Unsung Makeup Heroes: Benefit Ready Set Brow 24-Hr Setting Gel

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of our all-time favorite permanent collection products.

Desert island brow gel right here!

OK, if I were a castaway stranded on a desert island, I would very likely be more concerned about finding enough food and water and getting the hell off said island than I would be my brows, but assuming there was a sheltered fresh water lagoon and all of the mangoes and papayas I could eat, and I had the luxury of worrying about keeping my brows from moving while I bathed under the waterfall or dove into the lagoon, I’d be all about $24 Benefit Ready Set Brow 24-Hr Setting Gel.

Girl! I’ve been using this for almost a year, and I’m about to finish my first tube. Squee! And for sure, I’m getting another.

You might be thinking, “Yeah, right, how exciting can a clear brow gel be?” Well, I think this one is really, really exciting, and I feel like with some makeup basics, like brow gel, if you’re going to go through the trouble to use them, they should be really, really good. And this one is.

To put it in context, I think it’s better than the Anastasia Clear Brow gel, which was my gold standard for years. This one has a stronger hold, and the brush combs through my individual brow hairs better, which makes brows look more defined and fuller, yay! It mellows out whatever brow powder or brow pencil you happen to be using to fill in your brows, too, without lifting away the product.

That’s the thing about the Anastasia Brow Gel… If I fill in my brows first, then run that gel through them, it tends to remove about half of my pencil/powder/whatever I use. Then I have to go back in and refill the empty spots.

Now that I think about it, I don’t know why I was so in love with that brow gel, but I digress…

I rarely, if ever, have to do that with Benefit’s Brow Gel because it stays where it belongs.

And you can do some different things with it, too, like you can use it in your naked brows, of course, which is what I do when I go to the gym. Sometimes I’ll fill my brows out/in with MAC Brow Sculpt, then run this quickly through. Then I’ll brush the comb back and forth, both ways, from the inner part of each brow out, and vice versa. Then I’ll brush my brows up.

You can also apply this first, then wait a minute or two (it dries quickly) before filling in your brows, if you want to shake things up. It’s a good trick to try when you want a stronger, bolder brow.

It’s $24, and for that you get a pretty big tube. It’s available now at Benefit stores and counters in the permanent line.

I hope you try it because, if you do, brow problems…SOLVED. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen