I don’t know exactly how it happens, but I guess every beauty junkie knows the feeling of waking up one morning and realising that something’s missing in your beauty routine you never thought about before. That happened to me not long ago when I realised that I want my brows to match my hair. In came the Kat von D purple brow pomade…
The Problem
Well, my hair is the colour of aubergines. It’s not exactly simple to find a colour or product that matches it, because either colour or texture is wrong. I’ve tried lipliners, eyeliners, eyeshadows, what have you, and it ends up looking weird and wrong. The reason for that is that it’s incredibly difficult to find a formula that also colours the brow hairs and not only the skin underneath.
The Search – Armani Eye & Brow Maestro in Plum
While my hair is dyed a reddish purple, my brows aren’t. I usually use a brow pomade in Ash Brown (Anastasia Beverly Hills), a colour that matches my natural brows perfectly. But – the thought hung on, and wouldn’t let go. I used Armani’s Eye & Brow Maestro in the past. And I don’t like it as much as I used to. With that one, it becomes obvious really quickly that only the skin around and under my brow hairs is coloured, and that’s not a good look. The formula isn’t quite right, either – it’s shimmery, for starters! That is the reason, I think, that sparse spots between your brow hairs get highlighted in a weird way – the shimmer draws attention to them. In short, I’ve abandoned it since I got it and used it enthusiastically for a few weeks.
The comparison – Kat von D 24-hour Super Brow long-wear pomade
And then came the press release about the new VERY colourful Kat von D brow pomades, and I yearned for them. I basically wrested them out of the SA’s hands while she was unpacking them. And, yes, I like them, although they still have issues that the Armani Eye & Brow Maestro suffers from as well.
Coverage, texture, longevity
This will, even all promo pictures want to tell you otherwise, NOT colour/cover your individual brow hairs so completely that your brows look like blocks of colour. You can, to a degree, build up the colour, but if you have darker brows, like I do, there’ll always be a difference between your brows and the coloured skin underneath them. No matter what brush you use.
The texture, when freshly opened, is very soft, nearly mousse-like. If you’re overenthusiastically loading up your brush, you’ll have little crumbs of brow pomade all over your face, so don’t. Of course, this has a ridiculous claim of 24-hour-wear (do you ever wonder what for these claims come into existence?! I mean, who truly needs 24-hours-weartime of anything?!), but although I didn’t test that (I have my limits), the wear time is truly excellent. I’ve worn the pomade in horribly hot and humid weather, and it doesn’t budge. Plus, it’s rather touch-proof – you can rub your brows as much as you want, and the colour won’t transfer or rub off.
The answer?
I don’t know why I enjoy this so much more than the Armani Eye & Brow, but fact is, I do. Maybe the exclusion of fine glitter can do so much? I’ve no idea. The thing is, that I appreciate how looks come together when I do my makeup, because the effect is so (wait for it) natural. It just gels everything together, because it matches my hair colour so well. If you’ve coloured hair, it’s very well worth to look into – I can attest that it gives the face a different look than a simple brown or taupe would.
Availability
$19, here.
End note
I wrote this before Kat von D came out as anti-vaccine, which, as Jezebel so succinctly put, is really a fucking bummer. I felt it’s important to include this in this review, because I’m totally fed up with beauty CEOs sprouting nonsense. And in the end, there’s only one way to show them how unacceptable their opinions are: Go and buy somewhere else.
Also, if you want to read a great book on how humans vanquished some of the most dangerous diseases ever know, read Jessica Wright’s Get Well Soon. (Including Polio, because, you know, somebody came up with a vaccine.)
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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