Original article from InStyle Magazine. Our Deka Lash Founder and CEO Jennifer Blair weighed in on InStyle Magazine’s 12 Best Eyebrow Hold Gels of 2023!
If you’ve been on BeautyTok lately, then you’re well aware that one of the biggest TikTok trends of the year is #fluffybrows — which, by the way, has over 168.5 million mentions on the app. For those that don’t know, fluffy brows are eyebrows that have been brushed up and set in place to look fuller. Where some people require extra strokes from an eyebrow pen or pencil, others can achieve the look with nothing more than an eyebrow hold gel. No matter which camp you fall in, having a trusty clear brow gel in your kit is the trick to nailing this face-framing makeup trend.
Like most makeup products, though, many eyebrow hold gels exist. Because of this, it can be difficult to know which actually performs well. That’s where we come in. A group of 20 InStyle reviewers tested 23 of the most popular clear brow gels and ranked them on a scale of 1 to 5 in four key categories, including application, feel, performance, and overall look.
Some of their less stellar notes detailed sticky textures and dry-feeling brows, to seemingly cemented brow hairs and off-putting scents. Naturally, those clear brow gels didn’t make the cut. Twelve did, though, including Anastasia Beverly Hills Strong Hold Clear Brow Gel, which came out on top as the best overall.
Best Overall
Anastasia Beverly Hills Strong Hold Clear Brow Gel
After all of our testing, we found no eyebrow hold gel compared to Anastasia Beverly Hills Strong Hold Clear Brow Gel. For starters, it has one of the largest wands — practically the size of a mascara wand — which makes it especially easy to swipe on. And since it’s on the larger side, our tester found that it only took one swipe per brow to fully fluff them up.
“It didn’t leave any film and left my eyebrows looking natural — as though I hadn’t applied any brow gel at all,” our tester reveals, noting that her eyebrows stood in place without feeling or appearing stiff. Another characteristic we love about this product is the fact that it takes a couple of minutes to fully dry down, so you have ample time to comb them exactly as you like without worrying about them setting into place.
“The Anastasia Beverly Hills Strong Hold Clear Brow Gel is the gold standard in brows,” says lash and brow expert Jennifer Blair, who is the founder of the emerging eyelash extension franchise Deka Lash. “This gel is lightweight yet very versatile, so you can easily style your brows without smudging any color you may have added prior to using the gel to set. And it goes without saying that there’s no flakiness, residue, or any type of buildup throughout the day.”
Price at time of publish: $22
Size: 0.64 ounces | Wear Time: 12 Hours | Finish: Polished