Forget about brow gel, what has been all the rage for some time now for setting your eyebrows into place is soap brows. This is a makeup artist trick that has been hyped up for some time, but it didn’t really launch into the mainstream until brands started to create specialized products for creating the look. Do you need a special product to do this? No. You can take any clear bar of soap that you can buy from any store, a spoolie and some water and you can do this. However, now that Catrice has come out with their own, super affordable version in the shape of the Brow Fix Soap Stylist, I thought I could give it a whirl. Here’s how I got on.
Review: Catice Brow Fix Soap Stylist brow gel
And affordable it is! The Catrice Brow Fix retails for a mere €3.99. For that price point you only get the soap though: you will have to find your own tool for getting the product into your brows. I use a spoolie that came with a L’Oreal brow product and that has been working quite well. And any spoolie will do and those do not have to be expensive as they sell them at any drugstore or they come free with purchase. I think if you are truly stretched, you could even clean off an old mascara wand (because hey! those are spoolies too) and use that. In short, the fact that this doesn’t come with the application tool doesn’t have to be a massive setback. Would it have been nice in this case to have one? Sure, but I prefer to use my own tools with any makeup I use anyway.
What does the Brow Fix have to offer?
So we don’t get any tools for application, but then what do we get? We get a hard bar of a waxy feeling substance that you can’t swatch and won’t budge when you touch it. There isn’t much else I can say about it. This is a very practical makeup product and one that should help with giving that fluffy, yet not stiff brow look. I don’t know about you, but some brow gels can make your brows feel crispy to the point where they get so stiff you can feel them sitting there, glued to your face. Not a great feeling. This doesn’t do that: the product lifts the brows and you can easily fluff them up again throughout the day if you so wish to do that. It isn’t waterproof though: you can rinse it off with just a bit of warm water.
How does this product work?
Let’s talk application first, because I didn’t get it down at my first attempt. So I’ll tell you what I learned to help you prevent making the same mistakes. First of all, you need to wet your spoolie. You can use a fixing spray if you want to make your brows last even longer, but you could also just wet it with a bit of tap water. Secondly, you scrape the spoolie over the surface of the soap. I find that I need quite a bit on my spoolie to make sure I get an even coating all over the spoolie. You can then proceed to brushing the product into your brows and you’re done. I would recommend cleaning off your spoolie straight away, as the product will settle and harden again making it unusable if you keep it caked up in there.
Now the mistake I made the first time, is that I used this first after already having done my base makeup. That is my normal makeup routine: I do my base makeup, then brows and then move on to the rest. Sadly, this product is a bit messy and I found that I lifted off some of the foundation around my brows as I was brushing this into my brows. I then used it another few times, but this time after I applied primer, but before foundation. This was a lot more successful, but I do feel my brows didn’t look as fluffy as when I had first applied the product as I needed to get close enough around the brow to apply the base layer.
My final thoughts
I think the Catrice Brow Fix Soap Stylist is a fun product to use. I like the effect it gives my brows as it makes them look very natural and it doesn’t make my brows feel crispy or weird. I have one reservation though and that is a crucial one as to how often I will actually be using this. This stuff is messy! Not only do you need wet the brush and get the product on (messy step 1), you are also scraping off product, which means that with regular use this product is going to look absolutely atrocious (messy step 2). Then you are left with a bunch of product stuck to the spoolie (messy step 3) AND you run the risk of messing up your makeup as you are applying it (messy step 4). Therefore I think the extra steps it takes to use this product aren’t worth it to me to be using this on the daily for a longer period of time. I like the way this makes my brows look, but my usual brow gels are so much quicker and less of a hassle. Not to mention the fact that you can literally buy a €0,50 bar of soap and do the same thing.
Would I recommend the Catrice Brow Fix Soap Stylist?
Yay and nay. This is a great little product if you want to change up your brow game and like a natural, fluffy brow. Granted, you will need quite good brows yourself to make this work. If you have quite sparse brows naturally, this is not going to help you to get a more full-bodied effect. That being said, it is a bit of a hassle to use as it is messy and you need to include some extra steps such as wetting the brush and cleaning off the spoolie after every use. So I don’t think this is that quick and easy thing you do in the morning. I am happy to have tried it though and for more special occasions or if I want my brows to look their best, I will definitely not regret having this in my makeup collection.