For years, I’ve avoided waxing, threading, and anything that could make my already barely-there eyebrows any thinner. Instead, I’m always on the lookout for ways to transform my baby-thin arches into a Zendaya-level dream come true. So, of course, I jumped at the opportunity to try the new Anastasia Bevery Hills Volumizing Tinted Brow Gel.
This isn’t your typical formula that pastes your brows in place. The focus here is maximizing volume, and ABH is revolutionizing the game with this one. The applicator is different than others I’ve used in the past, with a dual-head spoolie (one side has long bristles that grab strands from roots to ends, while the other side has flatter spiraled bristles to distribute the gel). If you’re used to just going straight in with a heavy hand, you’ll need to dial it down to get the application just right. After my first use, I had to go back in and clean up some of the excess gel smudged all over my brow bone.
After a little practice, I’ve learned to wipe excess product off by gliding the spoolie over the rim of the tube. Now, I use a little flick of the wrist to lightly glide the tip of the bristles through my hairs. Less is more with this formula, and a small amount of product is all you really need for a subtle gradient effect.
This leads me to my next important note: The gel is extremely pigmented, so you might want to select a shade lighter than usual. I thought the shade Ebony would be perfect for my dark hairs, but it turns out the Dark Brown gives me the barely-there natural finish that I love. Again, the focus of this product is to create volume and dimension, so it will flush your brows with color as if you’ve just had them professionally tinted. When used alone, the new gel gives the perfect effortlessly bushy brow. But when I want a little bit of definition, I line the shape of my brows with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. And when I want some extra hold on my unruly hairs, ABH’s Brow Freeze clear gel locks every strand in place.
In addition to the volumizing color boost, I have to talk about the parts of the gel that the naked eye cannot see: the nourishing ingredients. Both glycerin and grape seed oil work together to condition and hydrate the strands similar to a brow serum, making this gel a win-win in any makeup kit.
Alexis Bennett Parker is the Commerce Content Lead at ELLE.com. In this newly created role, she oversees all shopping-related stories online, from fashion-forward trend pieces to the most coveted beauty buys on the market right now. Alexis has worked in the publishing space for 11 years, and seven of those years have been dedicated to helping shoppers make informed purchases—no buyer’s remorse here! Before joining the team at ELLE.com, she worked in the editorial departments of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and InStyle, to name a few magazines. Not only has Alexis worked closely with several brands and tested hundreds of products over the course of her career, but she’s also won awards for her work as a shopping journalist. Namely, she was an honoree at the Pynk Magazine Gala in 2023, received the Condé Nast Commerce Content Award for Best Article by a New Hire in 2021, and was included on the Top 40 Under 40 Heir’s List in 2018.