15 best brow pencils in 2022 for effortlessly fuller brows

Fluffy, defined brows that look effortlessly natural is a style that’s not going anywhere any time soon.

Sported by models and A-listers for years now, this coveted brow look takes a bit of effort to master. Unless you were blessed with Cara Delevingne-like brows naturally, you’ll need a brow pencil in your arsenal to help you achieve perfect brows.

We weren’t all blessed with naturally bushy brows, but we can achieve the same look with the help of a brow pencil.

Anastasia Beverley Hills got an undeserved bad wrap during the late naughties, as their world-famous Brow Pomade was used by heavy-handed fans to create the thick, block-like brow that was in style at the time.

But when used correctly, Anastasia Beverley Hills brow products can work magic on sparse brows.

The super-fine tip of this Anastasia Beverley Hills pencil can help you fill in your sparse brows with detail and precision that creates realistic hair-like strokes.

With sparse brows, the key is to work with a light hand so you’re left with a naturally fuller look, rather than a chunky and obviously overdone result.

Buy: Boots (£23)

Best eyebrow pencil for natural brows

Tom Ford Brow Sculptor

For a natural brow, you’ll need to look for a precise pencil that can lightly mimic your brow hairs to create a seamless combination of the brow you were born with and the brow pencil for a flawless result.

The Tom Ford Brow Sculptor houses a pencil, sharpener, and brush in a single tool, so you’ll have everything you need for perfectly natural brows.

Best eyebrow pencil for beginners

Too Faced Superfine Brow Detailer Ultra Slim Brow Pencil

When you’re just starting to experiment with brow pencils, the urge to use a heavy hand for a dramatic result is hard to resist. But we urge you to please try, or you’ll be faced with looking back at old photos and wondering what on earth you were thinking.

The Too Faced Superfine Brow Detailer Ultra Slim Brow Pencil is perfect for beginners, as the twist-up pencil has a micro-fine tip that helps to define arches, shape brows, and fill in sparse areas while still looking natural.

A key factor for beginners to consider is the colour they’re using – as dark often looks too stark and light just looks odd. This Too Faced pencil comes in eight shades, making it easy to find the perfect fit.

Buy: Boots (£18)

Best waterproof eyebrow pencil

Chantecaille Waterproof Brow Definer

In drizzly England, a waterproof brow pencil is really a non-negotiable. Not only will this kind of formulation help you avoid any damage to your makeup on a rainy day, but it will also be able to withstand sweaty nights on the dance floor and days spent swimming on your next holiday.

The Chantecaille Waterproof Brow Definer is pigmented and creamy, with an advanced formula that combines a pencil, wax and powder for a natural – and of course, waterproof – finish.

Buy: Cult Beauty (£32)

Best eyebrow pencil for blondes

MAC Eye Brow Styler

Many brow pencils only come in varying shades of brunette, which is a pain for light blondes who are looking for a pencil that can lightly fill in their brows without looking too stark.

MAC Eye Brow Styler in shade ‘fling’ is one of the rare pencils that’s perfect for light blondes, helping to shape, sculpt and define brows by adding natural-looking fullness.

Best eyebrow pencil for redheads

benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil

As it’s the least common hair colour, many brands skip making ginger coloured pencils – leaving redheads to settle for light brunette or dark blonde shades that are close, but by no means perfect.

But Benefit didn’t leave copper-haired shoppers out in the cold, with their shade 2.75 Light being a perfect match for most tones of red hair.

As well as being a fantastic match colour-wise, the formula of this pencil is easy to apply and budge-proof – locking into place for up to 12 hours of wear.

Best eyebrow pencil for black hair

Urban Decay Brow Blade Pencil

Despite being a far more common hair colour than red or blonde, it is still a difficult endeavour to find brow pencils dark enough to suit black hair.

Urban Decay has come through with their Brow Blade Pencil, which comes in a shade called Blackout that is dark and pigmented enough to flatter black brows.

The precise tip and waterproof formulation help black-haired beauties achieve covetable, long-lasting brows.

Buy: Boots (£18)

Best eyebrow pencil for brunettes

Bobbi Brown Perfectly Defined Long-Wear Brow Pencil

Brunettes are spoiled for choice in the brow pencil department, with almost every brand offering multiple iterations of the shade.

This long-wearing brow pencil by Bobbi Brown offers four shades of brown within its range, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a match for your exact colour.

If you like mixing up your brow style, the angled shape of this pencil will help you achieve different looks and get a little experimental with your style.

Best eyebrow pencil for grey hair

Suqqu Solid Eyebrow Pencil refill

Many women are starting to buck the idea that you need to dye your hair to be beautiful, and are embracing their grey hair as a result.

