Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Eyebrow Kit: Etude House vs ELF

Fixing my eyebrow is an essential part of my make-up.I have only tried 2 eyebrow kits & i think that it would be nice to make a comparison between the two.

So today it will be a showdown between the Etude House Eyebrow Kit & ELF Eyebrow Kit.


I purchased Etude House Eyebrow Kit on a whim even though i still have the ELF one & im satisfied with it. I originally wanted a pencil eyebrow because i find it more convenient compare to the kit. I asked the SA if they have the same color with the 1 in the ELF kit, but he gave me the kit.

So i hesitantly took it...i was actually still debating if i'll buy it since i haven't finished the ELF one, but he said "Ay naku,ma'am, wag ka na magdalawang isip dyan kasi maganda talaga yan" (Ma'am, don't hesitate, because it is a good product). For some reason, i felt embarrassed about it so i just decided to buy it... Let's see if it really is a good product.

Let's compare the packaging & brushes first before the formula.

This is how the Etude House kit looks like.


It has 2 brushes with synthetic bristles that are too thin to be able to grip it. Or maybe my fingers are just too fat & this is designed only for those anorexic people that can easily grip small things?!

I think the brushes are not good because it's too thin! The angled brush would be good for gel lining but not in brow filling because you would want a brush that it's a bit dense to hold the powder/wax so that you won't have to continue dipping it over & over. The other brush with the round bristles are too thin to be able to grab the product.. Hate it! I can't seem to understand what is the use of that freakin' brush!

I have to say that it does have a lot of product in it because the pan is deeper than the ELF one. Major drawback is that it doesn't even have a mirror so packaging is not good for me. What if i'm in a hurry & have no time to dig into my duffel bag for a separate mirror?

Then this is the ELF eyebrow kit in Dark & it has a double-ended brush with  slanted bristles at the other end & also a tapered bristles at the other. I have only been using the wax & not the brow powder though.


Even though the brush is small, at least it's thick enough to be able to grip it way better the EH one. The bristles are packed densely so to be able to pick the product & deposit it on the areas that you would need to. Plus factor is that it has a mirror so it's good for touch ups!

This is the swatch of the wax from both kits. Now let's talk about the product itself...



The one on the right is the powder while the left is the wax. If you notice, it looks almost the same.

No big difference at all, but then one thing that makes the ELF kit stands out compare to the Etude House is that the ELF is buildable. You can go from a sheer brown to a darker brown by applying more wax (just the wax only), whereas i notice that in the Etude House one, the texture is too waxy that you have to use the powder instead if you wanted a more prominent brows. I don't know about how others use their eyebrow kit, but personally i don't like applying powder to finish it off.

I'd rather use the wax for i find it easier to blend. I find that if you set it with a powder, my brows look too strong already. I just want to define my brows not really call attention to it. So i only have to use the wax & i prefer waxes that are pigmented enough to be used alone.

brow Powder are used to just fill in the brow area for that 'natural' look, but since i perspire a lot so i just don't see the need of using the brow powder alone. But then i still use the powder, not for my brows but i use it on my lower eye area when i do the Gyaru look. So the eyebrow kit is really a must for my kit!

Now, I know that here in the Philippines, ELF Studio doesn't have the dark shade, mostly i only see the light shade. I haven't really tried it, but even if the dark shade is not available here, i'd still go for the ELF one because i rather like the staying power. The ELF kit stays for a long time while the Etude House, with its not-so-pigmented shade, will be gone for a mere 1 hour on me. I so regret buying this! (-__-")

There are just some times when the price doesn't really show how good a product is.. ELF is cheaper than Etude House but the staying power & pigmentation is what i would have expected for the price that i paid for in the Etude House kit.

I know i have been saying that the other is more expensive but i can't remember the price. I bought the ELF kit for $3 (i bought it online straight from US), while i know that the eyebrow kit is priced for more or less than Php400 (more or less $9).

I'll definitely buy ELF over & over again compare to Etude House. Anyway, i have said before that i am not really a fan of Etude House, but i still shop there because the store is so cute. Now, i'm not saying the products are not good, ok? I know that there are a lot of EH products that are good, but most of the items that i've tried are just mediocre. Not something that would actually WOW! me... But that won't stop me from buying again & again...

Let's do a summary:
                                        ETUDE HOUSE                                               ELF
mirror                                    none                                                         yes
brushes         2 brushes that doesn't work for me              short but does the job
sleek                                        yes                                                         yes
staying power        almost non-existent for me                          stays long
price                           Php 400 (more or less)                                  $3
pigmentation                         bad                                                     good

As what i said, i regret buying the Etude House kit... Hontoni daikirai! I really hate it! Well,  it's my fault for buying it impulsively anyway...so i can only blame myself with that.

Now, i would be buying the ELF kit again & again... it seems to work for me & i can't find any reason not buy it.

What's your favorite eyebrow kit?
Care to share?

Have  great day, y'all!
Jaa~
^_^

16 comments:

Dana Yoshimizu said...

RYC -
ohhh Thiamere, your comments are too sweet hun~! XD Thank you so much <3

Isabel said...

I have the same one! Elf, that is. =) I also feel that using the powder made it look so strong. I don't have perfectly shaped brows so I don't want them to stand out that much lol

Ashchronicles said...

I agree with you. Most of my etude house stuffs are mediocre but I still buy stuffs from them..XD
I kinda like their eye primer though..but haven't tried other brands..maybe it's just mediocre too..LOL..
EH survives on cute casing..

Pammy said...

I love ELF! I'm glad I skipped the Etude one when I saw it at their store before. Thanks for the review. :)

Unknown said...

ahh I need to fix my eyebrows quick. I overplucked them and they've kind of grown back [after 2 year] now I just gotta repluck and shape them. I think I might need the Etude house eyebrow kit.

Fifi said...

Nice review! ELF eyebrow kit is definitely my staple product! I've never been very impressed with Etude House items that I bought either. :(

Meedge said...

i don't have eyebrow shaping skills AT ALL, but i wanna try ELF's.

Stephanie said...

if you need one I should totally send you mine! I just don't feel like using it :)

Unknown said...

I'm trying to grow my eyebrows and i've been looking for the perfect e/b kit,thanks for the review ms thia!

Unknown said...

The elf eyebrow kit is the one I forgot to purchase the last time i ordered from their website. I better write it down for next time.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing your experience on the lip butter.

xoladiihoneyxo said...

I used to use an eyebrow pencil... no idea what brand. lol. I haven't done much for myself as for being pretty. I definitely want to try out the elf eyebrow kit after reading this review =]

allthatjuicystar07 said...

Hey sis, you should try the skinfood brow kit. It smells like chocolate! yum! plus it gives that natural brow look :)

xoxo,

Iya

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Miss Shopcoholic said...

i have the ELF brow kit... still roadtesting it though.

noone said...

ohhh mmm nice. I've been wanting to dye my eyebrows so it's the same color as my hair (more brownish) but dunno how and I don't want my eyebrows to grow roots to it!

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Janet said...

me too! I prefer ELF compare to EH. Basically EH market its products through packaging rather than efficacy..

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