Let's get ready to rumble!
Good whatever-time-it-is-that-you're-reading-this and welcome to tonight's match which promises to be life-changing for your wallet. In the red corner, representing the Splurge team and the undisputed cult-favorite, the eyebrow gel known to beauty lovers the world over: Glossier's Boy Brow!
Over in the blue corner, representing the Save crowd and is readily more accessible to Filipinas, boasting of a slightly larger build than the other and a more affordable price point: Maybelline's Brow Precise Fiber Volumizer!
In our referee comes, reminding both contenders to fight a clean fight and wishing them luck. Let's get right to it.
Many thanks to this website whose url can be used to describe my actions for my boxing presentation script. All jokes and fancy presentations aside, Ate Elisa recently gifted me the Maybelline Brow Precise Fiber Volumizer (yeah, it's a mouthful) and I was interested to see how well it performed in comparison to my Boy Brow. I was surprised by the results. (Cue clickbait title: I put these two eyebrow products to the test and you'll never believe the results!)
The process of doing my eyebrows had always been lost on me up until the Boy Brow came into my life. It offered simplicity and a foolproof way of doing my brows without overdoing it, and the beginner in me was eternally grateful to the beauty gods for (back then, at least to me, they all came in the form of one Emily Weiss). I've gotten better at it now, so I'm not nearly as hesitant trying out new brow products but I'm not as into hoarding them unlike blushes and lipsticks so these are the only two brow gels in my collection.
However, before we reach our results and conclusion, first, let's look into their individual assets and overall performance.
GLOSSIER BOY BROW
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| Boy Brow applicator |
Performance: It does its job, and considering how long I've been using it, it does its job well. However, because of the spoolie, it has this tendency of getting too much product even if you wipe it against the stopper. I end up with too much product on the front of my brows, which I have to brush out with a separate spoolie. I still need to be careful about this, though, because the formula is watery and so it can stain your skin and give you an eyebrow version of a 5-o'clock shadow, which has made doing my eyebrows slightly more annoying than it should be. Combing it over my hairs backwards (aka against their natural direction) ensures I get each and individual hair better but then combing it back in place leads to too thick of an eyebrow, so using a light hand does the trick. It doesn't dry so quickly though, which means it's a relatively easy fix. It lasts long enough and it doesn't make my eyebrows crunchy; it helps keep my brows in place but not so much either that it doesn't move around if I touch it or—if it was a really bad day—got hit in the face by a basketball (duh).
Overall: Okay, so this is more pomade than gel, but close enough. I will always have a soft spot for this product just because it made me realize that doing your eyebrows doesn't have to be rocket science. But for how small it is and how expensive and inaccessible it is to us Filipinas, I'd give it a 3.5/5, because what's the use of recommending a product that majority of us might have a hard time with finding? (To Glossier: please ship to the Philippines. Love, me). The hunt may also factor into the appeal, and if I could I would repurchase, but in retrospect, it's not worth all that hassle. Given the other alternatives, maybe it's worth only half of it.
MAYBELLINE BROW PRECISE FIBER VOLUMIZER
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| Brow Precise applicator |
Performance: I was initially hesitant about the brush because it looked so weird, but I found that it works really well. I don't even have to do the backstroke with it. The color matches Boy Brow's except a little darker so I'd say it's a good dupe; however, it does make my eyebrows slightly crunchy which means they stay in place but are also harder to remove. It dries quickly so it might be that. When I removed it after a long day at school, it kind of broke up on the cotton round as a slightly powdery mess and I had to wipe rougher than I usually do to get it completely off which may have lead to a hair or two falling out (if you have thin eyebrows, beware). Applying less product or properly removing it by massaging your oil cleanser can help avoid that problem, I've since learned. However, I really liked how it felt, maybe because it was new to me and I'm a child who is carried away by the novelty of things, but for the price point and the applicator, I'd say it's a worthy contender; maybe even a dupe. However, do keep in mind that I received this as a gift from a friend so I'm not the best judge for value for money.
Overall: It's a great product by Maybelline and readily available at your nearest Maybelline counters, which is—coupled with the price—a definite plus point in my book. The crunchy eyebrow thing might not be for everyone but it wasn't too big of an issue with me; I liked that the applicator got all of my hairs and kept them in place, so it was a trade-off I was willing to make. However, I did notice that some eyebrow hairs would fall out (like one or two) when I take it off at the end of the day, so I deducted a point for that. A nitpicky thing I would point out is that I get why they called it such, but I wish the name was shorter. I hate when products have long names because it's a mouthful, hard to remember, and a lot like my papers when there's a word count to reach. I'd give it a 4/5.
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| My eyebrows without any products on! |
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| Left: Glossier; Right: Maybelline |
It was a hard decision to make but—Just kidding, it was pretty easy actually. As of this writing, I definitely prefer Maybelline's brow gel and would urge those looking for a new brow product to save their money and get this instead. It's easier to pick up, cheaper, and almost double the product (0.11 oz for Boy Brow which is approximately 3 mL, while Maybelline's is 8 mL) so you get your money's worth. It's easier to not overdo, especially if you fill in your brows and only use a gel to set it in place. The Maybelline brow gel also applies evenly, meaning to say the sparse spots on your brows aren't emphasized because much of the products go to the areas with more hair (see above). However, if you have extra cash to spare and want thicker-looking and more defined brows (especially if you have sparse brows all in all), the Boy Brow is a good product to invest in.
What about you? What do you think? Have you tried both products? Let me know!
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