Let’s talk affordable makeup for a minute! I love trying some drugstore items and ELF is a brand that has some great products but also a few duds. ELF for me can be quite hit or miss with their products. When I love their products I love them with a bit L. But when I am not a fan, they also instantly make it into my bottom 5 and they are quickly up for a declutter. So whenever I try an ELF product I am always a bit nervous because I never know what I’ll get. How did I fare with the ELF Wow Brow brow gel?
Review: ELF Wow Brow brow gel Taupe
The ELF Wow Brow brow gel is one of the most affordable brow gels on the market. It still doesn’t beat my favorite Essence Make Me Brow brow gel. That retails for €2.59 and the ELF Wow Brow retails for €5. That is almost twice as much. Still it is a lot cheaper than many more high end options such as the Benefit Gimme Brow. So this is by no means expensive. It comes in 5 shades of which I bought the lightest shade: taupe.
What does the Wow Brow have to offer?
The ELF Wow Brow is a brow gel with fibers that should help make your brows look more voluminous and full. This is therefore very similar to the Benefit and Essence brow gels I already mentioned: both of those are also fiber based brow gels and I personally love those kinds of brow gels. Overall, I like how they make my brows look fuller and fluffier and it just makes sure my brows look more like brows rather than a block of color after you fill them in.
What is the product like?
My experience with the Wow Brow is that is quite wet and thick. It is a creamy texture that looks much wetter than I am used to. The brush this comes with is quite a bit bigger than the Essence brow gel or the Benefit. That is a downside to me: I like the brush to be on the smaller side so that I get more control with how much product I apply. The brush is also not super revolutionary. It is just a straight, simple brush, while the Essence and Benefit both have a taper to the brush which I think makes it easier to apply the product.
How does the product swatch?
Here you can see what I mean with this product being quite wet. I usually don’t get this much product off a brow brush. The texture is just easy to spread and so with this it is good to know that a little of this can go a long way. The shade is quite light but not warm like some brow products can be. In terms of a taupe, I wish this had a bit more grey to it. In terms of shade my favorite I have tried is the Benefit. In terms of texture it is the Essence. This product comes smack in the middle of the two in terms of texture. In terms of shade, I think I might have been better off getting one shade darker which would be neutral brown. That looks to be ashier and a bit more defined.
How does this product apply?
Because of the wet texture I was afraid that this might clump together my brow hairs. And it does a little bit. Not as badly as the Benefit Gimme Brow which I stopped using as it made too much of a mess in the end. This still works well, there is a bit much on the brush at first but it is easy to wipe off the excess and use the product. I like how this defines my brows and it is definitely a good, average quality brow gel. It doesn’t beat the Essence Make Me Brow though.
My final thoughts
This is a brow gel that gets the job done. I think the shade may be a bit light and the wet texture means that this can clump together brow hairs if you apply too much. In short, this brow gel is a good one in terms of doing what it needs to do, but it is not revolutionary. If you don’t need your brow gel to do too much, then this is just fine. But if you have super bushy brows and in need of a brow gel that will keep your brows in place than I think this doesn’t have enough hold. If you are looking for a brow gel to beef up your brows than this can work, but I think the Essence is still a better deal.
Would I recommend the ELF Wow Brow?
I’m afraid to say that I cannot recommend this to the point where I think you should run out to the store to buy yourself this asap. This is a good product to pick up if you’re in a pinch. If you have access to nothing else and you’re in a tight spot than this will get the job done. It’s just not a WOW product like the name would suggest. In short, not something that I can confidently recommend but a good enough product that if you don’t want to spend too much money on a brow gel and you have no access to the Essence one or that does not come in your shade, then this is just fine.