Brow Definer Dupe?

While wandering around my local Boots today, I spotted this little baby in the corner of my eye. Being an Anastasia Beverly Hills lover, I was surprised to see what appeared to be a Brow Definer...in the Soap & Glory range!

Of course, I had to take a closer look and I was quite surprised to see just how similar the ABH Brow Definer and the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Sculpting Crayon & Gel were. At a glance, the only real difference I could see what the fact that the Soap & Glory product comes with a brow gel in the same applicator instead of just a spooly. 

Oh and the other key difference was the price.

ABH Brow Definer : £16
Soap & Glory Archery Brow Sculpting Crayon & Gel : £10

So, £6 isn't a huge difference, but when Boots are doing 'buy 1 get one half price' thats TWO Soap & Glory Archery Brow Sculpting Crayon & Gel's for less than ONE ABH Brow Definer.

The shape of the actual product was literally the exact same for both products: 

And the ingredients don't differ too much (everything in pink is the same and blue is similar. I'm pretty sure the other ingredients are very similar or have the same properties, but I'm not a chemist, so I can't be sure!)

ABH Brow Definer 
Behenic Acid, Mica, Rhus Succedanea Fruit Wax/Cera, Lanolin, Triethylhexanoin, Sucrose Tetrastearate Triacetate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sorbitan Sesquiisostearate, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopherol, May Contain: (+/-) Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Ferric Ferrocyanide (Ci 77510).
 

Soap & Glory Archery Brow Sculpting Crayon & Gel 
Hydrogenated soybean oil, Hydrogenated coco-glycerides, Hydrogenated vegetable oil, Zinc stearate, Stearic acid, Copernicia cerifera (Carnauba) wax, Polyglyceryl-2 triisostearate, Tocopherol, Caprylyl glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ascorbyl palmitate, Hexylene glycol, [+/- (May contain) Mica, CI 77891 (Titanium dioxide), CI 77499 (Iron oxides), CI 77492 (Iron oxides), CI 77491 (Iron oxides)]. 

But what about the colour? Well these is a slightly noticeable difference when I swatch the two colours next to each other, it doesn’t appear to be huge, but colour can make a massive difference when you’re doing your brows. Below I swatches ABH Taupe with S&G Brown & Out. 

I'll leave you to be the judge!

DLJ

Xoxo

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer Defined

I'm pretty sure that anyone who has an Instagram account at the moment will see images of this product popping onto their screens, whether their account is make up based or not. With a following of just under 8 million people, Anastasia has a pretty strong army of brow loving girls and boys. So it doesn't come as any shock to see how quickly this product is making it's way to the masses and onto my screen.

Being one of the 7.9 million followers and a user of ABH I was keen to be quick off the mark with trying out the new Brow Definer. 

Having used the ABH Dipbrow Pomade for well over a year, I knew that Taupe was going to be the right colour for me. I promptly placed my order with Cult Beauty and was chuffed to receive my order next day!! 

The Brow Definer pencil is unique in that it has three different ways to outline and fill in brows:

Thin : use the sharpest point of the tip to create fine, hair like strokes
Medium : use the back side of the pencil to create thicker, hair like strokes
Wide : use the pencil on its side to create broad strokes.
(source : http://www.anastasiabeverlyhills.com/brow-definer.html)

Personally, I would say that I feel that it has two ways to define your brows. However, I did mess up the thinnest part of the pencil on my first application because I didn't read the above! Had I have know this, maybe I woudn't have been so heavy handed at first application!

I love my dipbrow pomade, so the brow definer has a lot to live up to. So with a little bit of apprehension, I decided to take the plunge as soon as my brow definer arrived. As I guessed, the colour was a perfect match, but what about the final look?

Even though I have pretty dark hair, my skin is really pale, so for every day looks, I stick to Taupe as I can always add brow powder / eye shadows on top to make the colour darker if needs be.

It did take me a few attempts to get my brows right, but that is just down to the fact that it's a different technique to apply this pencil over the dipbrow. However, once I had finally got over using something new, I was very impressed. 

