My favorite eyebrow pencil has been discontinued. I am currently in the market to find a replacement.

I first encountered this product when my actress friend, Diva Montelaba, guested on MARS (the TV show I work for). We were taking about life in general when she decided to add more definition to her eyebrows. She was filling in her eyebrows and noticed that the eyebrow pencil she was using was registering well. I asked Diva to show me the pencil she was using but she was a bit apprehensive at first because it was a cheap product. I told her it didn’t matter as long as it does the job.

The next day, I decided to go shopping. I visited SM and played around the Nichido Cosmetics counter trying to gauge what color is best to buy.

You see, I am not very particular about using “brown” eyebrow pencils because most of them have too much red pigments. This registers red on-screen, on film and in person. No body has red eyebrows, not unless you are natural redhead. There has been a general trend of eyebrows being overly drawn and filled in using “brown” pencils. If you are observant enough, even to the normal eye, it is the first thing you’d notice.

My philosophy about makeup is that it should be simple, elegant and not obvious.

I always go for a neutral taupe or a neutral blonde eyebrow pencil because in my experience, these are the colors that I know works for everyone.

Anyway, so I decided to purchase two shades that I will use on a test run.

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The pencils are very easy to work with, though I find the tips too soft for my liking. The product is easy to handle and it blends easily on the skin. The color seen on the eyebrow pencil registers the same color on the skin. I also like the fact that this eyebrow pencil doesn’t clump up the eyebrow hair. Unlike the ones made by Everbilena and some high-end brands, the wax content in them makes it difficult to blend. It ends up sticking to the skin or  clumping the eyebrow hairs making them look dirty and over drawn in the end.

My only problem with the eyebrow pencils from Nichido Cosmetics is that, they tend to shine. I checked the ingredients and saw that, these eyebrow pencils are mineral based. It contains mica, silica and zinc oxide. So I would suggest that these eyebrow pencils are only to be used by those who have dry skin. This will not work on people with oily or combination skin because the oil or moisture that seeps out of the skin will only add unnecessary shine to an already shiny product.

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On the left is a photo of the Nichido Cosmetics eyebrow pencils swatched on my hand.

The color on top is named Walnut. To me it registers as a taupe. The color below is named Taupe. To me it  registers as a warm blond.

I bought these two colors  because I can use them to enhance each other by mixing them together. After all makeup is a play of colors.

As for it’s staying power, it can last the whole day. But just be wary of excess oil because this can lift the product and make “slide”. Then again, makeup will always stay when one is careful when rubbing or scratching ones face.

The  Nichido Cosmetics Precise Eye Pencil can be a nice alternative, but I’m still in the market for an eyebrow pencil.

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Nichido Cosmetics  are available in all SM Department Stores or at Watsons.

These “eyebrow pencils” retail for Php138.