Glossier Boy Brow - why it's the best brow mascara and now comes in a shade to suit everyone

What is it about Glossier Boy Brow that makes us lose our minds over a teeny brow mascara?

I mean, it is just an eyebrow gel after all, one in a gazillion in the UK now that our appetite for perfectly lacquered eyebrows is bottomless.

Or is it?

Glossier Boy Brow, glossier.com

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Ever since Boy Brow entered the beauty hemisphere in October 2015, we literally ‘brow down’ (pardon the pun) to this 20cm saviour of over-plucked arches.

It amassed a staggering 10,000 person wait list just five months after launch, and, as if more perspective were needed, last year alone one Glossier Boy Brow was sold every 32 seconds somewhere in the world.

I myself am a daily Boy Brow user. I’ve tried every brow iteration out there from classic pencils (too obvious), twist-up sticks (too fussy) and pens (too Love Island), but I always come back to Boy Brow for a full brow look.

The addiction is real: I can’t get enough of the big, lazy arches I get with a single swipe of the teeny spoolie.

I asked Glossier’s CEO Emily Weiss at the opening of the brand’s first Pop-Up Shop in London what Boy Brow’s secret was, compared to other eyebrow make-up.

She just winked at me and told me she’d have to kill me if she told me.

A glamorous, millennial pink-clad sniper isn’t such a far-fetched idea when you consider Boy Brow is Glossier’s best-selling product of all time.

It’s a pomade – that’s the deal breaker

I personally put Boy Brow’s appeal, and it’s fool-proof way of getting thicker eyebrows, down to the texture.

Turns out that the formula was inspired by hair and mustache pomades. Think about it, pomades give soft hold while still adding texture, which, applied to eyebrows, eliminates the stiff, flaky textures that can make them resemble glued-on caterpillars.

The result?

A not-too-creamy, not-too-waxy formula, thanks to Boy Brow’s balanced blend of beeswax, moisturising oleic acid from olive oil and a collagen derivative that helps condition the hair fibre.

The Shades - Including A New One For Redheads

Another bonus is the pigment. As well as Clear, Boy Brow also comes in Blond, Brown and Black shades (Clear is my poison by day, while I reserve Blonde for nights out as it gives me more definition without the need for a pencil to fill in any pesky gaps).

Now finally, Glossier has introduced its iconic Boy Brow in Auburn.

Why is this a big deal? Up until now, redheads have been under represented in the brow shaping stakes, often having to resort to using an orange-hued lip liner to fill in sparse patches.

With shades to suit every brow hair, the miniature wand imparts just the right amount of tint, which you can gradually build up stroke by stroke. So you're never in danger of oversaturating your eyebrows with a dense block of colour.

How to apply Glossier Boy Brow

Asked how to apply Boy Brow, make-up artist Celia Burton says:

‘I like to apply a coloured Boy Brow to the arch and tail of the brow, to define and fill, and then the clear formula over the top of the whole brow to hold the hairs in place. It’s the texture of Boy Brow that I love. It's slightly waxy and very matte, which works even better in clear. I like to use my ring finger to press the brow onto the skin and remove any excess product.’

Considering #boybrow has just short of 35K mentions on instagram, and has sold nearly 4 million products to date, the love affair with this brow swoosher shows no sign of abating.