When rushing out the door in the morning, most people are wondering if they forgot their wallet, keys or phone. For me, it has always been: “Did I put my eyebrows on today?” While the hair on my head grows wildly long seemingly overnight, my eyebrows never seem to fill in. I have struggled to have a defined brow shape since middle school which has led me to test dozens of products from gels and brushes to eye shadows (yes, trust me) and, of course, eyebrow pencils. I even contemplated getting my eyebrows tattooed.
I have tried plenty of good products (and even more bad products), but despite my efforts, I have never found one that knocks it out of the park. Until now.
In a last ditch effort, I decided to try one last time to find my new holy grail. I tested seven popular pencils on the market and spoke to three makeup artists to learn about best practices for application. Read on to find out which eyebrow pencil was so good it made me do a double take in the mirror.
Makeup artist-approved tips for choosing and using eyebrow pencils
How do you find the right color for your eyebrow pencil?
Makeup artist Caitlyn Dominc suggests opting for one shade lighter than your natural color when picking an eyebrow pencil. “For example, I have dark brown hair but I usually reach for a ‘medium brown’ or a ‘soft brown’ eyebrow pencil versus ‘dark brown’ to give a softer, more natural look,” she says.
You can also go for complementary colors, adds celebrity makeup artist Elaina Badro. So if your natural hair is really light, opt for a shade or two darker to complement your lighter roots.
How do I shape my eyebrows with a pencil?
Makeup artist Tyler Fields says you should follow your natural face shape since “eyebrows make or break your face.”
“For a rounder face, you want [the arches] of the brows ‘rounder’ or softer. For a more slender face, you want the arch and tail a bit more pointed and sharp to compliment the rest of your features. However, I have seen and done slender faces who have or want a bit of a softer brow and vice versa.”
How do I fill in my eyebrows with a pencil?
For filling in brows, Badro and Fields say to just use the pencil in areas where your brows are sparse. “The key is to remember, you want to mimic real hair strokes, not fill in like a coloring book,” advises Dominic. “Use short, light-handed flicking motions in the same direction your brows naturally grow in instead of drawing on one solid line.”
Best overall eyebrow pencil
Application: 5/5 | Quality: 5/5 | Stay power: 4.5/5 | Overall average score: 4.8/5
When I say I was impressed by this brow pencil, I mean it. I was left staring at my eyebrows in the mirror for a long time because they had never looked this real. For under $10, I was shocked at how well it filled in my brows.
The application was seamless. I was able to create visible strokes that looked like hairs easily and without much force. It took me a lot less time to fill in my brows than with other brow pencils I tried because the color was very pigmented. I opted for a darker shade since my hair is lighter and I think it complimented my face nicely.
The tip of the pencil was small, but big enough that I was able to fill in large gaps in my left brow. This was the only brow pencil I tried where my entire brow looked filled in. And the color didn’t fade all day through sweat, office air and long commutes.
More eyebrow pencils, tested by an editor
Best for lighter brows:
Application: 4/5 | Quality: 4.5/5 | Stay power: 4.5/5 | Overall average score: 4.3/5
I have been using this for months and love how light it is. The thin pencil is great for filling in gaps with neat, thin brush strokes, but it does take a couple of strokes to notice the color in your brow. While that may be a deterrent for some, I found it to be helpful when adding definition. Plus, it doesn’t sweat off and just needs to be applied once in the morning to last the whole day.
Best for long wear:
Application: 4/5 | Quality: 4/5 | Stay Power: 5/5 | Overall average score: 4.3/5
I loved the color of this brow pencil. It matched really well with my eyebrow hair and complemented the color of the hair on my head. I liked how simple this pencil was to use and the brush on the other end softened the product into my brows easily for a more natural look.
While I did have to apply some force to my brows to get the pencil to show up prominently in the more sparse areas of my brow, the formula lasted all day and didn’t smudge at all. I even wore it to the beach and the water didn’t take off my brows.
Best bang for your buck:
Application: 4.5/5 | Quality: 4.5/5 | Stay power: 3.5/5 | Overall average score: 4.1/5
Having tried e.l.f. products before, I know they are usually great quality and, let’s be honest, you really can’t beat a $4 price tag.
