Eyebrows are something I have a love/hate relationship with. I won't leave the house without them filled in some way, but it's the thing I always leave until last in my make-up routine. I'm not very confident in my brow skills, and because they're so thin and sparse it takes a fair bit of time and patience to get them to look reasonably full and even. Over the last few months I've been trying out the Illamasqua Brow Gel in the shade Strike, and have been dying to review it, but had to give it a thorough try. Now I've trialled it for so long, and in so many types of weather, I've finally formed a solid opinion of it.
First thing's first, I want to apologise for the photos of a used product. I always take my photos of new products before I use them, as I did with this, but I had issues with my laptop and lost a load of pictures, for this post as well as some coming up. That'll teach me to back everything up!
Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel is similar to a gel eyeliner; It comes in a small glass pot with a screw lid and you need a decent brush to apply it. I tried a few brushes I already had but none of them were right so I went on the hunt and found a lovely, small, angled brush on eBay which is perfect. You need a tiny amount of product per use, so don't be too tempted to start digging into the product, you literally just need to touch the top of the gel with your chosen brush. Illamasqua do sell an eyebrow brush which is meant to be perfect for use with this, but I couldn't bring myself to spend £19.50 on it.
Using the one brush and a small amount of gel I'm able to get pretty much any kind of brow look I fancy on the day, and although I'm not that skilled with application, they always turn out well, which really is a testament to how great this product is. I've tried thick and full brows, relatively bushy, feathered, ombre and "quick, I'm in a hurry, just slap something on" brows, and they all ended up looking better than I've ever been able to manage with any other brow product.
The shade I have, Strike, is just perfect for me. It's cool-toned so won't look red in sunlight and is neither too dark nor too light. I find it quite difficult to get brow products the perfect shade match for my hair, but this is. However, if you're after something different to a medium, cool-toned brown, Illamasqua sell this brow gel in four shades ranging from blonde to very dark brown, so there should be something in the range to suit most people. I'd have liked to have seen a black and a red, and maybe even a grey (especially since that's quite the trend at the moment), but I guess I can't complain too much.
Where this product really shines is its staying power. I've worn it in any weather condition you can think of, with the exception of snow, and nothing budges it. I've been rained on, I've sweated, and I even got crazy hot whilst wearing a masquerade mask that covered my eyebrows, but none of that was even close to being an issue. It really is indestructible. If you make a mistake whilst applying it, move quickly, because once it's set it's just not budging! Although it really does stay put when you want it to, removal is no bother at all. I'm still using and loving this cleanser to remove my make-up and it cuts through the brow gel with ease.
If you have fairly short brow hairs you possibly won't need a product to set your hairs in place either. The shortest of mine stay exactly where I want them wearing this alone, however, I do have to use a clear gel on the longer hairs as they have a tendency to be very unruly. As you may have gathered, I'm super impressed with this eyebrow gel, and even its high price tag won't be enough to put me off buying it again when this one eventually runs out. Although I usually prefer to buy budget-friendly make-up, there are some things that I think are worth the extra money, and this is most certainly one of them. I don't use the term 'Holy grail' very often, but this is one of the times I'm happy to do so.
Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel is available online and from Illamasqua counters nationwide for £18.50.
What kind of product do you choose to do your brows with? I was always a pencil kinda girl, but I'm now a convert.
