Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Anastasia of Beverly Hills: Beauty Express Brow Kit

Hey, guys!
How is the last week of October going for you?

Back in August, I made a post featuring Anastasia of Beverly Hills and the amazing products they offer.


Anastasia has long been the definitive eye and brow expert for icons such as Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and Oprah; as well as hip up-and-comers like Dianna Agron, Selena Gomez, and Kristin Cavallari and has recently expanded into colors that match their superior standards for skincare based cosmetics.

Anastasia of Beverly Hills products have recently been added to all Sephora stores in the United States. Our make up plus approach always has the importance of skin care at the base of our clinically tested cosmetic formulas.

I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to review their Beauty Express Brow Kit. :)


Beauty Express = Shape Magazine Beauty Award Winner!!!
We are the winner of the Best Brow Product in the 2011 Beauty Awards in the current issue of Shape Magazine!


Their brow kits are sold on www.anastasia.net and are also available at all Sephora stores.

The kit comes in blonde (pictured above) and brunette (the one I got).

Their shipping was fairly quick -- I received my eyebrow kit within a week or so.

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I love the packaging!
It comes in this "sliding box" that protects the actual kit inside.

I literally gasped when I saw and touched the exterior of the eyebrow kit!
Why? Take a look:

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How awesome, right?
It's so pretty!

But of course, if you're gonna buy this eyebrow kit, you're not just buying it for the pretty exterior, right?
So let's get on with what's inside.

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Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes
All-in-one kit with instructions straight from Anastasia!

The kit contains:
0.04oz BROW WAX CREAM
0.05oz BROW POWDER DUO
2 x 0.056 EYESHADOW DUO
1 ANGLED BRUSH
5 STENCILS
(full arch, high arch, medium arch, petite arch, and slim high arch)

Instructions:
-Choose the stencil that fits your brow structure the best.
-Apply the brow powder using the angled brush.
-Remove the stencil and tweeze the hairs outside the powdered area.
-Apply the brow wax cream using the angled brush for a perfect shape.
-Apply the cream highlighter with your finger to the brow bone.

These instructions are a bit condensed, more detailed instructions are printed on the actual kit.
I actually find it quite interesting that the directions on the paper slip are in French, while the ones next to the mirror are in English. ;)

Anyway, moving on...

The directions are straight-forward and are easy to follow.

It's very important to pick the stencil that is closest to your brow structure. There are 5 to choose from -- at first, I was a bit worried that there wasn't gonna be one that is right for me, but I found it... so I think it's safe to say that there should be one that is close to your brow structure. I chose between petite arch and medium arch, and I used the medium one.

The brow shaping tools -- specifically the stencils, brow wax cream, and angled brush -- are all excellent.

The only problem I had with the stencils is it's hard to hold it in place while applying the brow powder. I suggest asking someone to help you with it to ensure that the stencil stays in place.

After following Anastasia's instructions, here are my newly-shaped eyebrows:

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This is my very first try and as you guys can probably see, it's not 100% perfect. And at this point, I'm still kinda experimenting with my brow shape. I think I'm gonna try the petite arch next just to see which one is better for me. I also never really shaped my own eyebrows before (it's either my sister who does it, or I have it done elsewhere), so I have some more practicing to do before I achieve the right shape for my face.

For now though, I love the shape of my eyebrows, and I think that this eyebrow kit is the best tool a girl can own.

However, I did have one problem with it: the brown shades on my brow powder duo were too dark and harsh for me. At first, I thought it was just me not being used to my new eyebrows... plus, I did like the full brow look, so I decided to just go out and see how it goes. As you can see in the picture above, my eyebrows weren't that dark yet. The weird thing was it seemed to get darker and darker as the night went on -- and I just wasn't comfortable with the color.

I went to Sephora, and I immediately went to the Anastasia of Beverly Hills section.

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I saw that they had other brow powder duo shades available:

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The brow powder duo that came with my eyebrow kit was the "brunette/ dark brown" one. I think I am more of a "medium ash/ medium brown".

It's such a relief that I can get a different shade because I really do love my eyebrow kit. The shaping aspect is excellent, and when I get the right shade for me, the kit will be absolutely perfect.

So now, there's the problem: I don't think we have a choice of which shades to get with our eyebrow kit because there are only two choices -- blonde or brunette.

Hopefully in the future, we can have the other shades above as choices for our eyebrow kit because it's a hassle to have to go and buy a different one.

But other than that, there is no denying that the Anastasia Beauty Express Brow Kit is a really good product to have. I think every girl should have one.

For $39.50, I think it's worth every cent.
The quality is amazing and it will last a long time.

If like me, you need to get a different brow powder duo, Sephora sells them at $22 each.
You can also get the stencils for $20.

Do you have the Anastasia Beauty Express Brow Kit? What do you think of it?
Do you shape your own brows? Is this something you might want to buy?

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Here is a video of Anastasia herself demonstrating how to use the Beauty Express Brow Kit:


Twitter? WhatMimiWrites :)

44 comments:

  1. Great review!!!I've never used any eyebrow products yet, cause my brows are very thick and dark, but this look promising :D

    <3

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  2. sparkle-- i think you are gonna like this product! :)

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  3. I´d never heard anything about this brand!
    Hope it will be early in Spain!
    Kisses

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  4. like always you have the best reviews ever !!! love this

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  5. interesting! I've never heard about this brand before, but I did you did a great job with your brows!!

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  6. Oooooh I also got this in Blonde and I can't wait to try it!