My brows look so much more natural and the colour stayed in place much longer than my dipbrow pomade. Because I have pretty oily skin, by the time I get home after along day on the road my brows can appear a little deflated. They don't smudge per say, but they aren't exactly in the right place if that makes sense?

The texture of the pencil is creamy, but with an undertone that has more 'friction' to it. The dipbrow pomade on the other hand is just very creamy and doesn't have much to really 'hold' it in place. It's hard to explain without physically touching the products.

According to CultBeauty.com, Anastasia designed the Brow Definer to work in conjunction with the Brow Wiz...'After defining the eyebrow outline with Brow Wiz, use the wide end of the Brow Definer's triangular 'nib' to fill in gaps, before using the narrow end to create finer, hair-like strokes for a more natural effect'.

I think the most noticeable difference however is the amount of product you get for your money. The Brow Definer is £16 at CultBeauty.com and for 0.2g of product, the Brow Wiz is £15.50 for 0.08g of product and the Dipbrow Pomade is £15 for a whapping 4g of product. Now that is a hell of a difference. I find that on average, my Dipbrow Pomade will last me around 5 months, after just two applications of the Brow Definer, this is how much I have left....

 The verdict? I love this product so much, that even though you get so much less product for your money VS the dipbrow pomade, I'm still going to be adding it to my shopping cart! If you find something you love, then you just have to take a deep breath and click 'proceed to checkout'.

DLJ

Xoxo

2015 wishlist

It's always good to start the year knowing what you want to achieve. I have set my own personal goals for the year, now it's time to look at my make up goals!

I am going to start with skin care as this is top of my list for the year ahead. I am getting married in August and really should have started getting my skin ready like yesterday, but that's life! So when I do finally get around to ordering in some new products, here's whats on my list for skin care.

GLAMGLOW® SUPERMUD® Clearing Treatment

This is something that has been on my list for a little while. I am really interested in trying this as I want my skin to have a deep clean every month before my wedding. I've heard fantastic review so far, so this is defiantly something I want to try this year.

(Picture : http://www.feelunique.com/p/GLAMGLOW-SUPER-MUD-34g)

theBalm Mary Lou Manizer Luminizer

Another product that I have seen so many times on so many blogs and reviews. I have to admit, in the past I have not been so fussed on finding a good highlighter. It really isn’t something I have thought that my make-up routine needed, but the more time I spend on make-up looks and trying to develop my ability, the more I think this is something that I need in my collection.

(Picture : http://www.feelunique.com/p/theBalm-Mary-Lou-Manizer-Luminizer-8.5g)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

I have already fallen in love with Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade over the last year, but I’m fancy trying her brow wiz as well. Not because I don’t want to use her dipbrow pomade, but because I want a softer, more natural option in my make-up bag. I find that Dipbrow Pomade is great for bold, defined brows, but on lazy days, I think this might be the perfect product.

(Picture : http://www.beautybay.com/cosmetics/anastasiabeverlyhills/browwiz/)

Billion Dollar Brows Brow Gel 3ml

On the subject of brows, Billion Dollar Brows is another make I keep coming across in blogs and reviews. I’m in serious need of a brow gel at the moment as I am in the process of reshaping my brows, which can be quite tricky and require a little bit of holding power until they are ready.

(Picture : http://www.beautybay.com/skincare/billiondollarbrows/browgel/)

GHD CURVE CLASSIC WAVE WAND

I want this so much! I have been a GHD lover since I was about 16 and have been using their straighteners ever since. I have tried to curl my hair with them on a few occasions, sometimes with luck, but more often than not, with little success. So I feel that really, for the sake of anyone having to be around me when I attempt to curl my hair, it would be better for everyone if I had these in my life.

(Picture : http://www.lookfantastic.com/ghd-curve-classic-curl-tong/11058313.html)

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

After watching the wonderful Jaclyn Hill for what seems like years, this is defiantly on my want list. I have been using Real Techniques for a while now, but I still want to give this brush a try! And it's a simpliar price to the Real Techniques brushes! 

(Picture : http://www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk/prod/sigma-f80-flat-top-kabuki-brush)

But with a wedding to pay for, all of the above are staying on the wish list for the time being. Maybe a few little treats might come my way, so watch this space 

DLJ xoxo