I was surprised at how well this pencil blended in with my natural hair color and how easy it was to create hair-like strokes. It was similar to a crayon in that the color deposited with barely any effort. While this pencil was thicker than some of the others I’ve tried, the pointed tip made it easy to apply effectively.
I found myself going through the product in this pencil faster than the others I tried because I used a lot of it in one stroke. I also noticed that it smudged a bit when using the brush on the other end to clean up my brows and after sweating a bit.
Best for precision:
Application: 5/5 | Quality: 4/5 | Stay power: 3.5/5 | Overall average score: 4.1/5
If you have really sparse brows like me and you want your eyebrow pencil to look like actual hair, this is the one I’d pick up. The tip is thin enough to easily give the hair-like effect. Because of that, it was great at filling in my brows, but time consuming because each stroke is so thin.
I also found that any filling in I’d done tended to disappear after a couple hours, so I had to make sure to keep it on me to reapply throughout the day. But if precision is what you’re looking for, it doesn’t get any better than this.
Best for thicker brows:
Application: 5/5 | Quality: 3.5/5 | Stay power: 4/5 | Overall average score: 4.1/5
I have used the older version of this Subtl brow pencil before, but I was surprised by this new one because it came fully equipped with a brow gel and a brow brush. The point of this pencil is very angular so it was able to fill in my brows easily. The color was very visible in my brows and blended well with my natural hair. The brush part of the pencil helped smooth out any little mistakes I made in my strokes. The pencil itself lives up to the brand name — subtle. But it maintains efficiency at filling in brows.
When I tried to use the brow gel, I found the brush to be too short to get my entire brows and the formula was a little too sticky for me. I noticed that when I applied the gel over my filled in brows, it took some of the pencil with it and some of the stickiness even transferred to the pencil after trying to fill in the bits that were swiped away.
Best value:
Application: 4/5 | Quality: 4/5 | Stay Power: 4/5 | Overall average score: 4/5
The point of this brow pencil was flat instead of slanted which made application a little difficult. I also found that I had to use more force to get hair-like strokes out of this pencil, but once it was on, the color looked great.
The tip of the pencil is a bit weak and can fall off, but there is a lot of product, so I never ran out. The stay power was particularly impressive, sticking around through sweat — even after wiping my face — without smudging. It definitely has a subtle effect, but I liked it for days when I wanted light makeup or I knew I was going to be sweating.
Frequently asked questions
"A good rule of thumb is less is more — especially at the front of the brow," says Dominic. "Hold the pencil very gently in your hand — don’t grip it tightly. Then start with light, feathery strokes somewhere in the middle of your brow and slightly build up pressure as you move toward the arch and the tail. Then, toward the front of the brow, go as light handed as possible, using barely any product. Just enough to soften and fill gaps."
"I would avoid applying too much of the pencil, if applying any at all, in areas where you have fuller hair," advises Fields.
This is how Badro recommends doing your eyebrows:
- Brush through your brows first.
- Begin at the start of the brow by stroking lightly and upwards.
- Keep stroking towawrd the arch and come down to the tail. "This will give a softer appearance to the brow vs. creating a boxiness to the brows."
How I tested eyebrow pencils
I used each eyebrow pencil on completely bare brows using the guidance provided by makeup artists. I tried to mimic the look of hair strands, following the natural shape of my brows. Each eyebrow pencil was scored in the following categories on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the worst, 5 being the best):
- Application: Was it easy to apply? Did I have to do anything out of the norm to see results?
- Quality: Was the color payoff good? Was the pencil itself sturdy?
- Stay power: Did it last an entire day? Did it transfer if wiped or sweating?
Why trust Shop TODAY?
Annie Shigo is an associate editor for Shop TODAY. She joined the team in 2023 and has covered everything from fashion trends to cleaning product staples. She has tested several other types of cleaning-related products for Shop TODAY’s Ranked series, including steam mops, toilet bowl cleaners, dusters and more.
Meet the experts
- Caitlyn Dominic is a professional makeup artist specializing in soft glam makeup looks for 15 years.
- Tyler Fields is a New York-based hair and makeup artist, model, trader and brand manager for a production. She has been in the beauty industry for 13 years.
- Elaina Badro is a celebrity makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur, founding her namesake beauty brand.
