Brows have been a pretty big thing for the last few years, but it seems like drugstore brands have only recently gotten on the bandwagon! Slowly, but surely, they're releasing more brow products and generally improving the shade range! Rimmel's new Brow This Way collection contains new Brow Sculpting Kits and Brow Styling Gels. I was very kindly sent a few products from the range which I've been testing the past couple of weeks. Although filling in my brows is a daily essential, I really only have my trusty Dolly Wink brow powder and Essence clear brow gel (both of which I've used for YONKS) so it's fun to finally be playing with some new products!
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| L-R: Wax & Powder (Brow Kit), Brow gels in Blonde, Medium Brown and Dark Brown |
Brow This Way Brow Sculpting Kit in 003 Dark Brown*
First up is the brow kit which is packaged up super compactly! It's all in a tiny little case which thankfully isn't flimsy. The kit contains a wax and a powder, as well as a tiny spoolie and a double ended brush. The tools in here actually ain't too shabs! The brush is comprised of two angled brushes which actually work really well for applying both the wax and powder. The spoolie is a bit small but does the job.
Out of the kit, the wax is probably my favourite, probably because I've never tried a product like it before! It's sort of like a brow pomade (not that I've tried one of those either - only a gel liner lelz) but a bit sheerer, thinner and probably easier to work with. This particular shade is a dark brown on the cooler side. It suits me well though it could be a bit cooler. With a thin, angled brush, this wax applies really easily. You can get a very natural, yet defined look and it does help set the brow hairs in place somewhat. Compared to a powder which I usually use, I definitely get a more defined look! The powder contained in this kit is pretty good formula-wise. Dry and pigmented (but not overly so) which is definitely what you want. Unfortunately, the colour is a little too warm for me, though it's pretty much neutral in tone. You could apply this over the wax to intensify it, or on its own if you want a softer look.
Brow This Way Brow Styling Gels* in 001 Blonde, 002 Medium Brown and 003 Dark Brown
Out of the three shades I was sent (the collection also has a clear gel), the Dark Brown shade suits me best. I have swatched the other two for reference though! The Blonde shade seems like a good, light taupe-brown colour with very little warmth which is reassuring. The Medium Brown is, as the name suggests, a medium-dark brown with a neutral/slightly warm tone. The Dark Brown is a deep brown with a cooler tone.
The formula of these is really nice. To compare, I've tried the Essence Clear Brow Gel and Benefit Gimme Brow. The Essence one doesn't really compare since it's clear, quite a bit thinner and doesn't set the hairs that well. I'd say Gimme Brow has a slightly drier formula and fibres in it to "thicken" the brows. In comparison, the Rimmel brow gel does a pretty good job. It thickens up the brows with a bit of volume, adds colour and definitely sets them down. I like using this lightly over the top of powder/wax to set the brows and add a bit more definition, but it surprisingly makes quite the difference on its own! You definitely have to wipe excess product off the brush otherwise things will get clumpy! Speaking of the brush, it's a fairly good size, not as small as the Gimme Brow but it doesn't make a mess which is good.
Both of these new Rimmel products make excellent additions to my brow product collection. They're both really solid products and while the shade range isn't super extensive, the shades they do have are pretty good! If you can find a match, and are in the market for these sorts of products, I definitely recommend them! Both the kit and gels retail for $12.95.
*Products sent for consideration.
