Benefit Gimme Brow Brow-Volumizing Fiber Gel Review & Swatches

I’ve been a long time fan of Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel. Actually it’s the only eyebrow gel I use since I started wearing makeup! I have a few different colors from the line and I use them for different occasion. The product is great and I am happy with it for the most part but deep down I’ve always wanted to find a color that has a cool, ashy, taupe-y tone without a yellow/red tint to it.

It’s finally become a reality when I saw Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium at Sephora! I didn’t have any prior knowledge of how the product works or what the reviews are but the color alone sold me! I mean, it’s definitely an impulse purchase but Benefit is known for their brow expertise, right? So, naturally, I trusted the product and purchased it with high hopes.

The first thing that you have to get past is, the gel comes in a really, really tiny tube! The tube is about half the size of the Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel and has only a third of the product for the same price (3 g/0.1 oz vs 9 g/0.3 oz — ouch!!). The spoolie brush is also much, much smaller (about 3 times smaller!) but this I can see being a good thing because you can really deposit the gel to each individual hair with precision and minus the mess.

Gimme Brow comes in two shades — Light/Medium and Medium/Deep. I picked up Light/Medium for the reason stated above (more ashy/taupe-y tone). The gel has a strong rose scent that may bother some but I find it a pleasant smell.

It is marketed as a tinted brow gel with brow-volumizing fibers to help fill in the sparse areas for an illusion of thicker, fuller brows. See, my brows are so thin, sparse, and unruly that anything that contains fibers with the ability to “fill in” sounds just like the product I was looking for. The tinted gel is supposed to adhere to both skin and hair and provides a water-resistant finish that is long-wearing and smudge-proof.

For this claim, I will say, if you don’t sweat a lot or plan to be in the water, you are fine. It really does stay put in normal circumstances. However, it is not truly waterproof as it does come off with ease when it comes into contact with water.

The fibers. You are not going to see them. They are supposedly there but they are not visible to naked eyes. There is a subtle difference between my “naked” brows and when I put the product on (see last photo below). The gel definitely does groom the hairs and makes my brows look more natural and overall more polished. It also does somewhat “fill-in” but I don’t necessarily see it volumizing my brows in any way. It tints/softens the natural color of my hairs by adding the “ashy/taupe-y” tone to it which I like (I know a lot of people prefer dark, intense, full, Cara Delevingne-esque brows, but I am always more into a softer, less bold version).

But since I have sparse brows, I always fill them in with a brow pencil/powder first. I get the shape I want for the makeup look I’m doing that day, and then finish with the gel to “hold” the hairs in place. In the same photo, you are not going to see much of a difference between with and without the gel but the one with it on, my brows look a little softer and a little more polished.

As for the formula, it is wet. It is buildable but I can’t apply more than 2-3 layers or my hairs will have that “bunched-up” spidery look. And if you apply it post powder/pencil, make sure to not apply the gel with too much pressure onto the skin or your brows will look splotchy. Sometimes I find that the product comes out a little too much, too, so if that happens, just wipe the excess product off before applying. Unlike most brow gels, Gimme brow doesn’t have that hard/crunchy/crispy feel to it after it sets.

Overall, I think the product does an OK job for what it’s designed to do. I didn’t see a drastic impact it has on my sparse brows but for those who have naturally fuller/thicker brows, I think this will be a really great product for you especially if you are just looking for something to “groom” the hairs and not necessarily fill in. It is also possible that if I were to have purchased the darker (Medium/Deep) instead of the lighter shade, I would have seen a much better result but I didn’t get that one because I already have something similar from Anastasia.

Have you tried Gimme Brow? How has it worked out for you? Please share with me in the comments section below! :)

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