Laura Mercier, eye brow pencil, is touted as a smoothly textured pencil, guaranteed to provide fine, hair-like strokes. Let's put it to the test!
Here's the Story
Who knows how the feeling came upon me? Perhaps it's because there are only so many features one can play with on the face, or perhaps it was born in the sheer awe of Nicole Kidman's stunning brows in Moulin Rouge. Whatever the reason, I decided that I wanted to know if I too could extend my brows well-past the brow bone and still look relatively human. For this task, I turn to Laura Mercier, eye brow pencil extordinaire!
Laura Mercier Eye Brow Pencil: The Details
At first blush, the brow pencil does seem to boast a myriad of advantages, including:
- A unique triangle shape: Apparently created just so for an easy grip, and accurate application, this triangle head is also pretty comfortable to hold.
- Creamy Formula: The creamy formula is also a huge draw; who wants a pencil that crumbles right in the middle of the application process?
- Firm: The firm feel of the pencil is also a big draw, especially when you are trying to fill in tiny, sparse hairs, or draw a precise line.
Several different colors of Laura Mercier Eye Brow Pencil are available, including:
- Fair Blonde
- Blonde
- Soft Brunette
- Brunette
- Warm Brunette
The Application
Advantages
- No slippage: Immediately, I can see that the unique triangle shape is a God-send; the pencil does not slip in anyway and fits comfortably in mind hand.
- Color: The color here is intense. It really grabs the skin, and saturates the brow hairs.
- Precise: Whether it's the creamy texture of the pencil, or the unique triangular shape, drawing a precise line is a breeze with this pencil! This is great because if you over tweezed in a certain area, but not the entire brow, you can use this pencil to fill in that specific area.
Disadvantages
- A little too precise: It's imperative that you use a light hand with this pencil, otherwise you run the risk of drawing a line that's too precise; the end result of which is a line that looks harsh and unnatural.
- Saturation of Color: While the intensity of color is a good thing, it can also be something of a hindrance if you choose the wrong color. To combat this, err on the side of caution and choose a pencil that's lighter in color than you might ordinarily purchase. It's is not easy to lighten this color up, even if you are using a light hand, so save yourself some grief and go with the lighter shade.
- Lacks Portability: While it feels fantastic to get so much "pencil" for your money, it also means that the Laura Mercier Eye Brow Pencil is not the easiest makeup tool to transport!
This is a fairly lengthy pencil, and it won't fit easily into a smaller sized makeup kit. This can be quite a pain if you are trying to transport your eyebrow pencil to work in your handbag; it will be all too easy to lose it in the abyss that is most women's bags!
The Verdict
So, is the Laura Mercier eyebrow pencil worth splurging on? Well, it really depends on what you want your brows to look like and how much coverage you need. If your brows are completely bare, you may be better off going with something that looks a bit more natural; try Revlon's Brow Fantasy. Otherwise, you'll definitely look as if you've drawn your eyebrows on, so if that's a look you don't prefer, choose another product. There are, however, two exceptions:
- Brows need filling in: This may be the best situation for using this brow pencil because it easily fills in sparse hairs, with short, precise strokes.
- Emo Look: If shaving the brows off completely and drawing them in, then you should really like the precise coverage this pencil can give.
- Old World Glamour: The other exception is if you admire those beautiful, glamorous ladies of the 1950's, for example, Rita Hayworth and Lucille Ball. If so, then this brow pencil is definitely for you.
As for myself, I will be using this brow pencil to help deal with any sparse hairs, but on my particular face shape, drawing in an entire brow line just doesn't look right. No worries though, as this pencil can still help me to look great!
