NEW From Rimmel: Brow Shake Filling Powder Review

You may have seen the latest launch from Rimmel all over social media recently. Their new range of powders claim to be the latest innovation in brow make-up, offering a 3-in-1 service that allegedly gives you 'brows like Cara'. Now, Ms Delevingne is famous for her thick brows, possibly single-handedly kick-starting our obsession with having the perfect brows, so that is a bold claim! Available in four shades, the clever little pots of powder blend in with your natural hairs to help sculpt, fill and define. Whilst this sounds great and I'm sure work wonders for those with hairs for the powder to blend with, how do they fare for people with no brows?

As you probably know by now (unless you are new to this site), I suffer from a form of hair loss disorder called trichotillomania. This has left me brow-less, and although having them tattooed has given me the appearance of brows, there is actually nothing there at all. Nada. Completely bald. Therefore, my daily routine sees me reaching for my trusty brow pencil to fill in the tattoo outline and cover the hair loss. I have dabbled with powders before (namely Benefit's amazing Brow Zings palette), but I find they can create too bold and heavy a look for my preferred everyday natural style which tries not to draw too much attention to my eye area! When this new launch from Rimmel arrived in the post, I was intrigued as to how this would work for someone who doesn't have any eyebrows.


These new products are essentially loose brow powders- a very different approach to the powder palettes we are used to seeing. The packaging looks a lot like little liquid eyeliner pots, just with a thicker, more flexible applicator. Speaking of the applicator, It's not too thick and is just the right size to not only sweep over brows but to build up the product if your brows are slightly thicker. It's very strange to feel how flexible the wand is; for lightly brushing over hairs you probably won't think twice about it, but you have to press a bit harder to transfer the powder onto bald brows and it's surprising as to how bendy it is! Nonetheless, it's so easy to get used to applying this powder- you can pat the product in or or brush it over to create the same effect and it does seem rather effortless.

The four shades (soft black, dark brown, medium brown and light brown) look fine when swatched- you can see the difference in colour, which might lead you to believe that the lightest shade would be perfect for blonde hair etc. However, I have light/medium brown hair, and in the photos I am wearing the lightest shade- it's perfect for me but for anyone who would need a lighter shade to match their hair colour, like those with blonde hair, I think these will be too dark for you as they do come out a lot darker than you would think. That said, this could just be the effect they have on bald brows- for those with eyebrows the colour may seem different. For those with eyebrows, I think the powder would be dispersed more amongst the hairs, whereas it is quite packed on when applied to bald brows, meaning the extra pigment makes it seem darker.

One thing I have noticed is that it doesn't smudge very easily; you definitely need make-up remover to remove it properly. This is great for hair loss sufferers as if there's one thing you don't want in a brow product is for it to wipe off easily and reveal the baldness! Another plus is that the powder element gives a matte effect; I hate it in photos where my baldness makes the brows go shiny so this will certainly prevent that. If you are a fan of multi-functional products then this could be a new love for you. I tried using a darker shade as an eyeliner, especially for my bald lower lid, and it worked really well as a little hair loss disguise. It blended really well and created a natural look which I love. This also allows them to double up as eyeshadows- although a bit more difficult to blend than your favourite palettes, they can definitely be used to add a subtle neutral tone and save more room in your make-up bag!

Overall, I think this is a good little product from Rimmel. It probably won't replace my trusty brow pencil for everyday wear as it does produce quite a bold, filled-in look, but it's not something I would chuck to one side and never use. For those with eyebrows, I cannot comment on how the product works but I can imagine it works a lot better for those with hairs than for those without. I think it would be difficult to create brows from scratch with this as the applicator is so flexible and it's not the most precise product, but if you have a rough outline or some hairs there, it will work well for you. It's an innovative and affordable product (at only £5.99) that's worth trying out as it's quite fool-proof and there's no faffing to get it to work or apply right, but for those with hair loss, I don't think it's in the 'life changing' category.

Have you tried these out yet? Do you prefer powder brow products?

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This post features press samples but, as always, all opinions are my own.