Today I want to chat to you about Instagram ads, and review all the eyebrow products I’ve ended up with.

I’m trying not to buy much stuff at all this year (you can read more about that in my hopes, dreams & goals for 2025), but every now and then, I’m seduced by an Instagram ad that tells me this product is going to make everything so much better.

I could insert a rant here about how much I hate most advertising, especially the way that problems have been invented over the years in order to sell you something new, in order to keep consuming stuff; shiny new things to distract you from the state of the world, etc. But I think that deserves a post of its own.

Anyway, the Instagram ads that usually get me seem to be make-up and beauty products, primarily eyebrow products. I am of a certain age – my eyebrows without any make-up are sparse from over-plucking in my youth. My eyebrows were pretty meek before the plucking tbh, and being relatively fair-haired probably doesn’t help.

I was often on the lookout for products that’ll make my brows seem thicker and fuller, and although I haven’t tried those serums that are supposed to make more hairs grow (I’m really scared of them), there are a few products I’ve tried.

Some worked, some failed miserably – let’s get into it so that you know what to buy, and what to avoid.

1. Refy Beauty Brow Sculpt, £18

This was one of the first eyebrow-related Instagram ads I was sucked in by a few years back now – Refy’s branding was really slick, and the product looked great.

They brand the Brow Sculpt as “the perfect balance between a wax and a gel,” and, to be fair, it’s a pretty good product, and I did use it for years. I will say that it doesn’t work amazingly unless you have already laminated your eyebrows, plus my oily skin seems to defeat it before the end of the day. It can also leave a white cast, or go a bit sort of bobbly.

But it was a good product, and my go-to eyebrow gel for about 3 years.

Review: I won’t buy again now that I’ve found the next product…

2. By Ellie Brow Shape, £15.99

I was getting this ad relentlessly a few months ago – probably because I clicked on it a couple of times before taking the plunge and buying it.

Brow Shape is kind of like a really thick gel or wax, which you apply with a spoolie. You get 30g, and I’m nowhere near finishing my first pot, after 6 months of using it almost every day.

After 6 months of using it, I’m sold, I’m hooked, I love it. I’m never going back to another brow shaping product or eyebrow gel. I no longer need to laminate my eyebrows – Brow Shape does all the heavy lifting – and it holds my brows in place all day.

The only slight downside is that it’s pretty shiny, but a little setting powder over the top is all it needs.

Review: I will definitely buy again when I eventually run out.

3. BeautyBrow Brow-Fection, £12.95

Firstly, what I didn’t realise when buying this product is that it ships directly from China – not very good for the environment, and I feel awful that I didn’t do more research into that. It also took absolutely ages to arrive as well.

When it did finally arrive, I noticed that the packaging had different branding on it to what I expected, so I think the same product is probably being sold under a few different names.

The colour I ordered was Taupe, but it was much darker than expected, and although the application was pretty good, the brush should be smaller, in my opinion – it’s a bit too chunky, making it really tricky to apply on the outer edges of the eyebrows. It also doesn’t go on very smoothly over my Brow Shape.

Review: I won’t buy again.

4. Wunderbrow Eyebrow Gel, £20

I ordered this in brunette, but it’s actually quite light in colour – a kind of blonde-brown, which is pretty perfect for me.

It’s a similar product to my previous favourite but seemingly-discontinued L’Oreal Unbelievabrow – it does seem to be in stock in the correct colour for me here, but the last couple of times I tried to order it online, I was sent the wrong colour, so who knows. I haven’t seen it in store anywhere for months.

I use the provided angled brush to apply this eyebrow gel to fill any gaps, and though the formula is a little thin, it’s definitely buildable, and lasts all day.

Review: I will definitely buy again if the cheaper L’Oreal one never comes back.

5. Wonderskin Longwear Eyeliner, £16.50

Ok, fine, I lied – this one isn’t an eyebrow product, but we’re not too far off. I bought it from an Instagram ad, and I needed to mention it, because I have feelings.

Firstly, the actual product is really good, and it does last a pretty long time – that I’m not going to dispute. The colour range is great too.

My gripe is that it’s near-impossible to sharpen the bloody thing. The pencil outer is too thick, and the inner is too creamy and soft – it’s lovely for application, but tricky to sharpen. And we all want sharp eyeliner, don’t we?

The way Wonderskin seem to be getting around this problem is by selling their own sharpener, which I haven’t tried, because I refuse to give them more money, and the reviews of it are mixed.

Review: I won’t buy again, too much faff.

Finally, I just wanted to show a little before and after of my eyebrows using the By Ellie Brow Shape and Wunderbrow Eyebrow gel. I’m no make-up artist, and they’re not perfect, but I think you’ll agree that there’s a big difference, without looking overly unnatural…

I’m actually a bit sad about how much money I’ve wasted on some of these products over the last year or so, although I guess two of them have been great and should last me a while.

I’ve made an Instagram Reel about this too, where I’ll show these products in action – including the bad ones – as well as some selfies from 2005 to present day… I’ve made some really interesting style choices over the years, that will undoubtedly make you feel way better about any of yours.

Head over to the post to witness my crimes against eyebrows, and if you want to recommend any beauty products (or ones to avoid), leave a comment, so that we can all save some time and money!