We tried ‘eyebrow tattoos’, and this is what we thought (2024)

Nowadays, the shops are filled to the brim with an array of eyebrow pencils, pomades, gels and waxes.

But my attention was recently piqued when I spotted eyebrow tattoos – yes, tattoos - sitting on the shelves.

Introducing: Maybelline New York’s latest product, Tattoo Brow...

Tattoo Brow claims to give your eyebrows a three-day tint. All you have to do is apply a layer of the gel to your brows, leave it for 20 minutes and then peel and reveal your newly tinted eyebrows.

So, I rounded up my (slightly hesitant) colleagues to trial this new brow innovation, and here’s what went down…

Our natural brows

First things first, it’s worth noting that all three of us are trialling this product with very different starting points.

Vicky has light thin brows and a fair skin tone, Megan has dark thick brows and a fair skin tone and I have dark thick brows and a darker skin tone.

We wanted to see if the tattoo could: 1) look natural on light brows; 2) show up on darker skin tones and 3) make a difference to thick brows.

Application

Applying Tattoo Brow was fairly easy. The thinly tipped brush is easy to control, meaning you don’t need to worry about overdoing it on your brows.

However, while the product went on with ease for Vicky, we noticed that the product didn’t sit too well on Megan’s brow hairs.

For me, I found that it sat well on sparse areas of my brow but I was slightly hesitant (and unsure) about how much product was needed for the thicker areas, particularly as I didn’t want to go outside of my desired brow shape.

Taking it off

Once 20 minutes had passed and we’d gotten over how, er, interesting we looked, it was time to peel out the tattoo to reveal our tints.

Except, we all had very different experiences in peeling it off. We all found that the tattoo didn’t come off in one swift go. Instead, we had to peel off the tattoo in bits.

Or, in Megan’s case, pick out as much product as possible before seeking the help of a cotton pad, as the product had gotten well and truly stuck in her brows.

In fact, Megan and I lost a couple of our brow hairs in the process. RIP.

The results

Vicky

Considering how prominent the tattoo looked on Vicky’s face, her reveal was probably the most eagerly anticipated – and thankfully, it looked great.

She said, ‘Surprisingly, I was actually quite impressed at the result. However, I wouldn’t use the product on its own, but more as a temporary tint. It was also quite a nightmare to get off, and I was worried it’d pull my brow hair out. I would use it again though.’

Megan

Out of the three of us, Megan probably had the most difficult time with the product - but then again, she has been blessed with perfect brows...

She said, 'As someone with fuller brows, the product didn’t seem to make much difference for me. It didn’t "peel off" as such, and I found myself picking at individual hairs, with some of them coming out (slightly frightening considering my brows are my pride and joy.)

'That being said, the product did make my brows more defined in the same way my usual gel product does. While it did work in that sense, it’s a bit too much faff for me so I won’t be using again.'

Hanna

While I do have thicker brow hairs, my eyebrows are riddled with a fair few sparse patches. While Tattoo Brow managed to fill in those areas and helped to accentuate my arch a bit more, I don’t think it was strong enough to get the same amount of brow coverage as I get from a trusty pencil. It definitely works on darker skin, but maybe it’s a case of leaving the product on for longer next time…

Not been convinced about eyebrow tattoo? No matter what type of brow product you usually go for, or are looking to try, here are some of our top pick brow products and tools across the board.

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