PINOY MAKEUP (1): EB Advance Brow Kit and Lash Define Mascara put to test
I was in Watsons Ph looking for a moisturizer to try on when I spotted these. The first and the last time I used Ever Bilena was back in the 90's when a make-up artist used this on me for a show. I remember it did not go well and she kept on retouching me backstage. I was a kid back then and thought this make-up brand was rough. Not to mention, the shades weren't really that good. That was then. Now, things have changed. We all know how drugstore brands have stepped up their game to keep up with high-end beauty products so I thought, why not give this a try.
I know these products have been in the market for so long that this review is already late. Too late, I know. But I was hoping that these will work for me. I was really hoping so I won't need to spend that much for a beauty product that suits me. I was hoping this Pinoy brand will not disappoint. So, what happened? Did it work for me? Let's find out.
PRODUCT
EB Advance Brow Kit http://everbilena.com.ph/ebadvance/ever-bilena-advance-brow-kit/
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
from the website: A product designed to shape, fill in, and hold the eyebrows in place. It comes in three shades of brown that blends with the natural brow color. Combined with a wax, the eyebrow powders are enough to give some flair on your brows. The kit also comes a tweezer and brush for proper eyebrow styling.
WHO'S IT FOR
all skin types
PRICE
PHP220 (5.8 g) at any Ever Bilena counter. You know Ever Bilena is all over the Philippines so you can easily spot this brand everywhere. I found one in our local small convenience store.
fyi, their website didn't state the net weight of this product. You'll see it in the box.
PACKAGING
light plastic palette
DIRECTIONS
*directions not stated on the website but on the box
1. Pluck stray hairs outside your brows' natural arch.
2. Use wax to flatten brow hairs.
3. Define brow shape with angled brush and brow powder.
NOTES
* fragrance-free
* the brow powder is a bit chalky.
Here are the shades:
The clear or white one is a wax so I didn't swatch it. It looks white on the camera but it is really clear.
This product comes with a small angled brush and small tweezers. Here are the pictures:
I took a picture of these two brushes hoping you will see how thin and small the EB angled brush is
I tested this kit for 2 days. For day 1, I put a foundation on the left side of my face and the other half was bare. I wanted to see how this product will perform on my skin with or without make-up (I put foundation on my brows before I put a brow product when I'm in the mood for a full make-up). I didn't follow the directions. The product was on when I read it and it was too late to start again. What I did was put on the powder first then applied the wax last. I thought it will hold my hairs in place so I treated it like a brow gel. I also thought it will be better that way because the products I've used in the past that come with wax stated to use it after application. Sorry, my bad 😖. Btw, I used number 3 shade. I have combination, acne-prone and sensitive/reactive skin.
So, I was done with my make-up at 6 pm. I went out for dinner and checked my brows at 9:26 pm. It wasn't as pigmented as before on the side of my face with foundation but you can still notice it. The pigment on the other side of my face (bare) was going strong 😂😂😂. I went home at 11:08 pm and checked on my brows. The brows on the side of my face with foundation was wearing off while the other side wasn't as pigmented but was still noticeable.
Here are the pictures:
brows without product on. excuse the face 😁
with the product
6pm
upper part of the pic: with foundation
lower part of the pic: without foundation
11:08 pm
upper part of the pic: with foundation
lower part of the pic: without foundation
I also took a video of the unboxing and application of the product so you can check it out. I included the check-ins too.
The thing is, the video is really rough. It is a bit of a mess. It's my first video so would you be a dear and not give any negative comments?😆 If you still want to see it, here is the link. You've been warned!
On day 2, I've decided to put on foundation on my whole face and used another brand for my brows. On my right brow, I used Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow and on the other side was the EB product. I came up with this idea because sometimes I use my eyeshadows for my brows and I wanted to see if it was really necessary to spend money on this product. I mean, if you're on a tight budget, why spend money on this or any brow product when you have eyeshadow shades that you can use on your brows? Am I making sense?
Going back, I was done filling in my brows by 3:07 pm. I just went on with my day and checked my brows at 8:16 pm. The EB brow was wearing off while the other brow was still holding up though it wasn't as pigmented as before. 3 hours later, I've decided to call it a night. I checked my brows at 11:16 pm and saw a bit product on my EB brow. A. bit. The UD eyeshadow brow was barely there too but it was more noticeable than the other one.
Here are the pictures:
3:07 pm
with EB brow powder
with UD naked eyeshadow
8:16 pm with EB brow powder
8:16 pm with UD naked eyeshadow
11:16 pm
brows without any product on
Do you see the difference? I didn't bother to take pictures of each brows because I think it was pointless given that the products I used were unnoticeable. It looks different on the camera but I assure you that it was hard to notice on the naked eye.
Since I want to maximize the use of this product, I tried using it as an eyeshadow too. I contoured my right eyelid using UD naked eyeshadow and EB brow powder on the other lid. Yes, just like what I did with my brows. I was putting this to test, right? Why not compare it to a medium or high-end product? I also put a base on my lid before applying this.
Here are the pictures:
3:20 pm. Where do you think the UD naked eyeshadow one is? Right, I mentioned earlier it was on my right eye. Silly me!😅 They look identical, yes? Actually, the EB one has a cool undertone and the UD one has a warm undertone. Sorry, the camera didn't give justice. You need to look at it closely for you to realize that I used different products on my eyes.
8:16 pm. Both still looking good huh? please don't mind my lids being oily 😅 (yes, I have oily eyelids and lashes)
11:16 pm. Both were wearing off in person. I hope you can see it in the picture.
