BrowLash EX Eyebrow Coat

July 30, 2016August 1, 2016 ~ tor ~ 1 Comment

I fist saw this product on the show “Document 72 Hours” on NHK World. As stated in their website, Document 72 hours “is an unusual program series that explores human dramas through chance encounters with ordinary people at selected locations.”

On that particular Tuesday evening, Document 72 Hours featured a “Makeup Room” in Osaka Station. It is essentially a powder room for women where they can “freshen up” before heading to work, to an interview, or before heading out to a date. For a minimal fee, you can rent a small cubicle where you can style your hair and put on makeup. You can rent hair styling implements and use makeup from the makeup counter for an additional fee I suppose, it wasn’t tackled.

The camera crew was interviewing this girl who was on her way to some interview. I couldn’t remember the details, BUT I remember this girl applying someting on her eyebrows. When the interviewer asked her what she was applying, she said it was a brow sealant that would make her eyebrow makeup last longer; smudge proof + water proof.

A few months later, Rommel, the director of our show MARS gave Suzi and Camille some pasalubong from Japan. It was the eyebrow sealant that I saw on Document 72 Hours! I asked Suzi if we could try it out.

We were impressed. It delivered what it promised.

It took me a while to have my own eyebrow coat. I don’t really enjoy asking friends to look for makeup products for me during their travels because I do not feel comfortable in making someone go out of their way for me. Well, I didn’t mind badgering my friend Barbie to get me this product when she told me she was going to Japan for a few days early this year.

Barbie is a very good designer from Cebu. Check out her work at: www.instagram.com/barbie_alvez/.

This BrowLash Ex eyebrow coat is made by BCL Company, a Japanese consumer skincare, hair care, nail care and cosmetics company.

BrowLash Ex eyebrow coat will make your eyebrow makeup smudge proof and waterproof. even swimming will not ruin your brow game.

This product comes in a 5 gram bottle. Very easy to store and handle.

The liquid is clear. It feels cool to the touch and doesn’t feel sticky once applied. Once dry, it creates a film on top of the skin, sealing eyebrow product used.

This is very easy to use. After filling in your brows, you apply a thin layer of the sealant on top of your brows. Use a spoolie to spread the product evenly, ensuring maximum coverage. In my experience, this works best with eyebrow pencils.

Aside from making your eyebrows smudge proof + waterproof, BrowLash Ex eyebrow coat also fixes your brows in place.

This product sells for 500 yen. That’s around Php200 +-. Very affordable.

So if you want to keep your brow game on fleek. This might be a good product to try.

I’m not quite sure if this is available in the Philippines, but if you have friends in or traveling to Japan, you might ask them to pick this up for you.

This can be easily seen in any cosmetics store, convenience store or at any open air market.

To know more about BrowLash EX visit:

Website: http://www.bcl-brand.jp/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bclcompany

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bcl_company_official/

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Laura Mercier Eye Brow Pencil : Back to its original formula.

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 ~ tor ~ 1 Comment

Laura Mercier’s eye brow pencil is now BACK in its original formula.

I noticed the drastic change when I bought myself the redesigned and reformulated pencil back in January 2014. After a few tries, I despised the newly reformulated eye brow pencils. I gave it away.

I was about to post a review about my experience with the new eye brow pencil at lauramercier.com ; I noticed at the “comment” section that I wasn’t the only one who did not enjoy the new formulation.

Many of the people who were reviewing the newly reformulated eye brow pencil were fans of the old eye brow pencils and have used it for years. I’ve been using it for 7 years and it has been my go to eye brow pencil.

Out of frustration and PANIC, I decided to air out my sentiments on the Laura Mercier Official Facebook page (see the screen shots on the left). I was sure to receive a reply from them. I’ve done it before when I made an inquiry regarding a certain product. So kudos to the Laura Mercier social media team for a quick and favorable response.

A few days later, my best friend Nat (New York based makeup artist) messages me to check out the instagram page of current Global Artistry Director of Laura Mercier cosmetics, Matin’s Maulawizada.

I was elated when I saw his post.

This particular post was apparently about the brow pencils reverting back to its original formula because of “popular demand”.

I was so relieved. This confirmed what the Laura Mercier team told me on their official Facebook page ; that the old formulation is coming back.

I finally stopped stressing about finding a new eye brow pencil (I blogged about it; click here and here to read) to take the place of Laura Mercier’s brow pencils in my kit.

