You may be wondering: eyebrow tinting kits? You’ve never really considered using one before. But they are getting increasingly more popular during the pandemic.
This is because save for hair-related services, a lot of our beauty treatments and appointments have had to be put on hold for the time being: facials, manicures, waxing, derm consultations.
For the most part, many of us have figured out how to make do with DIY versions, or beefed up our routine with salon-quality skincare, or simply decided to let our beauty standards ease a bit until we can safely see our beauty specialists in person again.
But somewhere right in between “becoming your own expert” and “letting things go wild” is your brow maintenance. At home, it’s highly recommended to leave the brow shaping to the professionals and just let hairs fill in where they are able to regrow while doing maintenance where necessary. After all, if you screw it up, there’s unfortunately no salons you can go to help you fix the blunder.
Instead, fall back on brow trimming and eyebrow makeup to keep those arches looking orderly. But if you’re looking for an easier, more longer-lasting alternative to a brow pencil, consider using eyebrow tinting kits.
Sure, dyeing your own brows sounds like a major beauty disaster waiting to happen, but trust us when we say these tinting kits are incredibly fool-proof and deliver surprisingly natural-looking results, so you’ll get brows like Cara Delevingne, not Oscar the Grouch.
Ahead, we round up 12 of the best brow tint kits you can try before brow services are available again.
Best eyebrow tinting kits to try
1. Maybelline Tattoo Brow Long Lasting Tint
This popular gel-based peel-off formula comes in three shades to help you achieve salon-worthy arches that last about three days. Once you lather the gel onto your brow, let it dry for at least 20 minutes, or two hours if you want longer wear. Then, peel it off for visibly darker brows.
Maybelline Tattoo Brow Long Lasting Tint retails between S$15.72 and S$24.99 on Amazon and ASOS.
2. Etude House Tint My Brows Gel (most popular!)
Another popular favourite, this paint-and-peel formula has appeared on many video tutorials for months. Simply fill in your brows with one of the five shades, wait two hours, then gently peel off the film (your brow hair won’t get pulled off with it, don’t worry) for a stain of colour that fades slowly within a week. Extra bonus: It contains a moisturising blend of panthenol, green tea and black bean extracts.
Etude House Tint My Brows Gel retails at S$15.90 at Lazada and Shopee.
3. 3CE Longwear Tattoo Eyebrow Marker
Adhesive and precise, this convenient chubby marker with a solid tip delivers full, perfectly shaped brows in just a single sweep! Its pigment is made with henna extract, and can stay put for about seven days. Available in two shades: Ash Brown and Natural Brown.
3CE Longwear Tattoo Eyebrow Maker retails for approx. S$18.10 (US$13) at Stylenanda. It’s also available at sephora.sg retailing for S$22, but is currently out of stock. You can join the waitlist to have them notify you when it’s back in stock.
4. Eylure Pro-Brow Dybrow Dye Kit (affordable!)
Dark, glossy brows for up to six weeks? Yes, please! Developed by false lash expert Eylure (which has been around since the 1940s, by the way), this kit comes with one dye cream, an activating solution, and a mascara wand to help you tint your brows easily in the comfort of your own home.
Although the instructions call for you to leave the cream on your brows for one to two minutes, users with slightly fairer brows suggest leaving it on for slightly longer (about 12 minutes) to get a more lasting result.
Eylure Pro-Brow Dybrow Dye Kit retails for S$13.50 at lookfantastic. It’s also available at Amazon, but is currently out of stock. You can submit your email address to have them notify you when it’s back in stock.
5. Ardell Brow Tint
Free of peroxide and harsh chemicals, this vegan, water-based brow tint suits those with sensitive skin. To activate the formula, combine the powder with the water-based activator, apply mixture onto your brows, wait for at least ten minutes, and then gently wipe it off for freshly-tinted brows that will last up to two weeks.
With 12 applications inside the kit, this tint is as economical as they come, and it also means you can still flaunt beautiful brows for a full year if you don’t feel like going out for just a brow appointment!
Ardell Brow Tint retails for approx. S$27.90 on Shopee.
6. Godefroy Instant Eyebrow Tint
Formulated with plant extracts, this gentle, non-toxic formula is another good alternative for those who are sensitive to hydrogen peroxide-based colourants. It offers coverage of up to four weeks and is purportedly able to conceal even the most resistant gray hair. Comes in four shades: Natural Black, Dark Brown, Medium Brown, and Light Brown.
Godefroy Instant Eyebrow Tint retails for approx. S$19.50 (US$13.98) at Amazon.
