SUPERBALIST LOVES: BENEFIT FEATHERED & FULL BROW KIT

Words: Foyin Ogunrombi | Photography: Supplied

As a proud member of the beauty community, I’ll be the first to admit that brows are a contentious topic. We’ve seen them go from pinstripes and Nike swooshes to bold Instagram brows and everything in between — and that’s just in my lifetime alone. It’s safe to say that everyone has a particular preference, but I’m excited about a happy medium and a more natural brow becoming mainstream.

As for my brows? I’m someone who takes them very seriously. I’ve experimented with almost every size, colour and shape, as well as methods of grooming, just to know exactly what works best on my face. One thing I did learn in this time is that I like control — I want to groom them myself, I panic when other makeup artists touch them and I like to take my time when doing them. That’s something I appreciate about the new Feathered & Full Brow kit. Benefit Cosmetics has put together the perfect selection of products that allows you to control your brow look and feel while still being incredibly beginner-friendly.

The brow kit contains a full-sized Precisely, My Brow Pencil, a full-sized Gimme Brow+ Volumising Fiber Gel, a mini 24-HR Brow Setter, as well as brow stencils and Benefit’s signature tips and tricks. For a beginner, the stencils give you a bit of guidance as to where an arch should sit depending on the shape you’re going for and ultimately give you a nice outline while you fill in the rest. However, I was more excited about the rest of the products. I’ve expressed my love for the Precisely, My Brow Pencil before, but basically, this product is a thin and fine pencil that allows you to get hair-like strokes in your brows. For those with fuller brows, this is a God-send, because you really don’t have to do much — just fill in the spaces where you may lack. I love that I can give my brows a little more direction and emphasise the arch that I have, albeit weak, while still having a natural flair.

The true secret to getting your brows to look full and feathery is to bring your natural hair texture back to the forefront and gels help the most with this. If you have more sparse hairs or if you just want to increase the colour payoff in your brows, using the Gimme Brow+ gel will help you do that. But if your brows are already thick enough and you’re just trying to blend out the product and make sure it stays throughout the day, the 24-HR Brow Setter is where it’s at. By using this clear brow gel, you can choose the direction that you want your brows to go and brushing them upwards is key to achieving the feathered appearance. Personally, I use it to blend my products together, restore the natural hair texture to my brows and ensure they look neat and stay in their shape all day long.

When I look at this kit, the thing I’m truly in awe of is its value for money. Benefit is known for being the world’s best brow brand and often that comes with a hefty (but completely justified) price tag. Yet in this brow kit, you get two full-sized products, a mini size product and stencils for only R500. For me, that’s enough of a reason to add to cart.