Like the Maquillage Eyes Creator (3D) palette, this brow mascara (S$34) from Maquillage Spring 2010 – and perhaps Summer 2010, I’m not sure – was given to me by Shiseido Singapore to try. Essentially a brow tint, this semi-liquid brow wax is meant to enhance brow hair, highlighting each strand for a natural appearance. In addition, its stay-put formula tames strays and ensures that brow colour stays on. It reminds me of Kesalan Patharan brow mascara, a good product for defining brow hairs and imparting a très natural look.
Creamy in texture, it doesn’t have the wispy fineness of K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow Liner and the spooly brush tends to pull up quite a lot of product. You only need very, very little for this to work and it’s best that you swipe the excess on the mouth of the tube to prevent too heavy an application. Once you’ve mastered how to use this, a little run through the brows is all you need to shape your eye framers. :) When you’ve learnt to control the spooly brush – which has a nice tapered end for manipulation and application control – you will be able to effortlessly sculpt your brows for cleaner lines. A tip: Lightly rotate the brush to get a natural, even look.
To be fair, the contents are wetter in texture as my tube is very new. As such, the brush is easily loaded with the cream (this does indicate the generous amount that is inside, unlike some brands which require frustrating scraping to get product out of the tube). I’m fairly certain that once the brow wax has been given time to settle and age a little, I will see even better results. That said, it doesn’t hurt to cultivate the habit of being sparing with the brow wax to avoid overdone brows; unless that is desired, such as for professional use in a theatrical production – with its strength of colour and lasting quality, I can see it working well for stage makeup.
Where colour-matching is concerned, I think this works best with people who have coloured hair in the range of auburns, browns and golds. 55, the darkest of the three shades available (55, 66 and 77) is too brown/warm for my hair colour (brown-black). To rectify this, I pair it with a darker brow pencil.
Almost metallic in shade, this brow mascara has a definite glint to it, as well as Maquillage’s trademark multi-coloured shimmer. I’m not sure why they put the latter into the formula but I’m guessing it’s to mimic the shine of coloured hair and perhaps to impart dimension. When used with a light hand, the shimmer isn’t obvious, as you will see in the eotds below.
In my first eotd with Eyes Creator (3D) in VI767, I used the brow wax with a Shu Uemura Hard Pencil. I gently brushed the wax through my brows with its spooly applicator and then used the pencil over them. I brushed through the brows again with the brow wax and used a clean spooly brush to finish the look. I like how this, together with the product, helps to define and separate the brow hairs.
In another eotd with the same palette, I paired the brow wax with a Shiseido Integrate brow pencil. This look was more sculpted and I used a teeny bit more of the brow wax, running it gently through my brows. I then finished with the brow pencil and some brow powder.
Both pencils are grey in colour, which tones down the brown. Of course, if the colour matches your dyed hair perfectly, you needn’t use a brow pencil, unless you want more definition.
This brow mascara from Maquillage is reasonably priced and stands on fair ground with many similar products from Japan (as a comparison, the Kesalan Patharan version is around S$35). Considering that it colours, shapes, tames and holds, S$34 is a good price to pay. :)
Image source: Shiseido Maquillage Japan
