I’m Hopeless at Doing My Brows, but this Easy-To-Use, Hyper-Realistic Pen Makes Them Look Polished in Seconds

I make no secret of the fact that there are two main things I need from the products in my make-up bag—they need to be fast and they need to be easy to use. Which is why, as someone with rather unruly brows, my routine tends to be outsourced to professionals for a quick brow wax every few months and a haphazardly applied tinted brow gel on days that I’m leaving the house. You see, while I always admire people with beautifully shaped, well-groomed brows, I’ve never quite mastered the art of doing them myself. When I have experimented with pencils, pomades and powders, my brows often end up looking unnatural, overdone and just too much. That was, until a new launch landed on my desk recently. Enter: the Blink Brow Bar Eyebrow Pen (£25).

Aiming to mimic individual brow hairs for a natural finish, the promises of this pen instantly appealed. After all, anything that promises to be easy to use, quick to apply and look natural is right up my street. However, given my limited skills in the make-up department, I have to say that I was a little apprehensive about how well I’d master a pen over my trusty gel. Here’s how I got on with it and why it might have just replaced all of the other brow products in my make-up bag.

My honest review of the Blink Brow Bar Eyebrow Pen

First impressions

Mica Ricketts before using the Blink brow pen.

I’ll be honest, when I first pulled the lid off of the BBB Eyebrow Pen I was not convinced that this product would be up my street. It has an angled, tri-tip felt applicator which looks a little intimidating if you’re as much of a novice at make-up as me. However, it’s worth noting that the beauty of this pen lies in the buildable pigment. Available in three shades—chai, a cool blonde, clove, a cool brown, and cardamom, a nearly black—it actually applies quite sheerly in colour at first and can be layered up depending on the amount of coverage that you want.

So, how do you use it? Luckily, the pen is super straightforward—even for me. Just give the pen a good shake to get that ink flowing, then using light strokes you brush the pen onto your brows in the direction of your hair growth. I tend to start in the centre of the brows working outwards and then come to the front using upwards feathery strokes for a full, fluffy look. I start gently at first but you can press harder if you want to add more colour or shape.

The results

Mica Ricketts after using the Blink brow pen.

Honestly, this has been a bit of a game-changer of a product for me. I think if you have particularly sparse brows then the ability to draw on really soft, natural-looking hair strokes will transform how your brows look. For me, I definitely have some bare patches in the centre of my brows and the fronts are a little thinner than they used to be, so this pen makes them look so full, shiny and shaped. Plus, the colour lasts all day which is really impressive—especially in the warmer weather that we've been enjoying lately.

I was concerned that as someone who is used to using brow gels that I would miss the hold that such a formula provides. However, while this pen obviously doesn’t lock brow hairs in place, the shaped felt tip does mean that it kind of combs through your brows as it adds colour so it definitely does leave a more polished shape and finish. For me, the beauty of it lies in how easy it is to use and how little time it takes just to make your brows look more groomed without compromising on that natural finish. And you can always finish with a clear brow gel if you do desire a little extra hold.