Elf Brow Laminating Gel Review

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Elf Brow Laminating Gel

What it is: Elf Brow Laminating Gel is a waxy, strong-hold, brow styling product that can be used lightly for a natural look or heavily for a bolder look.

Price/Quantity: $8 for 0.27 oz / 7.8 grams

Availability: Elf, Ulta, Target, Walmart, Amazon

Shade Range: Only one shade (clear)

Packaging: Twist-open tube with an added double sided applicator. The main applicator is a spoolie and the two additional ones with the cap over top are a comb and mini brush. If I’m just doing a light application for a natural look, I don’t find the extra included applicators any more helpful than just the spoolie. For a heavier application to get a more “laminated” look, the mini brush was helpful. The spoolie holds A LOT of product. I have wiped off the excess into a tissue 3-4 times now and it continues to come out of the tube with more product than I want.

Elf Brow Laminating Gel
Elf Brow Laminating Gel

Smell/Fragrance: I don’t smell any fragrance but it does have a faint glue-like smell.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 6 months after opening.

Ingredients:

Elf Brow Laminating Gel

Performance

I’ve been using this a month or so now. I have a few other brow gel products and I’ve been reaching for this over those, so clearly I like it. There are things that annoy me about it though.

Texture/Consistency/Finish: This is described as a gel that dries down. I don’t agree with this description. To me this a primarily a brow wax and it does set down a little but it never fully dries. You can continue to move the brow hairs for however long you want but once it “dries”, if you attempt to add more or brush through the brow hairs again, the product will begin to look white and flakey on the brows.

Application: The way I apply this is by pulling the wand out from the tube, wiping off the excess either on a tissue or onto the neck of the container, and then LIGHTLY brushing through the hairs toward the front of the brows. I will use a clean brow spoolie to evenly disperse it through the hairs and get them in the shape that I want. Once that is done, I’ll apply the product more heavily to the outer tails of the brows, not worried about it looking heavy, because I use my finger tip to press the hairs against the skin. I have often applied more and continued fixing the tails of the brows without the issue of it looking heavy.

Longevity: If I don’t touch my brows, they will stay how I style them all day. Once in a while the outer tails will lift a little from the skin and I’ll just press them back down. This is something I don’t really do for “normal” everyday makeup but I like doing it for photos. This product holds the brows to the skin almost as well as the ABH Brow Freeze Gel. That one sets completely and stays “glued” all day but, this being more like a wax, has more ability to move with touch or strong facial expressions. As waxes go, this is the strongest-hold one I’ve tried.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

  • Very strong hold
  • As long as I don’t touch my brows, they will stay in place all day
  • Effective at holding down stubborn wire-y brow hairs
  • Not crunchy-feeling (but does stiffen the hairs a little)
  • Because it doesn’t dry fully, I can continue to make small adjustments to my brows as long as I want

Drawbacks and other considerations:

  • Brush holds too much product
  • Easy to apply too heavily and will then be visible on the brow hairs
  • Combing through hairs once I’ve applied product (more than the amount needed to apply initial layer) can cause a flakey white appearance

Do I Recommend It?

For $8, yes. If this formula was in a container that offered me better control over how much I apply without having to reach for extra tools, I’d even pay more for it. If you aren’t too bothered by the extra steps, it might be worth checking out.  

Before and After

This is the way I normally do my brows for a more natural look. This is a very light application of product through the majority of the brow, with a bit more of a heavy application at the very tail end to help the hairs lay flatter against the skin. I did not use the extra double ended brush for this (just the spoolie and my finger tip to press the hairs down to the skin).

Elf Brow Laminating Gel Before and After

And here is my attempt at using this for the “laminated” look. For this I applied quite a bit of product throughout the entire brow, brushing them upward with the spoolie. To finish it up, I used the added mini brush the to maneuver the hairs into the shape I wanted. The very last image at the bottom is what the flakey white residue looks like at certain angles if you apply too much product. It’s not terrible but it can be annoying.

Elf Brow Laminating Gel Before and After

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