I was wondered though when the pencils old formulation will hit the market. The new brow pencils at that time were still circulating. I had no idea if the new brow pencils are going to be recalled or continued to be sold until the stocks run out. With this knowledge at hand, I went to the Laura Mercier Store at Rustan’s department store and told the cosmetic sales associate to text me when the artist “old” brow pencils are back in store.

Nearly a year later (January 2015), I received a text message from the Laura Mercier sales associate saying that the “old” brow pencils are back.

I rushed to Rustan’s department store that day.

The new “original formula” Laura Mercier eyebrow pencil .

Top: New Cylindrical Pencil Bottom: The Old Triangular Pencil

The new eyebrow pencils reverted back to its old formula but it did not return in its original ergonomic design. Today, it is now in a pencil in cylindrical form and it is equipped with a spoolie on the other end of the pencil.

I still miss the triangular shape of the original pencil design.

To the regular woman, this is a special because it’s basically two products for the price of one. After filling in your brows, flip the pencil around, and brush your brows in place with the spoolie. I hardly use it though. I’ve been wanting to cut it off a number of times, because I use an angled eyebrow brush to blend the product evenly over the brow hairs. Just never got to doing it.

Laura Mercier’s eyebrow pencils has stayed true to it’s “old formulation” by returning the “hard tip” pencil with minimal wax content.

The “new formulation” was a “soft tip” pencil that had so much wax in it, making it difficult to control and “build-up”. It tended to look messy. It had so much shine it in. It didn’t look nice.

Laura Mercier’s Eyebrow Pencils come in 8 colors.

I highly recommend getting “Blond”. It’s my favorite and in my humble opinion, it’s the color that works for everyone.

Laura Mercier’s Eyebrow Pencils retails at Rustan’s for Php 995.

It comes with a sharpener.

Daiso Eyebrow Pencil

September 23, 2014October 1, 2014 ~ tor ~ 2 Comments

One of my favorite product to use these days is this eyebrow pencil from DAISO Japan. Yes, DAISO; The Japanese version of the Dollar Store.

10706551_10152705884041661_149586637_n — DAISO’s Eyebrow Pencil

I first encountered this product when I went to Tokyo in 2010. Cholo and I along with our good friends, Tita Gina and Tito Ken, were strolling around the district of Ueno when I asked Tita Gina what brand she used to fill in her brows.

With a twinkle in her eye she said, “You like it? Come, I’ll show you”. With Tita Gina and Tito Ken leading Cholo and I, we walked through back streets, crossed a few tiny roads and passed by numeros shops until we found ourselves in front of DAISO.

I was in heaven.

10634176_10152705883931661_1369351817_n — DAISO’s eyebrow pencil is double ended. The pencil in one end, comes in a “wind-up” form; while a stationary spoolie in on the other end. Dual functionality for one product.

One of the reason why I like this product is because the tip of this pencil is not too soft nor is it too hard. It is just right. I have noticed when I buy low-end eyebrow pencils, they are very soft because they have a high wax content. It is characterized by having a soft tip that “melts” as soon as you start working the product. Often times leaving clumps of wax on the skin or on the brow hairs making blending difficult, resulting in a dirty and blotchy look.

DAISO‘s eyebrow pencil enables me to be in control. The initial application of the product is light. I can then build up the color I want to achieve by layering the product. It always turns out into a smooth and even application.

The main reason why I like this product is because of it’s color. I only have DAISO‘s eyebrow pencil in brown. Unlike other brown eyebrow pencils in the market, DAISO‘s eyebrow pencil doesn’t have too much red pigments in them (Click here to know why I am wary of such). It has a very balanced combination of pigments. It gives out a warmth and golden hue that I absolutely love.

I have noticed that most girls I have worked with in the Philippines have dyed their hair brown with golden and red tones. Take this photo on the left of TV host Suzi Entrata-Abrera. I used DAISO‘s eyebrow pencil on her brows and it matches her hair perfectly.

This products tends to shine in the long run, especially with those who have oily skin. I usually blot the eyebrow area with tissue, reapply and set with brow powder.

This is currently my go to product ever since Laura Mercier reformulated their eyebrow pencils.

I can’t give you the list of ingredients because it is written in kanji, hiragana, katakana. I can’t seem to find any source on the net as well for this information.

This product weighs 0.03 grams and is made in Korea (toink).

This product sells for less than $5.

Nichido Eyebrow Pencils

June 9, 2014October 1, 2014 ~ tor ~ 4 Comments

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.

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.

Swatches of the Nichido Precise Eye Pencil taken at 12 noon.

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.

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.

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

These “eyebrow pencils” retail for Php138.