Brows on fleek or eek?

    Since Mother's Day is around the corner, I thought I'd start a brief series thisweek called "From Mom's Stash", where I feature makeup products my mom's stash (duh)! This will be a short series since Mom doesn't really do a full face beat and only uses three products: a brow pencil, an eyeliner, and a lippie!

    I'll start off with the first product she uses constantly: brow pencils! My mom does her brows almost every time she steps out of the house so I think it's safe to say that she's a brow girlie like me! Unlike me who prefers pomades and browcaras, Mom is more used to brow pencils. She doesn't have any brand preference so every time there's a sale on the S and L apps, I make sure to buy brow pencils from different brands for her to try out. This time around, I got her to try brow pencils from Sugar Dolls!

     These are the Perfectly Defined Eyebrow Pencils, retractable eyebrow pencils that help you achieve perfect brows all day, everyday. These pencils claim to not only be beginner-friendly but also non-smudging and waterproof. Each pencil also comes with a spoolie that helps you blend the product according to your preference coverage.

The Perfectly Defined Eyebrow Pencil contains 1.5g of product and retails for ₱119.

    Personally, I find the pencils' packaging quite nice. The white is, in theory, aesthetically pleasing until it gets smeared all over by pretty much any makeup product in nearby vicinity haha! Still, I think it's a nice simple look that doesn't look too tacky. The tube itself is just like other retractable brow pencils and I like its chunkiness because they make the pencils easier to grip. The spoolie on the end is quite short but just right to blend out the product and brush the brows.

    The Perfectly Defined Eyebrow Pencil comes in three shades: Dark Brown, Gray, and Ash Brown. Since my mom prefers lighter brow colors, she alternates between using Dark Brown and Ash Brown, although I personally think Ash Brown looks more flattering on her and on anyone who has black hair.

    These pencils have a good medium pigmentation to it that's still quite easy to control and build up.

    Since I rarely use retractable brow pencils, the only product I can compare it with is Colourette's Brow Bestie (literally the only brow pencil I have in my stash!).

    Texture-wise, Sugar Doll's brow pencil has a similar texture to Colourette's. It feels a bit hard and a bit dry and almost not working but you have to kind of scratch it on the back of your hand first to melt the product a little before drawing it on your brows. Color-wise, Colourette's Espresso is more of a gray-ish neutral brown while Ash Brown is a medium cool brown.  

I'm wearing Ash Brown here!

    I found the application on my actual brows to be quite challenging as it is a stiff waxy pencil. My brows can be a bit dry sometimes and apparently these pencils don't draw well on unmoisturized brows. It kind of dragged on without really dispensing pigment on my brows- it was an ordeal, I tell you. There were some areas where this product would just skip and some areas where it would draw on so well. At this point, I don't know who the problem really is: me or the brow pencil. As you can see on my swatches above, my brows were a bit patchy on some areas- the areas I told you the pencil just won't draw well on. I noticed that it improved a little when I applied brow gel on top then filled in some sparse area, though. The pencil glided better and filled my brows more evenly, thanks to the brow gel!

    Though it was a struggle to apply, the pencils were surprisingly easy to blend out. It didn't leave stubborn streak marks when I brushed it out with the spoolie, which is a relief.

    I hate to say it but these pencils are not smudge-proof. Even after drying down, it will only stay on when you don't touch it and rub it. Once you do, you'll end up with a, well, patchy brow. It's also not waterproof but rather water-resistant. With this product, I suggest just avoiding rubbing your brows and you'll be good.

    I mean, there's a reason why I don't use brow pencils that much. I like the control I get from mascaras, soaps, and pomades which is why, I think, I had a hard time applying these pencils on my brows. Based on first impressions, I feel like Sugar Doll's brow pencils are just okay. It (eventually) filled in my brows, it blended easily, and Ash Brown is the kind of brown that looks great on dark hair. Mom seems fine with these pencils and so far, I haven't heard any complaints. Personally, I think you pretty much get what you pay for for these products. These aren't the best affordable brow pencils out there but they'll do in a pinch.

And that's it for the first part (episode?) of this series. See you soon for the next one which will be an eyeliner feature!