US brow product specialist, Anastasia Beverley Hills is a cult brand loved by celebs such as Elle Macpherson, Madonna, J Lo and Victoria Beckham. I’ve held off on telling you about its Beauty Express Brow Kit for a while as my extensive attempts to source the brand in the UK readers led to blanks - and it seemed unfair to shout about something that the majority of my readers can’t access. Plan 2 was to purchase one at Sephora during my recent trip to Singapore for a blog giveaway, but it seems only US and European Sephoras stock it.
Happy days, I found out this week (via the Pixiwoos) that Cult Beauty now stocks Anastasia in the UK and while they don’t have this specific kit, they have similar items. Sorry about the long winded intro… now onto the product, which I LOVE!
Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes comes in a pink mock croc embossed case and includes full directions for use.
The above swatches from L to R are: 1&2 - brow shades on top of wax (darker tones), 3&4 - brow shades without wax and you can just about make out 5&6 - the eyeshadows. You can clearly see what a difference it makes to the intensity of colour when the powder is applied on top of the wax. The more wax used, the more intense the colour. Sometimes I rebel and mix them together, though it can get a bit messy…
The kit includes:
- brow wax
- 2 shades of brow powder (this is the blonde version)
- 2 eyeshadows - natural skin shade and a shimmery highlighter for browbone and inner corners
- brow stencils ranging from petite to full arch
- brow brush
- magnifying mirror
- directions
The angled brush bristles are firmly packed yet soft, making application a dream. The idea is to select the best stencil for your natural (or desired) brow shape, shade it in with the product, then remove the excess hair around it. Instead I got my brows waxed by a beautician (Clarins at Debenhams Belfast, who I love!), then used the closest stencil to my new shape.
Blonde brows are a bit of a pain in the ass to be honest. Mine are so pale and reasonably fine that I ignored them most of my life, plus I had a full fringe for quite a while and they were rarely seen. The realisation of what a difference they can make to my face is quite a new one… they definitely give an illusion of lifting the eye area, frame the face and help break up my rather large forehead! Now that I’ve got used to having them ‘done’ I can’t believe I ignored them for so long.
I’m digressing a bit again… here’s the effect of the lightest blonde powder with the medium arch stencil. When I took these pics I had only used the product a couple of times and have since had my brows done in a nicer shape, but at least it gives you some idea of how it works…
One eye done (using stencil & mix of the 2 blonde powders)…
If you cover the made-up eye and brow the other half of my face looks wishy washy and my eye looks a bit lost. Defining the eye (including the brow) defines the whole face more than any other feature.
Light brow powder and eyeshadow duo, freehand…
I should have used more product on my brows here, but like I said - it was only my second attempt and I’m now more confident in the application. I enjoy the eyeshadows as much as the brow powders… they’re so simple yet perfect for daytime use… the pic above left shows them best - they just look like natural skintone yet give a little bit of definition to the eye and browbone, without looking overly made up.
Dark brow powder, applied with stencil…
Sorry for the blank/fed-up/squinty expressions here… I had to take so many of these shots to try and capture the brows in a good light and was in serious need of a coffee fix by this point! ;)
The darker of the two powders (or a mix of both) is my favourite look… although the added definition took some getting used to for me, it’s still quite subtle and I now wear it bolder again, as you can see here in a more recent pic.
I’m having fun discovering the art of brow defining and this kit has definitely ignited that, so if you can get your hands on some Anastasia, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it and will definitely be trying some of their other products myself.
The Beauty Express kit is available at Anastasia.net for $39.50
Anastasia products are available in Sephora US and European stores and in the UK at Cult Beauty, where you’ll find a similar brow kit, though personally I’d opt for the brow powder duo which comes in an impressive 6 colourways, Brow Wiz (which MUA, Kenneth Soh assures me is foolproof!) or tinted brow gel.
Elysian Brows in Dublin also uses and (as far as I know) stocks Anastasia products.
The products come in a wide range of colours, but I’m personally delighted to find such a great option for blondes! Do you ‘do’ your brows?
Sample
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