Urban Decay Street Style Brow Products Review and Swatches
Urban Decay is about to release their new Street Style Brow collection, and I am here for it! I think they are going to give Benefit and Anastasia a run for their money with these new products. (Benefit is not cruelty free by the way – so I stay far away.) There are seven shades in the new UD collection, which covers A LOT of territory. Considering how edgy Urban Decay is, I’m kind of surprised they don’t have “fantasy colors” like pink and purple, but maybe that’s coming. Included in the new collection are FOUR different products: Double Down Brow (brow powder palette), Brow Blade (double ended brow pencil and ink stain), Brow Endowed (double ended spoolie brush with primer and color) and Brow Finish (waterproof brow gel).
Let’s talk about the Double Down Brow first. Urban Decay calls this a “brow putty.” This seems more like a brow powder to me, although the color is buildable and maybe slightly thicker than ordinary powder. When I hear “putty” I think of Anastasia’s Dipbrow pomade or Chella’s Brow Cream. Each Double Down Brow palette comes with two shades (swatched below) and a double-sided angled brush and spoolie.
If you’re not sure which shade to try, go with Taupe Trap – it’s a pretty universally flattering color. But if you’re a redhead, you’ll probably want to go with the warmer Ginger Snap, and if you have darker features or need something warmer or more neutral, try one of the other shades. I’m still experimenting to figure out which shade is best for me. I had microblading done about a year ago and it’s faded out to a powder brow look and a color that is way too warm for my liking. So I’m still playing around with colors and different types of brow products to figure out what works for me. So far I’m liking several of these shades.
Urban Decay’s Brow Blade is a great new product, and one I haven’t tried before. On one end is a small, waterproof brow pencil. On the other end (instead of the usual spoolie) is a felt pen ink stain. The pencil is nice and small, which I prefer, for maximum control. The felt pen is flexible, like a felt tip eyeliner pen/brush. So, if you’re good at eyeliner, you’ll be able to create a line that is thicker at the base and fans out to a sharp flick. If that’s your bag, this might be just what you’re missing in your life. I personally have never really mastered this type of eyeliner, so I would prefer a stiffer, very thin pen – more like a microblading tool.
I thought this would help me create some fake hairs at the inner corners of my brows, and it does. But I’m not very good at it so there’s definitely a learning curve. The ink doesn’t bleed, which is amazing. I found that I need to go a shade darker than normal if I want to create stand-alone fake hairs that stand apart from the rest of my brows. I went about three shades darker at first (using Dark Drapes), but then realized that was too much. It seemed like the color oxidized and went even MORE dark after about 20-30 minutes. I tried to replicate this on my arm to show you guys but it didn’t seem to change color. So I can only assume that it mixed with the oils on my face and darkened. So it would be best if you could try it before buying, but if not, you may want to err on the side of too light rather than too dark to be safe.
Oh and this stuff STAYS PUT – you’ll want to make sure you rub it off immediately if you make a mistake. Otherwise you’ll want to use a good oil cleanser to remove it. If you want to make sure it stays on all day, you can top it off with All Nighter Setting Spray or use the new Brow Finish waterproof setting gel.
Above are swatches of the Urban Decay Brow Blade pencils and ink stains (3 left-hand strokes are pencil and 3 right-hand strokes are ink stain). I took this pic about 30 minutes after applying and didn’t see any oxidation or darkening. Left to right and top to bottom: Taupe Trap, Gingersnap, Brown Sugar, Cafe Kitty, Brunette Betty, Neutral Nana, and Dark Drapes. It seems to me that they appear darker when you actually use them where they’re meant to be used – on your brows.
The new Urban Decay Brow Endowed product is a double-ended spoolie brush with primer on one end and brow color on the other. The spoolie is what they are calling a “micro-spoolie” and I really love the small size. I find it easier to control and I get more product on the brows instead of all over the skin around them! The primer gives you more volume, which is great if your brows are sparse. Both the primer and the color have setting powers too, so your brows will not move after you coat and shape them. Brow Endowed comes in the same seven shades mentioned for the other products.
Urban Decay Brow Finish is a waterproof brow setting gel. What sets this product apart from others is the shape of the brush. It’s small enough to do the job without getting all over your skin, and the angled tip lets you get the smaller hairs in the corners. It comes in Ozone (clear) and Midnight Cowboy (a slightly rose gold shimmer). Midnight Cowboy doesn’t leave a metallic or heavily pigmented color on your brows – it’s more like a slight sparkle. I prefer the clear, but the colored one might look good on a blonde or a redhead.
Overall, I’m really impressed with the new brow products from Urban Decay. I think Double Down Brow (the powder palette) and Brow Blade (the pencil/ink stain) are my favorites. I’ll probably use them the most because my brows are already pretty thick, but sparse in areas, so with these, I can get a more precise line where I need it. Which ones will you be trying?
Never Say Die Beauty says
Next time I need brow products I will try these. The Ginger Snap shade would actually work for me, and that is rare. I love the look of the micro-spoolie for the brow gel. Nice collection!
Ehmkay Nails says
Putting the first two items in my Ulta cart for next time there’s a sale. I’m always about trying new brow stuff!!
Kathryne says
The brow blade piqued my interest
MarciaF says
I wish they had a darker brown. I will test out the dark one though to see if it would work. I love that they have something for red hair people since that’s a rarity.
Erika says
Ooo! New brow stuffs to investigate. Since I create my brows methinks the pencil and pen would be right for moi.
Claudia Materdomini says
Wow so many options! I’ve been alternating between powders, creams, pencils and gel with spoolies. Im curious about that marker since i was afraid of it feathering but sounds like it doesnt! Id love to see which one turns out best on me!
Shilpa says
The products look nice but what I loved the most was the way you did the swatches
Shilpa says
I love the way you’ve done the swatches
Jess Scull says
Those shades look a little warm so I’m hoping I can find a shade that matches! Looking forward to trying these out!
chiefbunny says
Thank you!
chiefbunny says
They have stencils too! I didn’t get a sample, but they look nice online.
Stacie Hamilton says
I had my brows microbladed about a year ago. However, I do still occasionally like to fill in areas with hairlike strokes that have faded a bit. I will definitely look at these products. Thanks for the recommendation!
Lola Seicento says
I’m currently swimming in brow products, but I will definitely check these out for a future purchase.
25 Sweetpeas says
I’ve been hearing a lot about these lately!
Courtney says
Thank you for the great swatches. I wish there were cool-toned ashy grey and black.
My Nail Polish Obsession says
If I didn’t already have a go to brow product I would totally jump on getting some of these!