I feel like the skinny brow pencil trend started with Anastasia‘s Brow Wiz. It seems like ever since the Brow Wiz came out, we’ve seen brand after brand attempt to replicate the amazingness of that skinny brow pencil. Over the last year or so, I’ve been able to try out a few brands with similar pencils and I thought I’d compare them to the original Anastasia Brow Wiz.
All of these skinny/micro brow pencils features a 1.5 mm twist up brow pencil and a spoolie. The tiny pencil point helps create natural looking brow hairs (if you’re skilled enough to create them! I’m not!) and gives you an accuracy unlike anything else I’ve tried. The spoolie is a lovely touch as it’ll help you comb out the product through your brow hairs if you happen to get a little too heavy-handed.
Unlike with pencils that require sharpening, these pencils twist up so you actually get to use all of the product. And due to the nature of their tiny diameter, you get accurate precision every time you use them.
Here’s how the three that I have stack up:
- Anastasia Brow Wiz costs $27 for 0.085 grams of product. 8 shades available.
- NYX Micro Brow Pencil costs $11.99 for 0.09 grams of product. 8 shades available.
- Marcelle Nano Brow Pencil costs $11.95 for 0.09 grams of product. 5 shades available.
The first thing you notice is the huge price discrepancy between Anastasia and the other two pencils. NYX and Marcelle are less than HALF the price of the Anastasia one and come with slightly more product!
So what’s the difference, you’re probably asking. And aside from shade selection, there isn’t a whole lot. I have the shade Taupe in both Anastasia and NYX, and Ash Blond in Marcelle. As you can see in the paper swatches above, the Marcelle one is slightly lighter than the other two.
On the skin, the Anastasia and NYX shades perform identically. They seem to have the same pigment and wax combination. The Marcelle leans more towards pigment and less towards wax. Interestingly, the Ash Blond shade comes out a lot more grey on my skin than it did on the paper swatch.
But really, you’re asking, how do they wear? Is there a clear winner?
And the great answer is, there really ISN’T a winner! On the brows, all three products wear exactly the same. They have the same longevity (easily 12+ hours) and apply in an identical manner. When it comes down to it, it’s up to you to choose where you want to spend your money. You can either opt for the cheaper drug store option (although NYX is harder to find in Canada than Marcelle) or go for the more expensive Anastasia one if that’s more your style. I’ve been using all three brow products interchangeably and I really do not notice a difference in them at all!
The Marcelle Nano Brow Pencil was sent to me for consideration.
I am a little hooked on these lately too it seems, I have reviews for FOUR different brands coming up on my blog, crazy (that I can remember off hand I think…may be more?) . I should do a comparison at some point. My main concern is which ones are dark enough for my brows.
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They’re just so fast and efficient to use, which is what makes them perfect for when you’re late, on the go, or on vacation. (That’s when I usually opt for them anyway!)
Which brands are you in the midst of trying/reviewing?
Yeah I agree, I seem to be amassing quite a collection! I had been using the Dior powder pencil but these skinny ones are super easy and precise. The four I have to review at the moment are Annabelle, Marcelle (I wasn’t sure but I do have it, just in the wrong shade haha), Urban Decay and Smashbox. So my brows are quite busy! I’ll have the UD and hopefully the Annabelle reviews up next week though. I really want to do a post on brows for people with black hair (super inapplicable to you) maybe in a month once I’ve made my way through the rest of my brow backlog…
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Perfect post, I have been thinking of picking up the NYX brow pencil but has no idea on the right shade. Judging from your picture, I think Taupe would be perfect. And you’re not the first blogger who said this, another blogger friend of mine said the same to me, get NYX pencil, it’s good and no different from ABH.
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Taupe seems to be one of those catch all colours that covers so many people (a blessing for blondes, especially).
I’m impressed that the other brands have been able to replicate the brow pencil at such a low cost. ABH certainly has their high class name attached to their brand, but drugstore equivalent brands have got this covered too!
I really want to try the Marcelle one and also the new Annabelle one, but I definitely haven’t purchased the Anastasia one since I got my hands on the NYX. I have taupe and ash brown and I like them both equally.
I think the Annabelle one has some kind of pink end with a comb? I feel like I’ve seen it but didn’t invest in it.
Is Ash Brown the same colouring as Taupe? I think Taupe in the ABH one used to be called Ash Blonde or something…
Ooh, thanks so much for the comparison! I’ve been looking for a new drugstore brow pencil for my gym bag, as I’m mourning the loss of the Maybelline Define-A-Brow. I’m going to check out the NYX! 🙂
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SO many people are so sad about the Maybelline Define-A-Brow. I can’t figure out why they discontinued such a beloved product. 🙁
Thank you for this comparison Chelle! I’ve been wanting to try the Anastasia one for the longest. Then the NYX one came out and I started hearing that it was very similar but it was nearly impossible to find in stock in my area. Now I realize I still have way too many brow products to get through before acquiring more 😄
You’re welcome Inday! I think Anastasia manages to get a lot of sales because it’s been out the longest and became known as *THE* brow company – but really… there’s a lot of other brands out there doing it just as good!
I’m with you though… I used to have ONE brow powder… and now I’ve somehow amassed about ten different brow products to use. How does this happen?!?!
I had no idea that Marcelle had those pencils nor that they would be the same price as NYX. I think I definitely have to check them out! My problem is finding a cool/neutral toned brown colour is almost next to impossible to find in N.America. ;(
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The Marcelle ones are brand new for Fall 2015! I believe they’re starting to pop up in stores now-ish! Maybe it’s worth checking out their shade range to see if they have what you need? I don’t have the other colours so I’m not sure!
Wow – I’ll be picking up the NYX version when I run out of ABH… more product for half the price?? Yes please!
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Seriously eh? Major savings!
I’ve been searching for the micro brow for what feels like forever and haven’t been able to track it down. All the Rexalls I’ve been to have only had one brow product with an actually brush spooly at the end. :/ I’m hoping they have lots at IMATS so I can buy like, 3 haha.
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I know it’s new, and I wonder if it’s just starting to show up in stores. I don’t frequent Rexall as much though – I’m more of a Shoppers person. Which one are you referring to though? I think NYX will be at IMATS, but not sure about Anastasia or Marcelle.
Oh I actually didn’t know it was new maybe that’s why. I don’t got to Rexall really at all either, just to search out NYX stuff haha.
Oh shoot I don’t even remember what it’s called. It was sort of odd though. The spolly at the end was like a toothbrush sort of. No cap or anything. I knew for sure that it wasn’t the microbrow!
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It might just be starting to trickle in. I’ll keep an eye peeled for you!
I’ve seen that weird toothbrush end lol. I have no idea how that would work!