Framing your face becomes way less time-consuming once you have one of the best eyebrow pencils to shape your arches and fill in sparse areas. No two brows are exactly alike and come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, but with these slender, fine-tip tools, you'll be able to create a more symmetrical effect that looks natural. There are hundreds of options on the market, so finding your favorite can take some trial and error, but don't fret, because our editors did the testing for you.
According to New York City-based makeup artist Tommy Napoli, a good eyebrow pencil comes down to your individual needs. He recommends a wax-based formula that has a spoolie on the other end. "Pencils can be better than shadow or pomade for enhancing the look of brow hairs," he says. Napoli adds that spoolies are great for brushing up hair and blending out product.
Los Angeles-based makeup artist Robin Black adds that if you have sparse brows and like a natural look, then a brow pencil with a thin or pointed skinny tip will help you create hair strokes to fill in gaps. "On the other hand, if you have thick brows and want to fill in a few gaps or emphasize their '80s look, a wide slanted tip is your best brow friend," she says.
Before you even reach for your pencil, New York City-based makeup artist Yuui Vision previously told Allure that powdering your brows before application will create a more long-wearing result. "The point of the powder is to take out moisture from the brow hair," she said. "Moisturizer might prevent you from smooth brow application."
After applying, New York City-based makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes previously told Allure to use your pencil to lightly outline your preferred general shape, filling in spare spots in the process. For a photo-ready, feathery effect, Hughes also recommends combining a brow pen or pomade to add more definition.
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Why it's worth it: Benefit Cosmetics Precisely, My Brow Detailer is the microfine sibling of the iconic Precisely, My Brow Pencil. Designed with a 0.8-millimeter tip, versus the Pencil's 1.5-millimeter tip, the Detailer is aptly named and equipped for ultra-precise filling and detailing.
Tester feedback: "My brows and I have a complicated relationship; I'm never totally satisfied with how they look (perhaps one day) but Benefit's Precisely, My Brow Detailer gets me the closest," says commerce editor Sarah Han. "The ultra-precise 0.8 mm tip on this pencil lets me fill out and extend my brows with fine, delicate strokes that make it a tad easier for me to avoid drawing on them too thick-my worst fear."
Why it's worth it: The key difference between Rare Beauty's Brow Harmony Precision Eyebrow Pencil and other brow pencils is its creamy, blendable texture. This allows the product to effortlessly diffuse and create natural-looking shading on areas where you need it most without over-filling thicker spots. Its buildable formula means you'll never have to worry about over-applying, as long as you use its attached spoolie to blend.
Tester feedback: "This pencil is so freaking creamy," says content director Kara McGrath.
Why it's worth it: Whether you have ultra-thick or ultra-skinny brows, we bet you'll love the Merit Brow 1990 for its slender stature. This micro brow pencil's gel-based formula has a smooth glide that leaves teensy, hair-thin strokes behind.
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Tester feedback: "I didn't realize just how much the sparse areas of my brows needed a gel pencil," says shopping director Shanna Shipin. "The teeny-tiny micro tip helps me fake a few hairs where I don't have them, while the wax in the formula (it's the third ingredient) makes it easy to fluff out with the spoolie end.
Why it's worth it: The whole reason why Victoria Beckham Beauty's BabyBlade Brow Pencil exists is because Mrs. VB herself wants a goof-proof, minimal-effort brow pencil for her everyday looks. This angled fine-tip beauty subtly fills brows with its ever-so-slightly sheerer formula.
Tester feedback: "The teeny-tiny, ultra-fine point on this pencil makes it easy to draw on hair-like strokes exactly where my brows are a bit sparse," says senior beauty editor Paige Stables. "Once I've filled in my arches, I run the spoolie brush through both sides to soften the color. And that's it!
Why it's worth it: If you want brows that last from dusk 'til dawn, Tarte's Amazonian Clay Waterproof Brow Pencil is your pick. Its sturdy gel-based tip fills patches with fine brow hair-mimicking strokes of waterproof, sweat-proof color. Tarte's eyebrow pencil is spiked with Amazonian clay to provide a soft matte finish and minimize oiliness throughout the day.
Tester feedback: "I'd be lying if I said these brows were natural-I've been microblading them for around five years but that doesn't mean I still don't have sparse areas," says shopping editor Angela Trakoshis.
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Why it's worth it: The "Nano" in Kosas Brow Pop Nano refers to the mere one-millimeter width of the pencil tip. If you're not impressed by that, you will be after you see how hyper-realistic the hair-like strokes you draw in are. To fill in larger areas, we recommend the just-as-adored, original Brow Pop (which also comes in more shades, 10 total). It has a unique micro-triangle tip that's multifunctional.
Tester feedback: "I don't feel put together without a little brow shaping and gel," says associate special projects manager Talia Gutierrez. "The Kosas Nano brow pencils are retractable (meaning no digging around for a sharpener) and ultra-fine, making it easy to create the illusion of fuller brows with a few feathered-out streaks of product. A little trick I like to do is outline the bottom of my brows and diffuse the color (I use the dark brown shade) with the spoolie side for a sharper, just-groomed effect.
Why it's worth it: Makeup By Mario's Master Blade Brow Pencil is the smartest brow pencil we've ever met. It has an automatic slide-up feature that delivers the perfect amount of product to distribute to your brows-if you push out too much, you can always retract the pencil, a surprisingly rare attribute. That also means it's extremely unlikely for you to snap the pencil's pigment while in use (we've all been there).
Tester feedback: "Makeup by Mario's Master Blade Brow Pencil is the only eyebrow pencil I've ever tried that actually matches my dark-brown-to-black hair color without making my brows look too filled in," says commerce writer Jennifer Hussein. "I also constantly touch my brows throughout the day (it's just a weird stress thing I do), and while the product does fade a tad from my picky fingers, its long-wearing formula overall withstands my fidgeting."
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