The growth of a beauty brand usually involves the continuous creation of products that cater to our daily routines. It might begin with a foundation, followed by a concealer, then an eyeshadow palette. Next comes mascara and, inevitably, at some point, a brow product.
More often than not, the brow product feels like nothing more than a box-ticking exercise – an obligatory launch designed to secure a place for the brand in the brow category. Pencils and pens are whipped up with little consideration, resulting in formulas that are too dry or flaky and pens that are too leaky or flexible.
It’s a category of product that, for the most part, infuriates me – as (good) brow products are very important. They balance and frame the face. They create shape and definition where there is none. They lift, sculpt, polish and enhance. In short, they do a lot, and should never be an afterthought for brands.
I write this from the perspective of someone who relies heavily on brow products. Much like how the next person depends on a hairbrush to brush their hair every day, brow products are an essential part of my routine. This reliance is due in part to genetically thin eyebrows and rather unfortunate blobs of pigment left over from old microblading.
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The blobs are disguised daily at all costs – usually with realistic (ish) looking hair strokes, a finish I continue to find difficult to achieve despite the plethora of brow pens on the market. I have tried and discarded more of them than I’d like to admit: disappointing offerings across various price points from high and low-end brands, all promising to deliver microbladed-esque brows but doing exactly the opposite.
When I heard that Irish brand Poco Beauty was launching a brow collection, I was more than a little sceptical – and surprised. It’s somewhat unusual for a brand to launch a brow collection so early in its existence, and it could be seen as a potentially risky move. One terrible product can quickly undo any goodwill associated with its shiny predecessors.
That said, the Poco Beauty products I have tried to date have impressed me. In my first column for The Irish Times, I wrote about Universal Glow Treatment, an excellent primer-radiant base hybrid. It’s beautifully formulated, packaged, and reasonably priced at €30.
The TFD Brow Collection – TFD stands for The Finer Detail – consists of two products: TFD Brow Blade and TFD Brow Pen. The first product, Brow Blade, is undoubtedly the sharpest brow pencil I have ever encountered. While many beauty brands use the term “blade” for brow products, few deserve the descriptor. Brow Blade is an exceptionally sharp, flat-angled pencil. When held sideways, it’s almost invisible due to its thinness. It requires a light-handed application, as too much pressure can feel like you are, in fact, using a blade on your skin. The pencil is pigmented, not dry or flaky, and allows for the quick, meticulous creation of hair-like strokes. Another noteworthy feature is the clever built-in grinder within the packaging, allowing you to sharpen the pencil blade as needed for a precise application every time.
The second product, Brow Pen, is equally impressive. It’s exceptionally thin, firm and precise, creating wonderfully realistic hair strokes. The ink flow is consistent, avoiding overloading the brows. Most importantly, it doesn’t bleed or smudge on the skin post-application, ensuring your realistic-looking hair strokes stay in place. Again, a light-handed approach is required. Holding the pen at an angle and flicking it upwards elicits splendid microblading-like results.
Both products are easy to use and so micro-fine in design that it’s almost impossible not to create fluffy, fabulously defined, natural-looking brows. The thoughtful consideration of their formula and design must be applauded, but perhaps not as enthusiastically as the price.
The Brow Blade and Brow Pen retail for €20 each – a surprisingly affordable (and welcome) price point, considering their high-quality, high-performance design and slick packaging.
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My one criticism lies with the limited shade range. Three different colour options are available for each product: Dirty Blonde, a fair light brown; Mink, a medium chocolate brown; and Raven, a dark black brown. A more comprehensive shade range could take this collection from excellent to exceptional.
This week I’m loving ... Garnier Moisture Bomb Eye Masks
Quench the thirst of tired, dehydrated under eyes with Garnier’s brilliant Moisture Bomb Eye Sheet Masks (€4.99 from Boots). Affordable, intensely moisturising, and quick and easy to use, they offer a cooling, depuffing effect on the skin, leaving you looking (and feeling!) infinitely brighter. My personal favourite is the Garnier Moisture Bomb with Hyaluronic Acid and Orange Juice.