As your hair starts to go grey so do your brows, but finding a pencil to match your new colour is a tricky business. But Suqqo has a great option for those looking to enhance their grey brows.

The tapered tip will allow you to switch from thinner to thicker brush strokes, helping you to customise your brows to exactly how you like them.

Best eyebrow pencil for laminated brows

Glossier Boy Brow + Brow Flick Duo

In order to recreate the look of a laminated brow without actually getting them laminated, you’ll need a couple of products.

The secret to laminated-looking brows is natural-looking brush strokes and a gel that will lift and set them into place in a flattering upward style.

Glossier has a duo that has been designed to create this look, with Brow Flick adding dimension where your brows need definition, while Bow Brow shapes, thickens, and grooms brows into place.

Buy: Glossier (£25)

Best eyebrow pencil for hair strokes

Ciate London Microblade Brow Pen

Creating that coveted microblade effect takes a special kind of brow product, like this one from Ciate London.

The 4-pronged brow pen effortlessly creates hair-like brushstrokes that look natural, and stay in place for hours at a time.

Buy: Ciate London (£14)

Best eyebrow pencil for alopecia

Maybelline Tattoo Brow Micro Ink Eyebrow Pen

Alopecia can affect your scalp or your entire body, with some people losing some or all of the hair from their eyebrows.

Whether you need to fill in particularly sparse areas or recreate a full new brow, the key is to look for a product that is able to a product that is easy to use, creates a natural-looking brow, and won’t budge throughout the day.

Maybelline Tattoo Brow Micro Ink Eyebrow Pen has a multi-prong top that applies hair-like strokes and stays locked into place for an incredible 24-hours.

Best eyebrow pencil for chemo patients

benefit Brow Microfilling Brow Pen

One common side effect of chemotherapy treatment is the loss of hair – including eyebrows. While you can buy incredible realistic stick-on eyebrows, it may be handy to have a brow pencil on hand for days when you want something a bit easier.

The benefit Brow Microfilling Brow Pen has a three-pronged tip that mimics hair-like strokes for a seamless, natural-looking brow – even when you’re not working with much hair, to begin with.

As chemo can also make skin dry, itchy, and irritable, this sensitive-skin friendly formula should stay in place all day long without causing a reaction.

Best eyebrow pencil for oily skin

Fenty Beauty Brow MVP Ultra Fine Brow Pencil & Styler

Having oily skin makes it harder to keep your makeup in place all day long, so you need to look for products that have been formulated to be long-wearing.

This brow pencil from Fenty has a super fine-tipped pencil that makes precise brow application a breeze and has a powerfully waterproof formula that withstands smudging, fading, and transferring – making it a dream for oily skin.

Buy: Boots (£18)

Best budget eyebrow pencil under £10

Nyx Professional Makeup Micro Brow Pencil

You don’t need to spend a bomb to get a good brow pencil when there are budget-friendly brands like Nyx on the market.

The Nyx Professional Makeup Micro Brow Pencil has many glowing reviews, with a dual-ended pencil that sculpts and tidies brows with minimal effort required from you.

Buy: Cult Beauty (£10)

Do brow pencils expire?

You’ll need to check the expiration date on the particular product you’re using, but a good rule of thumb is after a year it’s probably time to replace your pencil. Any longer than 12 months and cream-based products can start developing yeast and mould.

If you’re using the kind of brow pencil you can sharpen, however, as you’re keeping them fresh every time you sharpen, they can last closer to 18 months.

How to use a brow pencil

The exact method of application will change depending on the kind of pencil you’re using, so be sure to check the instructions that came with your particular pencil.

The most common method of application is as follows:

Brush up brows to reveal the natural brow shape

Before you go in with any product, you should brush up your brows into their natural shape with a clean spoolie, so you know exactly what you’re working with.

Fill in any sparse areas

In most cases, you won’t need to apply the same amount of product to the start of your brow as you will the arch and the tail. In order to keep your brows looking natural, try and avoid having a block of colour from start to finish.

A slow build-up of colour from the front to the end of your brow is the most natural and flattering look and avoids an overdone, fake-looking result.

Brush through your brows again

Once you’ve applied the product, brush through your brows again with the clean spoolie from the first step will ensure the product is being distributed evenly throw the brow and will help achieve the most natural-looking result.

Set the brows in place

This requires an extra product, but if you want your brows to stay in place all day (through sweaty workouts, hot days, and nights out dancing) a sturdy brow gel will help to set them in place so they’re immovable until you take your makeup off at the end of the day.