Review // Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil

Like every other blogger in the UK, I hunted down a copy of June's edition of Elle to get my hands on the brand new Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil. Benefit have completely overhauled their brow line, with a bunch of new products and giving existing favourites a makeover, and issued free Goof Proof pencils to mark this event.

PACKAGING
As it turns out, the pencil given out with Elle is slightly different to that you'd buy in the shop. It's sold with a spoolie on the end, a bit like Brow Wiz, but this isn't included with the free pencil. That aside, I'm not a fan of this packaging at all. I love the aesthetic of it- this kind of 60s sci fi futurism feel with silver colouring and a graphic lid- but it's just so impractical. That bobbly lid takes up so much space and is completely unnecessary. When I first saw it, I didn't like how unbalanced it was with such a large, heavy lid. It makes more sense now that I know the usual product is double-ended but I can't get over how much space it takes up.
The lid clicks on and off like a lipstick, and reveals a twist-up "bullet". The pencil itself is angled with a broad, flat surface which doesn't require any sharpening.
APPLICATION
Because of this flat surface, it's really easy to fill brows in quickly, although it's not very precise. It seems to be more targeted at filling in large areas at once, rather than creating defined lines, although the angled shape does allow for the curves of your eyebrow. Unlike other eyebrow pencils I've used in the past, it's quite a hard formula, so I needed to press fairly firmly in order to actually apply the product. The upside of this is that it's difficult to make a mistake or accidentally draw across your face (which is something I do more often than I would like to admit!)
RESULTS
As the magazine was wrapped up in an opaque orange bag, it was impossible to see which shade you were picking up. I ended up with shade 2, as did everybody else, as far as I can make out. Knowing Benefit's shade choices are usually pretty limited, I assumed this was the darker shade. Turns out there are 5 different shades to buy which is fantastic! The only problem is that 2 is one of the lighter ones- a sandy ochre shade- so it doesn't match my brows at all. If I were to buy it again, I'd probably pick shade 5.
Shade dilemmas aside, I found this brow pencil creates a fairly soft effect with brows filled in evenly. I prefer to have more precision but it certainly is very easy to use and covers a large area at once. It would probably be a great option for people who are new to filling in their eyebrows. Unfortunately, I didn't find the "12-hour, waterproof formula" to be true in my case as it faded away after a few hours.
Although I probably won't be buying the full sized version for myself, this would make a good place to start with filling in eyebrows. If you've got light eyebrows, it's well worth picking up a copy of Elle and trying it for yourself. Holla at me if you find a shade 5!
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