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  7. This looks like a great product from everything I've heard. Your eyes are so pretty! :D

    p.s. in case you don't see my response on my blog; you can buy the ouzo candy on the Greek Internet Market website, the brand they sell in Krinos. :)

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  8. *is Krinos, not "in" lol oops! :D

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  9. Hibiscus-- you can buy it online. :)

    Curves Ahead Makeup-- aww, thanks! :)

    Pop Champagne-- thank you! i wasn't sure if it was good. :)

    G A B Y-- i can't wait to hear what you think about it! :)

    SassyAgapi-- aww, thanks! and thanks for that, i will check it out! :)

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  10. love your reviews and your eyes are very pretty! :)
    I have only tweezed/shaped my eyebrows.
    I've always want to fill them in but don't really
    know how and find that it looks too dark or made up ><
    I think I just did it incorrectly lol
    I've always wanted someone to do them for me but I
    always felt hesitant =\ I feel like I can't trust
    anyone with my brows -.-

    the Anastasia kit looks great though and your brows look great :)

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  11. great review love the product!
    xx

    abutterflybyday.com

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  12. I've read all about this Beauty Express Brow Kit and it looks like a great product to have. Your eyes look gorgeous, girl! ;) My shade would probably be like yours: medium ash/medium brown. Great review!

    XoXo, Bree
    http://vivalabreee.blogspot.com/
    Tweet me: Viva_La_Breee

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  13. I've heard only good things about ther products. How lucky you got an eyebrow kit from them

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  14. Peiji-- aww, thank you! and yeah, i am always a bit uncomfortable when my eyebrows change color. you should try this one, you might like it. :)

    valncami-- thanks! :)

    Bree-- thank you, bree! :D

    Kavery-- i knooow, i feel so lucky! :)

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  15. Thanks for the review and pictures, Mimi. I love your contacts, gives your skin tone a warm glow!:D

    I would love to try this kit and thanks to you, I now know that the dark brown might be too dark for me. Maybe I should get a dark and a medium just to be sure. I have natural black hair, so we'll see.;D

    For a beginner, I think you did great with your brows.:D

    ***** Marie *****
    allthingsmarie.com

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  16. Marie-- thank you, i'm glad you like it! and you're very welcome! do let us know what you think of it if you buy your own kit. ;)

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  17. I think you know...Anastasia is Romanian !

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  18. coco-- i actually didn't know that, thanks for sharing! :)

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  19. This is great! I didn´t know the brand and looks cool! <3<3

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  20. This doesn't look like ordinary eyebrow kit, it's so much more inside! :) Interesting package, just went to see her site. Lots to see and lots to find out... ;)
    Thanks for you comment.
    Have a spectacular day,

    xoxo
    http://marinnelle.blogspot.com

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  21. You have the most amazing eyes! The brow kit looks really great, but it's frustrating that there isn't more variety in colours, my brows seem quite light but not blonde, yet as you say, because I am a brunette I'd have to get the extra dark one. I hope that's something they'll look into, because the product looks fantastic, and the packaging is really pretty!

    Sarah
    xo

    www.almostdelightful.com

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  22. waah I love the eyeshadow duo! thanks for leaving the link to anastasia and for introducing this brand to us :D

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  23. Great review, Mimi! This sounds like such an incredible product; and your brows look phenom! :)

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  24. love the brow tutorial. so beautiful. lovin' the blog girl!
    xo TJ

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  25. Love Sushi and Fashion-- it is definitely cool!

    ML-- yup, they have a lot of really good products!

    Michelle-- packaging is great!

    Sarah-- yeah, i really hope they look into that. it'd be great if they have a wider selection of brow powder shades in the kit. :)

    Lina Kim-- you're very welcome!

    Erika-- awww, thank you!!!

    TJ-- thank you for stopping by! :)

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  26. I reviewed it, too! I have darker hair, so the brunette was perfect for me. Very impressed by the product.

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  27. Grace-- yay, i'm gonna check out your review, i want to know what you thought of it. :D and it really is such an impressive product. :)

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  28. Thanks for the comment hun!
    Fabulous product...wow!
    Shall we follow each other? I would love that!
    xxx Emily of EL Vintage

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  29. Emily-- you're welcome! and yes, let's follow each other. i really thought i already did... hmmm. ;)

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  30. Love your blog dear!
    Come and visit mine also and if you like we can follow each other's blog :D

    http://maryfashionlove.blogspot.com/

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  31. I have never tried Anastasia before but have always wanted to see their amazing eyebrows kits! :)

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  32. Mary-- thank you! and yes of course, i'll visit your blog too! :)

    Diana-- yay, i'm glad i was able to share photos of it with you. :)

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  33. This eyebrow kit sounds wonderful. My sister usually shapes my eyebrows once a month and then I TRY to maintain it. I'm not very good with shaping my eyebrows either so I definitely need some practice as well.

    I really like how you did yours. I think it looks really nice especially with the color of your contacts. GREAT JOB!

    :)
    Carrie
    http://readmylifeascarrie.blogspot.com/

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  34. Carrie-- aww, thank you, i'm glad you liked it! and i think this is a good product for you too since the stencils will definitely guide you. :D

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  35. caise-- awww, you can check it out online and at sephora. :)

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  36. very sophiscated make-up, so alluring for the color preferences and the mature style
    romwe streetfashion online

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  37. Awesome post! I love a nice, neat, strong brow, and I think this kit is a must try for me. Your brows turned out lovely. What lovely eyes you have also though:-)

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  38. Kara-- thank you! i love my green contacts. and i think you are gonna love this kit! :)

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  39. Sweet I'm a total brow freak, and this product sounds amazing!! I'm not suppose to buy anything right now (cuz of family x-mas rules LOL), so i'll put this bad boy on my x-mas list.

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  40. Dizzy-- haha, well i think this will be a perfect christmas gift for you! :)

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