My thoughts: Benefit Gimme Brow and a Comparison with MAC Brow Set

Benefit Gimme Brow

I am a brow conscious freak and I have a nasty habit of over plucking my brows. Some days I find myself looking into a magnifying mirror, plucking away stray hairs thinking ooh, this looks so much better. And then I pull out from the mirror and realize how crappy it looks. I know all of us had horror stories like this.

My brows are that one thing that really frustrates me. Up until now I still haven't found that routine to perfect the shape and look of it.

Benefit Gimme Brow

Benefit says this product is water resistant, long-wearing, natural-looking, and buildable. It is a brush on fiber gel for the brows. Basically this will help in grooming your brows, making the hair stay in place, and giving it a tint. It comes in only 2 shades which I thought was very limiting.

Benefit Gimme Brow

I got mine in light/medium. The other shade was obviously too dark for me, specially because I had my hair colored to a lighter shade. I wish Benefit would come up with a broader color range. Brow gels are kinda tricky because you have to take into consideration your hair color. I like how light the shade is but it turned out looking ashy on my brows.

Besides the color range, I love everything about this product. The itsy bitsy brush head is perfect and makes it really easy for me to go back and forth, coating all the strands. I'm usually apprehensive with brow gels because of my experience with the MAC brow sets but this one wasn't intimidating to use. It applied evenly and left my brows tamed but not flat. Many have claimed it as volumizing but I haven't really noticed that.

MAC Brow Set vs. Benefit Gimme Brow

MAC Brow Set and Benefit Giime Brow

My first brow gel was the MAC brow set. Size wise, MAC takes the cake. I wish the Gimme Brow was this big. The two are very different not just in the amount of product. The brush head shape and size differences are very notable, as well as the color range.

For me, I like Benefit's brush better compared to MAC's. In my experience, the tapered brush makes it easier to get to the inner part of the brows and easier to coat the tiny hairs. Application of the Brow Set was quite difficult for me. It always looked uneven and patchy. The brush packed on too much product which makes it feel thick on my brows. I know you can just rub the excess off on a paper towel but isn't it just a waste? 

However, what I do love about MAC's brow set is that the shade makes the brows look multidimensional because of the flecks of shimmer. Whereas the Gimme Brow is just matte.

Final Thoughts:

Benefit was on point when they described this product. It looked natural, and lasted all day on my brows even when I was sweating. Applying it was really fuss free and easy. Even though it deposited an extra amount of product on the wand, it applied evenly thus eliminating product wastage. It held my brow hairs in place and made it look really neat. What I'd love to see is more color variety and more than just 3.0g of product.

xx,

Thea

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Review: The Face Shop False Eyelashes

Price: Php115.00

Bought at: The Face Shop, SM Ecoland

The Face Shop Eyelashes

If I wouldn't be getting weird stares from people, I would be wearing falsies everyday. I just love how it pulls a whole look together; whether you're sporting full on eye makeup, or just a little bit of crease work and a bold lip.

I got these when I was bored and my hands were twitching to buy something. #hoarderproblems. :) I admit I'm the type to steer towards high end beauty brands. But let's be real, buying expensive lashes isn't really practical.

The Face Shop Eyelashes #09

The #09's has a transparent band. This is my favorite style out of the three. From end to end, the length of the lashes were the same. Not having the usual flare at the outer end made it look really natural. Quite sophisticated, no?

The Face Shop Eyelashes #01

The #01's has more length in the middle part which makes the eyes open up a lot. I love how thin the lashes look making it suitable for a simple, everyday makeup look.

The Face Shop Eyelashes #10

Please bear with the unevenness of the application above. It was my first time trying out individual lashes. :) Also, I curled the lashes on the left and I let the lashes on the right just as it is. I noticed it looked better when they're not curled because the left just looks wonky. I wish the #10's had smaller individual lashes rather than all of it being of the same length so that it would look a lot more natural on the inner parts of our eyes.

