ELF Studio Brow Kit in Light Review

The ELF Brow Kit is probably the cheapest, most effective brow product out there that has a wax component to it. This is the highest-rating ELF brow product to date over at Makeupalley, where 164 reviewers gave it a 4.3/5 rating (I personally say that a 3.5 score from 100ish reviewers is already quite high) and 79% of them would repurchase the product.

Will it fare as good for Pinay brows? Oh how I wish we had our own version of Makeupalley...

ELF Studio Brow Kit Performance

Sans brow makeup, I have a relatively thick set of bleached brows with defined arches, thanks to my gradually developing brow grooming skills. The problem is, my brows are noticeably sparse on several areas and I need a good brow product to add fullness to these face framers.

I was able to achieve a more defined brows that softened my overall look with this brow kit. I loved how natural-looking my brows turned out, as if they were never really sparse to begin with. With my face neatly framed by a set of softer-looking brows, I was a happy camper! However, I'm thinking that if my brows weren't bleached, the brow kit in light would not have suited me. 

It is also essential to note that the brow kit is "makeup newbie-friendly" since it posed lesser chances of me ending up like Bert from Sesame Street. I usually end up looking cartoonish if I'm experimenting with brow pencils. It is sheer irony that a 3-step brow product is far more easy to use than the popular 1-step brow pencil.

Shade Selection and Packaging

On the US website, this amazing ELF Studio brow kit comes in 4 shades: dark, medium and light and ash. Unfortunately, our local counters only carry the kit in light.

The brow kit is housed in a small, lightweight, plastic flip casing. It comes with a small mirror and an impressive double-sided taklon brush. I really wish they sold brush backups since the angled brush end can wear out over time.

Product Highlights 

• easy to use
• wax and powder blends perfectly to give out a flattering color for those with light skintones
• cheap yet effective
• don't let the small packaging fool you, the kit can last you several months 
• you can easily tote it in your bag for touch-ups
• the brush that comes with it is not something you'll throw away

The Letdowns

• the shade 'light' does not suit majority of the Filipina population
• you'll need to swipe a LOT of wax so that it finally shows up
• you end up hitting pan on the wax way before finishing up 50% of the powder (that's how much wax you need); they should come up with wax separates in addition to the double-sided taklon brush
• intensity of color dies down by midday, however, it's nothing that touch-ups can't deal with
• frequently out-of-stock

Price, Availability, Ingredients

The ELF Studio Brow Kit costs around 250php over local counters, and $3 on the US website. You can get it from local ELF counters at SM Beauty Section, from those holding pre-orders, and from resellers (ebay.ph and multiply).

(taken from ELF website) Brow Gel Ingredient:Paraffinium Liquidum (Mineral Oil) , Ricinus Comunis (Castor) Seed Oil , Talc , Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax , Ozokerite , Methylisothiazolinone , Caprylyl glycol  May Contain:Iron Oxides(CI 77491 CI 77492 CI 77499) , Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)

Brow Powder Ingredient:Talc , Mica , Caprylic/Caprictriglycerides , Hydrogenated Polyisobutene , Sodium Dehydroacetate May Contain: Iron Oxide(CI 77491 CI 77492 CI 77499)

Recommendation

I might discourage friends with really thin and sparse brows from purchasing the kit in Light (I'd rather they use pencils OR wait till the 2 darker shades become available). I'll highly recommend this to makeup newbies, NC15-25ish, who'd want to experience the power of a properly framed face. With this product, it's definitely possible to sport nicely shaped and natural-looking brows on a daily basis.

I feel that more Pinays can experience the ease of having natural-looking brows if the ELF studio brow kit came to our counters in more shades. Dark and medium, sail to our shores please! I feel that if these two become available, I'll be striking out letdowns 2, 3 and 4 off that long list!