I have done many, many reviews on eyebrow gels. For me, they’re one of those items that is always included in my makeup routine, no matter how glam or simple of a makeup look I’m doing. One swipe of a brow gel and my face instantly feels more put together and polished. Not a hair out of place. I used to be obsessed with the Benefit Gimme Brow+ Tinted Eyebrow Gel ($36CAD/$28USD) (review here), but I was finding that I go through it way too fast for the price. It really is the tiniest little bottle. I then switched over to the Glossier Boy Brow ($30CAD/$22USD) (review here) and although a couple bucks cheaper, it was still the same issue. So little product for the price. And so that brings me to my new favorite brow gel, the Merit Brow 1980 Volumizing Tinted Eyebrow Gel-Pomade ($33CAD/$24USD).
So let’s dive into all the reasons why this Merit Brow Gel is truly superior and why I’ll never look back at all the other brow gels mentioned earlier. First, the value. This one contains a whopping 4.5 ml of product, far more than it’s Benefit and Glossier counterparts that have 3 ml and 3.8 ml of product respectively. I also find that a little bit goes a long way with the Merit brow gel. I only have to swipe it once, maybe twice through my brows to get a full, defined brow shape instead of several times with some of the other brow gels.
The formula of this brow gel is also far better than it’s competitors. It contains Vitamin B5 to nourish, condition, and strengthen the brow hairs. You know I always love a double duty product with skincare benefits!! And I should mention this brow gel is really less of a gel and more of a pomade thanks to it’s inclusion of Kaolin Clay that helps to build volume in the brows while also giving a decent amount of hold with zero crunchiness or flaking. I personally like a more fluffy brow than a gelled-down laminated brow and that’s exactly the look this Merit Brow Gel provides!
And while it’s only available in four shades, I’ve been really loving the Taupe colour, the lightest shade in the range (there’s also Light Brown, Dark Brown, and Brown/Black). Upon first glance, this Taupe shade appears quite dark but it actually ended up matching my brows quite nicely. However, if you’re super blond and don’t love a dark contrast brow, there might not be a shade light enough for you, but hopefully Merit will be expanding their shade offering soon! And now that brings us to the other con associated with this brow gel: the size of the brush. I am used to an itty bitty brow brush similar to the Benefit Gimme Brow or the Glossier Boy Brow brushes. The Merit brow brush however is probably twice as big. It definitely took some getting used to and even now, I sometimes colour outside the lines and have to use a Q-tip to clean up my brow edges. If you have super skinny brows and are look for precision, you might want to consider another brow gel. But, with all that being said, this is still my favorite brow gel and I just picked up another one at the Sephora Spring Savings Event!
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