YSL Eyebrow Pencil in Shade 4 Ash


Since going back to blonde I have really struggled with filling in my brows - powders look so much heavier and dare I say it fake on my brows (or perhaps I'm too heavy handed) and a lot of pencils on the highstreet are off limits due to colour choice. A fellow blonde friend of mine with perfectly shaped and filled brows swears by YSL Eyebrow Pencil in shade 4 so I of course took her suggestion.

YSL Eyebrow Pencil in Shade 4 Ash
YSL Eyebrow Pencil in Shade 4 Ash
YSL Eyebrow Pencil in Shade 4 Ash

In my opinion £20 isn't exactly cheap for a make-up pencil of any caliber so I do appreciate that the YSL version comes complete with a capped brow spoolie to tame and shape the brows. The pencil is fairly weighty which may sound like a bizarre point to make but I personally find this aspect makes it easier to apply. You also don't have to worry about sharpening the pencil as it does so with ease and you loose very little product when doing so as it sharpens up so smoothly.

YSL Eyebrow Pencil in Shade 4 Ash

YSL Eyebrow pencils come in a good few shades some look deceptively similar before swatched so do take the time to test them out on your hand before purchasing. As mentioned above I went for Shade 4 - Ash, which is a light cool toned taupe brown - not at all dissimilar to Tom Ford's Brow Sculptor in Taupe for those looking for a colour match. Of course how you fill your brows and what shade you opt for is entirely up to you (I saw a girl yesterday who had the most bad ass deep purple brows ever!) but I would personally recommend shade 4 to most blondes and perhaps light brown hair colouring's for a natural match. My only compliant is that this shade has tiny gold fleck of glitter - you really have to look close to spot them and on the brow they aren't delectable but I'd be lying if I said I'm not paranoid when applying that sooner or later I'm going to end up with gold shimmering brows!

YSL Eyebrow Pencil in Shade 4 Ash
YSL Eyebrow Pencil in Shade 4 Ash

As any eyebrow pencil should be the YSL version is fairly waxy so it clings to the brow hair, smooths the hair down in the process and is somewhat resistant to both water and sweat. This is one of the firmest in terms of texture brow pencils I have ever encountered and as a result it can be quite tedious to use - you have to wait for the pencil to warm before you can get any colour pay off what so ever. As a result it does get skipped in favor of other pencils when in a rush. However there is no denying that once you do apply this it does stay put even on the balmiest of days (at least 9 hours of wear) but due to the super firm texture I can't say this will be a repurchase for me. The search continues...

YSL Brow Pencil £19 via Debenhams - link

Random Fact - The danger area around a volcano covers about a 20-mile radius.