My brows are naturally quite full and very dark to match my natural dark brunette hair, and until about a year ago, I used to swear by using powders and pencils to do my brows but now I’m completely obsessed with using tinted brow gels. I find tinted brow gels so much quicker, and easier and I find that you can’t really go as overboard as you can when using powder or a pencil as I personally really dislike super over the top brows.
The other morning I was looking through my brow gels to decide which I wanted to use and I realised I had amassed quite the collection of tinted brow gels so I thought I’d do a Battle of the Tinted Brow Gels post comparing them in terms of price, packaging, shade and longevity and I really hope it’s helpful if you’re looking for a new tinted brow gel.
I have tried so many tinted brow gels over the last 12 months with the worst being the MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set, which I didn’t include within this post as it was so bad I binned it but I have six different tinted brow gels to compare today in a range of prices so I can do the Battle of the Tinted Brow Gels.
I find it so hard to find tinted brow gels which suit my brow colour, as my brow hairs are dark brown without any warmth but the majority of ‘dark brown’ brow gels are extremely warm in tone, which ends up giving me auburn eyebrows which is less than ideal so I’m always excited when I discover a cool toned dark brown brow gel. Let’s commence my Battle of the Tinted Brow Gels…
Model Co More Brows £13 Medium/Dark 3.5ml
Benefit Gimme Brow £18.50 Medium/Dark 3ml
Essence Make Me Brow Eyebrow Gel Mascara £2.50 Browny Brows 3.8ml
L’Oreal Brow Artist Plumper £5.99 Dark Brunette 7ml
NYX Tinted Brow Mascara £5.50 Brunette 6.5ml
Billion Dollar Brows Hint of a Tint Tinted Brow Gel £20 Taupe 6ml
Model Co More Brows
Shade Range: Just two shades – Light/Medium and Medium/Dark and I have the Medium/Dark shade which is a great match for my brows as it’s a lovely, cool toned dark brown.
Packaging: Small round plastic tube.
Formula: Quite a quick drying formula which contains fibres to help thicken the brows.
Brush: Soft, small round natural bristled brush.
Description: This brush-on fibre brow gel is sheer genius. Not only does it darken and define your arches – it also creates the appearance of fuller, bolder brows in just a few swipes.
Price per ml: £3.71.
Benefit Gimme Brow
Shade Range: Just two shades – Light/Medium and Medium/Dark and I have the Medium/Dark shade which is quite an ashy dark brown which matches my brows perfectly.
Packaging: Small round plastic tube.
Formula: Gimme Brow has a thick formula which gets clumpy within a couple of weeks of opening a tube which can get quite messy during application, and the gel contains fibres to thicken brows too.
Brush: Small, tapered natural bristled brush.
Description: This innovative brush-on fiber gel adheres to skin & hair…creating brows where before there were none. It builds easily for thick, lush arches, thanks to a tapered brush for blending and a precision tip for shaping with a water resistant formula.
Price per ml: £6.16.
Essence Make Me Brow
Shade Range: Three shades – Blondy Brows, Browny Brows and Soft Browny Brows, and I have 02 Browny Brows which is almost identical to the shade of the Benefit Gimme Brow.
Packaging: Small round plastic tube.
Formula: Slightly less pigmented than the other gels, but you can build it up which I really like to get the intensity that you wish. It supposedly contains fibres, but I cannot detect any at all.
Brush: Like an hybrid of the Model Co Brush & the Benefit Brush – slightly tapered, small natural bristled brush.
Description: The perfect 3-in-1 – colour, density and shape! The tinted gel contains tiny fibres that fill in any unwanted gaps for beautifully defined and full eyebrows.
Price per ml: 65 pence.
L’Oreal Brow Artist Plumper
Shade Range: Three shades – Blonde, Dark Brunette and Transparent. I have Dark Brunette which is slightly warmer than the three previous brow gels.
Packaging: Long, and thick plastic tube which is bigger than any of the other brow gels.
Formula: Quite a thin formula which you can build up without clumping your brows.
Brush: Short, thick and slightly tapered natural bristled brush.
Description: The art of the brow made easy: in one strep, volumise and intensify brows for a plump effect. The ultra precise brush delivers the perfect amount of formula to intensify brows. It contains fibers to help to plump up the look of brows. Not sticky / Not shiny/ Not heavy.
Price per ml: 85 pence.
NYX Tinted Brow Mascara
Shade Range: Five shades – Blonde, Chocolate, Brunette, Espresso and Black. I have the Brunette shade which is a very warm, light brown which doesn’t work well for my brows at all sadly.
Packaging: Long, thin plastic tube.
Formula: Quite a thick formula which does clump up very easily.
Brush: The brush is SO hard that it’s actually uncomfortable to use. The brush has quite thick ridges which is why the brow hairs get so laden down in gel.
Description: No shame in wishing for a strong beautiful brow! NYX’s foolproof tinted brow mascara helps your dream come true. NYX Tinted Brow Mascara sets, tames and tints brows for natural-looking wear. NYX’s dependable formula leaves brows feeling soft while maintaining complete control.
Price per ml: 84 pence.
Billion Dollar Brows A Hint of a Tint
Shade Range: Three shades – Blonde, Taupe and Red. I have the shade Taupe which is an amazing, super cool toned brown which is the best match for my brows shade wise.
Packaging: Squeezy plastic tube which is quite bulky, but I feel as if you can get every last bit of gel out of the tube as you squeeze it rather than the solid plastic tubes.
Formula: Definitely the wettest formula out of the 6 gels, but it’s super pigmented so I only need one layer of gel.
Brush: Long mascara like brush, which I feel is much too big as it practically does my whole brow in one stroke – it doesn’t offer very much precision sadly.
Description: For a hassle-free, natural look, turn barely-there-brows into bold brows in an instant. Hides grey hairs and gives fair brows a perfect pop of color. It never flakes, lasts all day, and is a breeze to wash off.
Price per ml: £3.33.
Overall
So that is my Battle of the Tinted Brow Gels. Overall my favourite tinted brow mascara is actually a tie between the BDB A Hint of a Tint and the Essence Make Me Brow. Without a doubt the best value gel is the Essence Make Me Brow, and the worst value is Benefit Gimme Brow which ironically is the gel which started my love affair with tinted brow gels.
I do love the Benefit Gimme Brow as I find it to be the most long wearing gel from the six, but the problem I have with Gimme Brow is that it gets so clumpy so quickly after you open a new tube which is so frustrating considering how pricey it is, and the clumpiness makes such a mess.
I would recommend just skipping the NYX Brow Mascara altogether as the shade is off, the brush is horrible and it makes my brows very hard. I absolutely love the shade match of the BDB Hint of a Tint, but the price of the Essence Make Me Brow is just incredible so for me the Essence Make Me Brow has to win as it’s a great shade, great formula, nice and compact packaging and a handy little brush for precision and it’s only £2.50 which is insane!