A couple of days ago when I reviewed the MAC RebelEyes Gel Liner I told you guys I got that in a set along with two other products. One of those other products is this MAC Big Brow Pencil. I had read a review or two about it before I got it, but I wasn’t really sure what to expect of it. It seemed like a really quick and easy product to work with and since I’m all in for that I decided to buy it and give it a go. After testing it out for a couple of weeks it’s time for me to review this bad boy. If you’re interested in finding out more about it, make sure you continue reading!
Let’s start off with discussing the packaging. Like all other MAC products this pencil comes in a classic black box. When you open it up you’ll find quite a big pencil that is almost completely black on the outside except for the little MAC logo and the brown part at the bottom that shows which colour this is. I think the packaging looks really sleek and professional, classic MAC, and I really love that look. I know I haven’t always been the biggest fan of MAC, but these packagings are just really, really gorgeous!
The fact that the pencil comes in a slightly thicker shape than it usually does is something I like. It makes sure you have a little more grip, it’s just a bit nicer to hold and it’s also quicker to work with. But if it’s going to give you the result you’re looking for, I wasn’t sure about that at first. I mean the thicker the pencil itself, the less precision and control you have.
MAC Big Brow Pencil – €20
But before I go into more detail about that, let’s first talk about the colour. There are a couple of shades available and I ended up going for Lingering. Obviously it’s very hard to tell from pictures on the internet which colour is going to be right for you, so if you’re not as lazy as I am and just go to the store and get your match there that would be a great and responsible choice, but I just decided to look up a million swatches and go from there.
In the end I think Lingering has been a surprisingly good decision. It’s a really pretty medium brown shade with a bit of a warm undertone. Skin-wise I have more of a neutral undertone, but this colour just really matches my brow colour perfectly. It’s not too dark, not too harsh, not too ashy and not too red. It’s perfect for people with medium to slightly darker brown hair.
Moving on to the product itself. As you can tell the product does have a shape similar to those waxy crayons we used to use back in primary school and it also has a slightly similar texture. Of course it’s not as waxy as those crayons, but it does feel a lot more waxy and creamy than a regular brow pencil does. Because of that the nice tip does vanish after using it once or twice, and then you’re left with a big rounded tip. Of course you can work with that too, but that does mean you can work even less precise than you already could.
A positive thing about the texture is that it feels like it’s a brow pencil and a brow gel in one. You know those waxy brow gels people sometimes use to set their brows in place, this does that too. So it adds colour, you can use it to shape your brow, but you can also use it to set your brow and make sure it won’t go anywhere.
One last thing I want to mention about the texture is that it isn’t the most long-wearing thing in the world. Especially not when water or sweat comes into the equation. If that happens don’t even consider touching your brow cause if you do that, you will erase it and that’s obviously the last thing you want. So texture wise this isn’t the perfect product for hot summery days, but during the winter that problem is solved and it’s safe to use.
Pigmentation wise this pencil does everything you want a brow pencil to do. It’s not too pigmented right away in a way you’ll end up with way too dark brows, but it does have enough colour pay off. It actually does its job perfectly when it comes to that. Even though the colour pay off is great and therefore you don’t need a ton of product to fill in your brows, I don’t think this pencil will last very long. After using it for like three weeks it’s already 1/4th down and that’s quite a lot in my opinion.
Having said that let’s answer the main question people might have regarding this product: can you work precisely with it? I can be clear about that: the first time you use it you can be reasonably precise with it, after that you will have to work really hard to be precise with it. Therefore I do use it in combination with other products rather than on its own. I do the outline with a regular pencil, and fill in the inside with this one. This combination works perfectly.
Clean brows – Outline with IT Cosmetics Brow Power – Filled in with MAC Big Brow Pencil
On the close up it looks all kinds of messy and I’m really sorry for those white thingies in my brows. I don’t know where they came from but I only realised they were in there after taking a million pictures of my brows. Anyway, The first close-up shows my brows without anything in them, the second one shows my brows with just the outline and the third one shows my brows filled in with the MAC Big Brow Pencil. As you can tell it’s not the neatest look of all time and I’m convinced that if you do really want that super clean and perfect brow look this isn’t going to be what you’re looking for. However, if you’re a big fan of the messy brow look, this might actually be something for you. Also if you just like your brows to look a little more full but in a natural way this could be a great product for you.
Anyway, from a distance it does look a little better. Let’s just admit that. But all the precision you see is thanks to the normal pencil. So no, for me this is not a product I’m going to be using on its own. I do think it’s handy to have on days I just really don’t feel like spending a lot of time on my brows because filling in the inside with it goes way quicker compared to filling it in with a regular pencil. But on its own it’s just not for me.
Therefore I’m not convinced this is a product I really want or need in my collection. Because even though it’s nice to be able to quickly fill in your brows with it, it’s not an essential. It’s actually an extra step and one more product you have to take with you if you’re going somewhere.
So overall I do like this pencil when it comes to the colour, the texture and how easy and quick it is to work with, but the fact that you just can’t work precisely with it kills it for me. Because of that I always have to use it along with something else and that makes me think it’s not worth it to buy a reasonably expensive product like this. However, if you’re someone who loves messy brows or just a very natural look without too sharp lines, you might really like this pencil!
And that’s it for today. Thank you so much for reading today’s post and be sure to let me know what you think of this Big Brow Pencil and which product you use to fill in your brows!
XOXO, Nicole.
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