By Phyllis Guo
So, as an intern at NYLON, you get the opportunity to try out beauty products sent to the office once in awhile. I’m thinking foundations, lipsticks and eyeshadow palettes. Lo and behold, the very first product handed to me to review was an eyebrow tint. AN EYEBROW TINT. Can you hear the shatter of the glass mirror? If you have no idea what the fuss is all about, then obviously you don’t understand what’s it like to be born with sparse eyebrows. I mean, brows are sooooo important, I really don’t want to mess with them and end up looking like Shin-Chan. But, an intern gotta do what an intern gotta do and so, I reluctantly agreed to test it out. You’re welcome.
Side note: I was asked to try it out on a Wednesday, but I waited for another day just in case someone else in the office might just be miraculously looking for an eyebrow tint to try out. Nope. Not happening.
So let’s just get straight into it:
WHAT IS IT?
The K-Palette 1-Day Tattoo Lasting Eyebrow Tint was what landed in my hands. I had the option to choose between Natural Brown and Mocha Brown, but there is an additional shade in Light Brown. Given that my hair colour is naturally brownish black, I went for the Mocha Brown shade. It states on the packaging that the tint lasts for a week before naturally fading off and it is advisable to avoid applying friction against the brow to ensure it lasts longer. It is also infused with moisturising beauty essences, namely hyaluronic acid, Swertia Japonica extract, Hydrolyzed Collagen and Hydrolyzed Silk.
APPLICATION
While I was apprehensive about trying the tint, a little part of me was actually pretty excited about it as well. If it turns out well, it might just be the end of my struggles trying to get both my brows to look the same. For comparison, this is how my sparse brows look without any brow product on:
Besides the tint itself, 2 types of eyebrow stencils are provided with every box purchased; the “cool” stencil is straight and has a slight arch while the “natural” one has an obvious arch which was more suited for me. However, both stencils were too long and I had to adjust them according to where my arches are. You could do without the help of the stencils, but I thought it would be more precise to follow a guide to make sure I get the same shapes on both sides.
The formula has a sticky-gooey consistency but it wasn’t anything uncomfortable. Personally, the application process was quite tedious as the stencils were not an exact fit for my brows as mentioned earlier. As a result, while manoeuvring the stencils about, some of the product got onto my hands and hair (don’t ask me why I didn’t have my hair tied up). But you can always use a wet wipe to make any changes before it dries and if you are not a klutz like me, it probably shouldn’t pose that much of a problem.
Amount-wise, I was being really cautious and light-handed about it. I applied about two thin layers over my brows but as you will see later, it is okay to be generous with the product to achieve darker-looking brows. Another point to note: if you are like me and prefer to have a gradation in colour, you might want to leave out the sprouts of your brows. You can always touch up a little bit with a brow pencil to get the natural brow gradation look. I applied the tint right before bedtime and decided to leave it on overnight, though you can remove it after two hours.
REMOVING THE TINT
Now, every single strand of brow hair is important to me. Instead of peeling it off, I just washed my face in the morning as usual, and it came off very easily. Although I don’t think the formula is sticky enough to pluck out any brow hair, I think it’s just faster to let the water loosen the stickiness and wash off everything at the same time.
RESULTS
As you can see from the pictures, the colour turnout is not very dark which works for me because right from the start, I knew for sure I am still going to do my brows during my makeup routine. On my fourth day with the tint on, you can see it has started fading away. On the sixth day, the ends are almost all faded away.
CONCLUSION
IMO, the tint worked out well for me. Perhaps I was expecting it to turn out bad, but in fact it made life easier for me. With the tint on, I had a rough idea of the shape of my brows and all I had to do was outline my brows to define the edges and touch up on the sprouts. It definitely saves me a lot of time drawing my brows in the morning and I could sleep in a little more (girls, I’m sure you all know how drawing brows can cause you to be late for work).
Also, I always hated heading out to run supermarket errands because I look so haggard without makeup on (I know no one in the neighbourhood really cares, but still), so the brow tint helps in framing my face and look a little made up. I would use it again just because I think it is such a time-saver since my brows are mostly pre-filled. Totally recommend it for lazy girls and girls who struggle to get both their brows right.
K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Lasting Eyebrow Tint, $23.90, available at Sasa, BHG, selected Watsons & Guardian Stores.
Header image: K-Palette
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