When will nineties nostalgia peak? The decade is being revived in everything from fashion (see the return of stretchy Steve Maddens) to TV (Sabrina, Buffy, and Charmed are all getting reboots) to hair (scrunchies!)—and now they’re coming for our brows.
Sorry, is that triggering? Let me backtrack: You remember those clicky pens all the cool kids had in school? You’d fidget all of homeroom by pushing down a clicker to change the color of your pen? Well, Benefit Cosmetics is resurrecting them, but instead as a brow pen to more easily help you get that perfect, full-looking Insta brow. Divisively skinny brows aren’t back. Yet anyway. If they do return, you’ve got Rihanna to blame.
Available at Sephora starting today, the Benefit Cosmetics Brow Contour Pro comes in five shade ranges, each comprising four products in one tool: a lighter and a deeper filler shade, a highlighter, and an edge definer. The idea behind it is based off the brow contouring or “carving” technique most Instagrammers use to get that ultra-precise, ultra-thick brow. But instead of needing to deal with multiple brushes, products, and concealer, you can achieve with a single pen.
Brand reps recommend choosing your perfect color based on the definer shade, which should be just slightly lighter than your skin tone. The key is to start off tracing the shape of your brow from corner to tail with the light shade, fill, then add dimension with the darker shade. A little goes a long way (and the formula literally lasts all day), so you don’t want to go too heavy. Personally, I’d fill in a couple strokes and then blend in the color with a spoolie. Next it’s definer time. This is where the “carving” technique comes in: this more or less involves tracing directly under your brow with the definer shade to sharpen the line. Last up: the highlighter, which you want to put just under the arch to make the shape appear more sculpted.
Benefit’s already got a strong knack for brows. Its Gimme Brow gel has long topped the best-seller charts in the brow category (far before Boy Brow was thing), while you’d be hard-pressed not to find one its pencils in most makeup pros’ kits. What makes this tool so interesting, though, is that its’ consistency is neither a marker, gel, nor pencil. Rather, the product goes on like a pomade that’s meant to be blended.
Navigating the pen isn’t quite as intuitive as writing with them was. Despite being lightweight, it feels a little bit clunky to trace with at first, and I wish it came with a built-in spoolie. But its ease for travel more than makes up for it, and getting the motions down is pretty easy after a few initial test runs. Plus, it’s fun as hell to click and twist all day. What can I say? I’m a sucker for nostalgia.
Benefit Cosmetics Brow Contour Pro, $34, sephora.com
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