In sitting down to write this review I realized something. Eyebrow products are the serious underdogs of the makeup world. Let's be real. I'm pretty sure if you ask someone to list off lust-worthy makeup, most people will probably ramble on about buttery lipsticks, creamy eyeshadows, or the most flawless looking foundation. Eyebrow pencils, creams, and mousses just don't get the same kind of love. But truly, good brows are SO important. You can spend 15 minutes blending out the perfect smokey eye, but if your eyebrows are invisible your face is just not going to look pulled together. Now, I cannot speak to whether or not my brows are on fleek, but I at least generally try to keep them looking reasonably well groomed. And this set I picked up from Sumita will definitely help me to up my eyebrow game.
The Sumita Brow Must Have Kit is a three piece system designed to help your brows look full, defined, and natural. It includes a brow color pencil (available in three different shades), a brow base pencil, and a brow setting pencil. The set retails for $24 and is a $33 value (each product is $11 purchased separately). I chose the shade Imlee, which is a medium warm-toned brown.
I was impressed by how beautiful the brow color pencil was. The metal packaging is super sleek, and feels really nice and weighty in the hand. I also appreciate that it's self sharpening, especially considering how quickly one can go through a brow pencil. The tip has a flattened shape (similar to the IT Cosmetics Brow Pencil) so that you can use either the short or long edge to vary the size of your strokes. The texture of the product itself is a little waxy and grips onto the brow hairs well, instantly adding both definition and fullness.
The brow base and brow set pencils are both thicker (and need to be sharpened manually) but were also equally great at doing their respective jobs. The brow base is really creamy and blends easily into the skin. When used on the brow bone it instantly covers any fine or stray hairs, making your brows look even cleaner and more perfectly defined. It also could be used as a highlight all over the face, to conceal problem areas, or as a base for eyeshadow. It reminds me a lot of my beloved Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil but at a fraction of the price! The brow set pencil is a clear wax that will set unruly brow hairs in place without making your brows feel crunchy or stiff.
To give you a better idea of how this set performs as a whole, I've taken a few pictures to show you how each product looks and applies individually. First up are my good old naked brows. They sort of have a shape, but definitely are in need of a little definition.
Here's how the look after I applied the Imlee Eyebrow Pencil. I used short, feathery strokes following the natural direction of the hair growth to fill in sparse areas and to help better define the arch.
Then, I used the Brow Base under the eyebrows to highlight and conceal. I also took the pencil right along the top edge of the brow at its outermost point to help add definition. After drawing the product on, I use my ring finger to blend everything out.
My last step was to go in with the brow set and glide it along my brows to help tack down any stray hairs. You could easily use a spooly brush or even your fingers to help move the hairs into place after the brow set is on to get them sitting in exactly the right direction.
And there you have it! I'm really quite happy with this set as a whole. I think it definitely does a great job of making your brows look nice while also still appearing natural. While it may seem like a lot of fuss to use three separate products for your eyebrows alone, the whole process only takes a minute or two. The Brow Base pencil is also so incredibly versatile you could easily use it in place of a highlighter or concealer if your end goal was to minimize products on hand. Also, since this kit is exclusive to Birchbox, you can easily make it even more of a steal by using coupon codes or points.
Have you ever tried any of Sumita's Brow Products? What do you use to keep your eyebrows on point?