7. Wunder2 Wunderbrow Long-Lasting Eyebrow Gel
If you don’t feel like fully committing to a brow tint, but are down to test the waters, try this one. Using advanced PermaFix technology, this vegan gel formula allows hair-like fibers and pigments to attach onto skin and brow hair. The result is natural-looking arches that stays for up to three days without flaking, fading or smudging. Five shades available: Auburn, Black/Brown, Blonde, Brunette, and Jet Black.
Wunder2 Wunderbrow Long-Lasting Eyebrow Gel retails for S$46 at Ubuy.com. It’s also available at lookfantastic, but is currently out of stock. You can submit your email address to have them notify you when it’s back in stock.
8. Thrive Causemetics Instant Brow Fix Semi-Permanent Eyebrow Gel
On days when you have minimal time for touch-ups, this 24-hour semi-permanent brow gel will be the best thing to have in your makeup stash.100% vegan and cruelty-free, all you need to do is feather it through your brows using hair-like strokes for a subtle tint that won’t budge the entire day.
The magic doesn’t end there: the more you do it, the more permanent the brow tint will become. It also doesn’t hurt that the formula is enriched with vitamin B5, which strengthens hair follicles and stimulates growth.
Three shades available: Christina (Light – Dark Blonde), Audrey (Dark Blonde – Medium Brunette), and Serena (Dark Brunette – Black). Oh, and did we mention that it’s super popular (raked in over 900 reviews!) and highly raved about (has a glowing 4.5-star rating) too?
Thrive Causemetics Instant Brow Fix Semi-Permanent Eyebrow Gel retails for approx. S$33.40 (US$24) at Thrive Causemetics.
9. Baebrow Instant Tint
The brand’s flagship product is a no-mix tint that lets you achieve perfectly defined arches minus the mess. After lining your skin with Vaseline, just brush the formula across your brows with the tube’s doe-foot applicator, then wipe off the pigment after three minutes for a subtle tint that stays up to a week.
Comes in three colours: Dark brown, graphite and black, and you also have the option of layering one colour over another for a shade that’s suitable for your hair’s warmth and colour intensity.
Baebrow Instant Tint retails for approx. S$34.85 (US$25) at BAEBROW.
10. Revolution Brow Tint (best price!)
Available in dark brown, medium brown and taupe, this gel formula is said to last up to three days. Simply apply onto clean brows, leave it to develop for two hours maximum then peel off. To clean up any excess product, just brush off with a clean spoolie.
Revolution Brow Tint retails for S$9.99 at ASOS.
11. 1000 Hour Eyelash & Brow Dye
Not just for the brows, this waterproof, no-smudge tint can also be used to colour your eyelashes, saving you time from applying mascara daily. Each pack has 12 applications, and each application can give you salon-worthy results for up to six weeks with just three steps.
Simply mix the developer and dye together, brush the pigment through your brow hairs with the included spoolie, then wipe it off gently with a damp cotton pad for opaque, long-lasting colour. Available in four singular and blended colours: natural black, dark brown, blue black, and brown black.
1000 Hour Eyelash & Brow Dye retails for approx. S$19.41 (AUD$19.99) at 1000 Hour. It’s also available at lookfantastic retailing for S$20.50, but is currently out of stock. You can submit your email address to have them notify you when it’s back in stock.
12. Kaxiér Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyebrow Powder Stamp
For brow tint virgins, this foolproof powder-gel stamp is a good option to consider. Like a real stamp, it comes with three different eyebrow shapes – arch, willow, and straight – and all you have to do is pick up the product using the brow-shaped sponge, stamp it onto your real brow and smudge-proof formula will stay for all day. It’s recommended to moisturise your brow area with lotion prior to application to increase the waterproof and sweat-proof effect.
Kaxiér Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyebrow Powder Stamp retails for S$7.78 on Shopee.
Tips for using brow tinting kits
- Do a patch test at least 24 hours before you start tinting to make sure that your skin doesn’t react to the formula. You can consider testing on the area under your ear or at the inner side of your arm.
- Test the colour on a tissue before you start. This is to make sure that the actual pigment is what you expect. You can even hold it up against your brows to see if the shade looks flattering on you.
- Create a barrier around your brows to make sure that the colour won’t bleed into areas outside of your brows and stain it. Petroleum jelly is an affordable and effective product to use for this barrier.
- Go easy with the application because it’s easier to add on more pigment than to take away pigment.
- Use a timer. Don’t leave it to estimation; there’s a reason why the package suggests a specific time for you to leave the brow tint on for. You can simply use your phone and set an alarm on the timer so you won’t miss it.
- Dab, don’t rub the area after you wash off the brow tint. You can use a wet towel or soaked cotton pad to gently blot off the tint. This ensures that your tint remains intact for longer.