PROS
- cheap and available locally
- You can use this as an eyeshadow. There are 3 shades on this palette so if you don't use the other shades for your brows, then use it for your eyelids. There is no transition color so just do the basic eye makeup. You may also use the number 3 shade to contour your face.
CONS
- tools. I'm not a fan of the tools. I mean, I get it. For the price, it comes with the tools and it is good for travelling since you won't need to bring a brush that will take so much space. But the tools are so low quality. The tweezers can't grab my thin hairs because I think they're too small. Basically, it's hard to control it 😣. The angled brush is too thin, it's hard to blend the product. The handle is too short too but I can work with it if the quality is good.
I switched to my Real Techniques angled brush when I applied and blended the product.
- wax. I don't like the wax. It is so tacky that it's hard for the product to adhere.
I know I put on the powder first but I re-applied the product after the wax and it wasn't good. It didn't blend well even when I was using my trusty RT brush. Earlier I mentioned that I treated this like a gel. Well, it didn't hold my hairs in place. I know it wasn't intended for that sort of thing 😁 but, what was its purpose? Maybe this just didn't really work out for me.
- you may need to re-apply once in a while because the pigments don't last long. Longevity is better without foundation on the brows.
will you recommend this product?
if you're on a tight budget and you don't have a brow product or an eyeshadow shade that you can use for your brows, yes. Otherwise, save your money. Not saying that this is a bad product. Not saying it's the worst. But there are better drugstore brow products in the market.
will you re-purchase this product?
no
Ooopppsss! We're not yet done. Not even close! Are you ready for the next EB Advance product review? Here it is 😄
PRODUCT
EB Advance Lash Define Mascara
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
from the website: It comes with a unique top and bottom mascara wand for intense and dramatic lashes.
PRICE
PHP225 (top lashes: 8.5 ml; bottom lashes: 3 ml)
Net weight not stated on the website
I bought this a few weeks ago, March 31, 2018. I don't know if there was a price increase but on their website, the price is PHP250
PACKAGING
plastic mascara container/tube
NOTES
* fragrance-free
* consistency is thick and wet (probably because it is new) but I find this more wet than the other mascaras I've used in the past
Here are the wands:
for top lashes
for bottom lashes
I also tested this out for 2 days. On day 1, I used this alone on my left lashes while I put a mascara base on the other side before applying this (take note that I was referring on both top and bottom lashes). Before putting this on, I curled my lashes using my trusty Shu Uemura. As I applied the first coat, it immediately smudged on my eyelids. I needed to use a mascara/lash brush to separate my lashes because my hairs stuck together. I applied 2 coats and kept on cleaning the smudges off my lids. This happened on the eyebags area too. But I was surprised by the result. It held the curl of my lashes! If you've been reading my blogs, you'll know that not all mascaras can do that job on my stubborn, thin, short and straight lashes. I was really impressed! But I still needed to test this out just to be sure that this will suit me.
Here are the pictures:
these are the other products that I used on my lashes
6:24 pm
right lashes: with mascara base
left lashes: EB mascara only
11:06 pm
too many fall-outs on the lashes with EB mascara
less fall out on the lashes with mascara base
I took a video of unboxing and applying of this product too (same with the brow kit) Again just to warn you, video is a mess. Here's the link if you still want to check it out. Don't say I didn't warn you.
I'm pretty sure you saw all the fall outs of the mascara, right? Having said that, I still used this the next day. Not because I needed to test this out but because I saw a potential. So on day 2, I've decided to put this alone but only on the top lashes. I thought my bottom lashes are oilier than my top lashes. I really wanted to make this work. Again, I put on 2 coats of mascara.
Here are the pictures from day 2:
3:35 pm
8:16 pm
there were a few mascara fall outs
11:16 pm
more mascara fall outs
I noticed my lashes drooped down
PROS
- I love the wand for the bottom lashes! I knew it from the start because it is small. Small wands are good for grabbing thin hairs.
- it's a cheap volumizing mascara but not dramatic.
- It's not clumpy considering I put on 2 coats.
- It held my mascara for a few hours. That's the most important one.
CONS
- I hate that this was wrapped in plastic. Okay, I know some of you might find this ridiculous because let's admit, it's better that way since they give assurance to their customers that the mascara is perfectly sealed. But this mascara is in a box. I just think that it's unnecessary to add another seal to the product. It was also hard to unwrap the plastic 😒 I say, just go with the box and seal it properly or don't include the box and just wrap it in plastic. It might save us the hassle of unboxing the product. Yes, I know, it's lame. Okay let's move on.
- I'm also not a fan of the structure or design of the product. I mean just look at the box on the picture. It is confusing. The container for the bottom lashes is located above the wand for the top lashes. Then the container for the top lashes is on the other end of the tube. Isn't that confusing? Maybe I'm just that stupid but I think it would be better if both ends of the tube are the container. Am I making sense? No? Okay, it's still part of my cons. Doesn't change a thing ✌
- it's not waterproof, at least on me. It was stated on the tube and on their website that this is waterproof. My experience will tell you that you can easily take this off with water. I don't know if it's just me but I will assume that the reason why it's easy on me is because of my oily eyelids and lashes.
- wet consistency. Like I mentioned earlier, this is more wet than the other new mascaras I've tried. I need my mascara/lash brush ready because the hairs tend to stick and we all know that's not good.
- smudge and fall-out. You saw the pictures, right? I did everything in my power to make this product work. Yes, there were less fall-outs with a mascara base. But not everyone owns a mascara base. So what will they do? (When I said they, I meant those who have oily eyelids and lashes like me).
- It droops down after a few hours.
will I recommend this product?
yes but not for those who have oily eyelids and lashes
will I re-purchase?
I was really hopeful on this but too bad, it didn't work for me so no
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