There are around 14 shades but I could find only 3-4 shades in the Walmart here in Toronto; anyways I don't think I will be wearing Green or Purple shades on my brows yet, so that is fine. I usually wear black on my brows but I got these 2 shades, to play a bit with my brow shapes.
Mink brown is a dark coffee colored brown that is not too red and easily helps in creating a softly darker effect for my darker brownish-black eyebrows. This is especially good for day time looks.
Charcoal is a greyish-black shade. I find it more useful as an eyeliner for creating smokey eyes than as a brow liner. However, I find that if I use this on the arch and tail area of the brow and apply a darker shade lightly, it gives a very elegant look to my brows.
For both the colors, the pigmentation was very nice; there was no tugging and it applied smoothly. However I would suggest this as a standalone eyeliner especially in the lower eyelid area as it can smudge if not set. If you are using this as an eyebrow pencil, you don't need wax, but you would need some dark brow powder to set it for a longer wear.
Michelle Phan, the famous Youtube guru, emphasizes a lot on brow makeup; while I do agree with her on how effective a nicely made brow can look, I do wish that people really take effort to learn from a Pro on what makeup suits their brows the best. My advise for anyone playing with eyebrows is to err on the safer side;if you are not sure what and how to do the shaping, either trust a good professional or check out some Youtube videos to guide you. Here are some tips I have learnt through experience:
1. If you are in a hurry, don't try to do your entire brows. Instead concentrate on shaping the arch and the tail. Light brush the hairs near the starting area of your eyebrows but don't try to color too much.
2. Working on arches but not sure which shape works best? The most commonly flattering shape would be a high arch, so lightly brush your arch in a soft inverted V motion. Do not use too much color in a single swipe, slowly built up the color to your best intensity.
3. Black is not a universal color, medium dark brown is better suited to be a universal shade.
4. Ignored your eyebrows for a month and just remembered you have a party to go tonight? Instead waxing or hurriedly tweezing your eyebrows, concentrate on trimming the wayward hairs at the starting point of the eyebrow. If you have too many wayward hairs growing all over your brows, then concentrate on finding a softer shape with a light-medium brown brow liner and use a spooly to brush the hairs neatly.
5. Avoid making your eyebrows too thin - it ages you very much. A well shaped eyebrow is different from a fine narrow eyebrow; if you have sparse eyebrows, use a brow liner one shade lighter, not darker - this will give a more natural finish to your eyebrows.
5. Finally, visit a good salon before you try radical new eyebrow shapes to find out what suits your face the best. Most natural shapes are beautiful and needs only a bit of a structure. A pro would be able to suggest the best eye shape, which would depend on your nose shape, your eyes and your overall face structure.
