16 Of The Best Eyebrow Pencils For Perfect Arches
Searching for the best eyebrow pencil needn’t mean wading through countless products. Whether it’s finding the right one to match your specific hair colour, a formula that will last all day, or one that will stay put even after a workout, there is a perfect brow pencil out there for you – and Vogue has done extensive research in order to spotlight the best buy in each category.
Read more: How To Shape Your Eyebrows At Home
The brow industry boom over the past decade – thanks in large part to Cara Delevingne and the rise of Instagram-worthy bushy brows – has seen brands constantly developing and improving their formulas, to keep up with the ever-changing needs of savvy beauty consumers. As a result, the products on the market are now better and more effective than ever.
Read more: The Best Epilators For Silky Smooth Legs At Home
Get the right pencil and you won’t need to get your brows microbladed, or trouble yourself with new treatments like brow lamination. From elongating and fluffing up to defining the shape of your brows, these pencil, wax, gloss, gel and powder formulas can do it all.
How we tested the best eyebrow pencils
The best eyebrow pencils strike a careful balance between great pigment, texture and precision – get this wrong, and you’ll set yourself up for badly drawn, block-like brows. We tested every eyebrow pencil in this edit for its colour and consistency, choosing beginner-friendly formulas that glide on easily and offer buildable control. For sparse eyebrows, we’ve found products with ultra-fine tips that will help you achieve believable hair strokes, as well as waterproof eyebrow pencils that will stay put come rain, sweat or shine. We’ve worn them throughout the day and selected the ones that stayed the course – these are the brow pencils to add to your makeup bag now.
The best Amazon Prime Day 2023 eyebrow pencil deals
Having kicked off on Tuesday 11 October, Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event is now in full swing – making now a prudent time to buy that eyebrow pencil you’ve been shopping for. Not sure which to get? We’ve rounded up our tried-and-tested faves. Scroll on for every brow bargain worth adding to your cart.
NYX Microbrow Mechanical Eyebrow Pencil
Why we love it:
NYX is a good port of call for professional quality, affordable make-up, and its Microbrow pencil is proof. Ten colour-true shades, a spoolie for grooming and a super slim tip puts this budget buy on par with some of the best eyebrow pencils out there.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade
Why we love it:
A classic, waterproof formula that can be tasked with creating both high-impact looks and feathering in fine details. Whichever you prefer, be sure to add an angled brush and spoolie to your cart for the best application and blend.
Urban Decay Brow Blade Double Ended Eyebrow Pencil
Why we love it:
On Urban Decay’s brow blade, you get the best of both: a pigmented pencil for shading in sparse spots, and an ultra-fine marker that adds depth with believable hair strokes. It’s also available in a multitude of shades for the best match on every hair colour and skin tone. What’s not to love?
GrandeLash MD Eyelash Enhancing Serum
Why we love it:
Beauty editor brow hack: swipe a good eyelash serum over areas of sparser hair, and massage it in to stimulate your hair follicles. With a pick as potent as this one from GrandeLash MD, you’ll be well on your way to retiring your eyebrow pencil altogether.
- Best eyebrow pencil for sparse eyebrows: Too Faced Superfine Brow Detailer Ultra Slim Brow Pencil, £20
- Best eyebrow pencil for oily skin: Hourglass Arch Brow Micro-Sculpting Pencil, £28
- Best affordable eyebrow pencil: NYX Professional Makeup Lift & Snatch Brow Pen, £11.49
- Best eyebrow pencil for lifted HD brows: Charlotte Tilbury Brow Lift, £24
- Best eyebrow pencil for all hair colours: Fenty Beauty Brow MVP, £20
- Best eyebrow pen for precision strokes: Benefit Brow Microfilling Pen, £22.50
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Hourglass Arch Brow Micro Sculpting Pencil
- Best for: skinny ’90s brows
This offering from the LA brand Hourglass has a thin, angled tip that allows for the finest of brush strokes. It means you are able to recreate fine brow hairs easily, to mimic a kind of “microblade” effect. Perfect for building a natural finish or drawing slim brows that nail the ’90s supermodel skinny brow trend.
- 3/12
NYX Professional Makeup Lift and Snatch Brow Tint Pen
- Best for: defined eyebrows on a budget
NYX’s eyebrow pen comes highly recommended – it’s a favourite among beauty influencers for a laminated brow look. Enhanced by a flex felt tip that draws believable hair strokes, it comes in nine shades to enhance the natural beauty of all brows, including grey and auburn tones that are notoriously difficult to find.
- 4/12
Urban Decay Brow Blade Pencil And Ink Stain
- Best for: natural-looking brows
Create a flawless arch with Urban Decay’s beautifully colour-matched shades. Imitating the precise strokes of brow hair, the ultra-slim pencil and ink-stain at the other end of the double-sided pen gives brows an effortless natural finish.
- 5/12
Refy Brow Pencil
- Best for: ombré brows
Content creator turned entrepreneur, Jess Hunt, has created the perfect pencil to help you create your dream ombré brow. The ultra-fine pencil allows you to draw on effortless brow strokes, while the brush on the double-ended pen allows you to blend and shade the beginning of the brow to create the sought-after look.
- 6/12
Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil
- Best for: bold eyebrows
As the queen of beautiful brows (she regularly tends to Kim Kardashian West’s arches), Anastasia Soare also creates products, to ensure we can achieve similarly stellar eyebrows at home. This pencil is soft, so it fills out a brow in seconds.
- 7/12
Fenty Beauty Brow MVP
- Best for: a colour match on every hair and skin tone
With 14 different shades, there is a Fenty brow pencil for everyone, and bonus: this formula stays put for hours. Those who like a buildable, natural look will love this pencil and the paddle brush tip it’s made with – it helps to blend seamlessly.
- 8/12
NARS Brow Perfector
- Best for: soft, powdered brow looks
A double-ended pencil with a brush at one end, and a retractable, oval-shaped tip that is perfect for recreating natural-looking hair strokes, or a fuller brow if you wish. There are eight warm and cool shades, all of which are both soft and buildable.