Judging from the style numbers of the lashes, I know the brand has a variety of lash styles but these were the only ones available at the store I went to. I wanted to get more information as to the type of material they used specially for the hair but surprisingly I couldn't find any information on their international site. Actually, they're lashes weren't even on their product list. Awkward.

The lash band on their lashes is quite thin, making it unnecessary to put on a thick eyeliner as a base. As we have observed, Asian eyes are mostly hooded. Having a lash that has a thick band will only make it more difficult for us to achieve that open eyed look. The lashes felt light weight on the eyes and it looked pretty natural, to my surprise.

Final Recommendations:

The Face Shop did an awesome job designing their lashes to suit most Asian eyes. They're not overly long and not too much volume either. In addition, I did not have to cut too much off of the lash band to make it fit me and not poke myself. I think their lashes will also work well across different eye shapes and sizes.

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Review: Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF15

1 FL.OZ/30 mL
Price: Php 2, 900.00

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF15

My mom got this for me in her recent trip to Rustan’s. Oh the perks of being spoiled. Kidding. I don’t really wear foundation on a daily basis; in fact, I don’t wear any type of face makeup when I feel like it’s going to be an “ordinary” day. i.e: house – office – house. One of the reasons why is because I easily feel heavy faced (uh? Is there such a term?) or that I easily get uncomfortable when I feel like I have too much product on. But this one didn't make me too conscious with that at all.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF15

This foundation comes in a glass container with a pump. Love that. However, when I dispensed the product onto the back of my hand, the foundation got all over my shirt! I was wearing white that day and was about to leave the house. Bummer. I don’t know if I got an odd bottle but the pump spurts. And since it’s a water based foundation, it is quite runny so be careful with that too.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF15

I have normal to dry skin. It didn't make me oily at the t-zone even after 5 hours of wear, but, (uh-oh) this has a tendency to cling to dry patches. I was fidgeting all day not to poke at the dry skin around my nose because it looked so annoying whenever I look in the mirror!

Note that I didn't use any primer nor setting powder when I was testing this product.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF15 with RT Expert Face Brush

Product application was such a breeze! It easily blended into my skin, didn't leave any streaks, and best of all, it felt really nice. It's as if I wasn't wearing any foundation at all. It would've been perfect if it hadn't emphasized dry patches on my skin. So ladies (and gents), exfoliate if you must.

I used a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush with this. I recommend using a brush rather than a sponge for this type of formulation. Let's not forget it's a water based foundation, so using a sponge will just absorb all of the product in.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF15

I noticed I could still see a bit of redness on my cheeks; I'd say it's a light coverage foundation. If you're someone who has a lot of redness or pigmentation on your face and you want to completely neutralize your skin, this foundation is not for you. In the "before and after" picture below, the foundation color is a perfect match for my skin. However, at the end of the day I noticed that this product oxidized, A LOT. My friends kept telling me how I seemed to have gotten darker. Also, when we were taking photos, my face looked really dark. No exaggeration here because those pictures were taken in a studio set-up with all the lights and flash photography; so be on the lookout for that as well.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF15

As for longevity, I noticed a bit of fading around the sides of my nose 6 hours into wearing the product; a deviation from what Bobbi Brown claims as "long-wearing". I suggest touching up or using a setting powder.


Final Recommendations:

Out of all the liquid foundations I've been trying out lately, this is my favorite in terms of the feel of it on my skin. I almost forgot I was wearing foundation because of how comfortable and lightweight it felt. Also, it made my skin look fresh, but not for long. My main concern is that it oxidizes and that it emphasized dull areas. I feel that this would work best for those who have little to no blemishes since it has quite a thin formula. But it's definitely ideal for everyday wear.

As for the price point, I know most would find this quite expensive. For a light coverage foundation, it is. I love that it has SPF15, and how natural it looks. But I feel like this product was made for those with almost perfect skin: Non-acidic, close to zero blemishes, no dry patches..etc. But who has that?I wish I could say "me!" xx, Thea.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF15

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