your photographs.. clear and crisp!
    ur posts are all interesting =)
    let's keep in touch =)) i am following you!
    aww and thanks for dropping by my blog, glad to know you..appreciate your lovely comment so much!
    see you then! muah muah

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey
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    ReplyDelete

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