I was so excited to see Maybelline come out with their own version of brow pen. My favorite was NYX Lift & Snatch! Brow Pen, but now Maybelline Build-a-Brow has definitely become my new favorite brow pen. Maybelline did a great job with this one.
Packaging
It comes in a pen form. On one side you have super thin brush pen tip and on the other you have small spoolie with transparent brow gel. Compared to NYX Lift & Snatch! Brow Pen the actual tip itself is a bit thinner with Maybelline one.
In it is 4 grams of product and it costs around 13€. You can buy it in most drugstores and online stores that carry Maybelline.
Formula
It's a liquid formula that with that precise tip lets you draw in individual hair like strokes. Depending on how you angle it or how hard you press, it can be very thin and sheer or thicker line and more pigmented. The pigmentation itself is quite good and there isn't that sheer transparent shiny finish that NYX always gave me. I feel like Maybelline version is more matte in terms of finish and not as transparent.
Transparent brow mascara or sealing gel as they call it, has that formula that is a bit sticky so it does give a descent hold to the brows. I never get that flaky white look to it, but then again it also doesn't have the super glue hold. For thick, heavy brows this wouldn't be a good hold, but for finer softer hair it's good enough.
Colors
You can choose from 6 shades and I think they have good enough range that you can find something that will work for you.
At first I bough Black Brown, because I was coloring my brows a deep brown whenever I got lamination. But since my hair lightened up a bit through the summer I now use shade Ash Brown, which suits me better now.
Comparison
I compared it
NYX Lift & Snatch! Brow Pen which was my favorite until I tried this one from Maybelline. Here is the comparison in shades.
Maybelline Build-a Brow Ash Brown - grey cool toned light to medium brown.
maybelline Build-a-Brow Black Brown - cool medium to dark brown.
NYX Lift & Snatch! Ash Brown - cool grey toned light to medium brown, but it's lighter than Maybelline Ash brown and needs to be built up to look darker.
If I compare the formulas of Maybelline and NYX, NYX is sheerer and you need to build it up quite a lot. It also looks warmer with just one swipe. The more you build it up the cooler the shade looks. I find that it bleeds more as well, so you can't see that proper feather like definition. I always had problem with leakage with NYX, but with Maybelline I didn't have that problem before. Now that I have a second shade that one can sometimes leak a bit, but not as much as NYX: The tip of a brush pen is also a bit finer with the Maybelline one.
Performance
Precise tip lets you draw in individual hair like strokes, so you can just fill in the gaps for a very natural look or do a full fill in like I show you on the photos below. That is a much more full look which I personally like, but I know a lot probably don't.
It has great staying power. You can't really budge it or smudge it once it's on the skin. However, it's not waterproof. I can wear it all day without any noticeable fading through the day. Plus this products really lasts a long time, so it justifies the price.
Super price tip, great pigmentation, cooler shades, great staying power and a brow gel to set them makes this one really nice brow pen. It's a drugstore brand, even though I would say the price is up there for the drugstore, but it will last you so long that it justifies the price. Oh and I sometimes even use it as a slight winged out liner, when I am in a hurry and just want a tiny flick to elongate my eyes. Multiuse products. It's a bit difficult to learn to use than regular brow pencils, but if you have sparse brows and want to fill them in naturally or do a really filled in, but still natural looking brow, then this is a great option.
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