If eyes are the windows to the soul, eyebrows are the curtains and can change your entire make-up look. Whether you prefer your brows to be bushy and expressive or perfectly pruned, the best brow gels will help you perfect your style.
The laminated look has ruled in recent years and is here to stay, but more natural-looking brows are also scoring high on the beauty agenda. Yana Gushchina, founder of Browfique, says: “Brows are continuing to take a more natural look in 2024, so, tinted brow gels and brow serums are an ideal way to achieve this whilst being quick and easy to apply.”
Whether you want to build colour, cover greys, fill in gaps or add shape and volume, brow gels are brilliant tools to have at your disposal. You can use them alone for a more natural look, or alongside your other favourite brow products, such as pencils, powders and pens. “It’s all about finding the right product and application technique that works for you,” says Gushchina.
Consider ingredients, too, recommends Gushchina. “Look for products that are formulated with nourishing ingredients such as vitamin E, aloe vera, castor oil or peptides, which can help promote healthy brow growth and condition the hair. Avoid products with polyacrylamide, which can be drying and stick brows together, so more shedding occurs.”
Keep reading to find out which products helped us create blissful brows.
How we tested the best brow gels
Our testers certainly qualify as brow experts, having experimented with every possible brow look over the years. From the thin arches of the Noughties to Cara Delevingne-esque bushy styles to the spiky laminated look, we’ve tried it all, sporting a huge range of brands in the process.
Testing each brow gel for at least a month was key, we considered a range of factors, including shade range, staying power, ease of application, price, the brush and packaging. Whether you love a tint or want something clear to give hold while adding definition and shape, we’ve got your brows covered, with our pick of the best brow gels.
The best brow gels for 2024 are:
Huda Beauty #bombbrows full ‘n fluffy fibre gel
The best formula for a quick one-and-done brow, this formula tints, thickens and holds hairs in place without making them feel crunchy. The best bit? It’s water-resistant and transfer-proof, making it an ideal companion at the gym, in the rain and during midday naps. The skinny spoolie brush is easy to use (though it might take a moment to really comb through thicker brows), and the formula is packed with conditioning heroes such as vitamin E, castor oil and coconut oil. For a fuller look, you’ll have no problem using this alongside your favourite pencil or powder.
Buy now £12.80, Boots.com
Got2b glued 4 brows & edges 2-in-1 gel
If you love the laminated look and don’t want your brows to move (ever), you can stop reading now – this is all you need. When we say this formula doesn’t move, we mean it. It does to brows what Botox does to your muscles – freezes them in place. This obviously comes with some caveats: yes, your brows will feel crisp but they will look exactly the same at 8pm as they did at 8am. There’s also only one shade, which is clear, but don’t let that put you off.
Buy now £4.49, Amazon.co.uk
Milk Makeup kush fiber brow gel
This gel gives incredible colour and fluffy volume all on its own, in just one or two coats. It’s got a very delicate spoolie – surprising, compared with the pleasingly chunky packaging – so it’s easy to build up colour with precision.
The gel delivers good lift and hold but doesn’t feel tight or crispy on the skin when it dries. The sheer amount of pigment, however, means it’s easy to make a mess – it took us a few goes to get just the right amount of product and pressure but it’s well worth the practice. It also comes in eight colours – pretty good for a brow product.
Overall, this formula loses a few points because it required some getting used to, and because we spied polyacrylamides in the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) list – although, we didn’t find the formula to be drying at all.
Buy now £21.00, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Refy brow sculpt
There’s no denying this clear-brow formula took the world by storm upon its release. It went viral instantly, and it is an incredible product, but we beauty editors are notoriously hard to please. When we first tried it in 2020, we thought this was the best thing since sliced bread, but the brow industry has since boomed, and the competition is high. We love the innovative wand (nothing is better for combing and setting brows), and while the formula is brilliant at holding brows in place, it does flake noticeably on darker hairs. If you have blonde brows, get it – there’s nothing else like it – but if you have darker brows, another product may work better for you.
Buy now £16.00, Refybeauty.com
Jones Road the brow gel
This brow gel is wonderfully waxy, with a soft formula that’s great for those with flaky skin and brows. Super nourishing and brimming with the likes of moisturising glycerin and panthenol, it makes your brows look super thick. It’s incredibly pigmented, too (there’s nothing worse than a sheer, ashy deposit of colour). There are a few drawbacks, though – it transfers and smudges with each touch, and it’s impossible not to get it on your skin, though, we think this is what makes it look so supermodel-esque, if you manage to apply it in a shapely manner.
Buy now £23.00, Jonesroadbeauty.com
Kevyn Aucoin true feather brow marker gel
We’ve used this product every day since we first tried it. It’s a perfect two-in-one, with a gentle bristle (rather than felt-tip) brow pen tip at one end and a clear gel at the other. Draw on individual hairs in sparse areas first – a much more natural effect than filling with a solid colour – and then brush up and out with the clear gel for gloss and hold. We were happy to find that our brows stayed lifted all day but still felt nice and soft. A good all-rounder, it loses a point for its disappointing shade range though.
Buy now £26.85, Lookfantastic.com
E.l.f. wow brow gel
This is ideal if you’re after something cheap and cheerful to fill your brows with added volume and colour, but it won’t hold your brows in place all day. It can be a little clumpy to work with, too – the trick is to wipe any excess off the wand before application. It’s the perfect weapon on your quest to cheat your way to fuller, natural-looking brows.
Buy now £6.00, Amazon.co.uk
Benefit gimme brow
This option has a very small spoolie, so you can get into those tiny hairs with precision, giving volume and colour without going OTT or overly dark.
The brow gel is light enough that you can wear it alone or over other brow products, and it gives good hold and lift, with a slightly crispy texture. It comes in particularly lovely shades for blondes and redheads – being neutral-toned and not too dark, shade three is perfect for mousy hair or blondes with darker eyebrows. If your hair is really thick and heavy, this formula might not be for you – we found our brows dropped after a few hours.
Buy now £17.99, Amazon.co.uk
Anastasia Beverly Hills brow freeze
A personal favourite of many a beauty editor, this product is now a bona fide industry icon. We recommend this to everyone in the office, thanks to its clear, flexible formula that doesn’t feel crunchy or stiff but holds like glue. It’s perfect for anyone – from those who want just a little bit of structure to those who want a laminated look (which will last all day, by the way). The real pièce de résistance? The fact that it holds so well without leaving little white flakes – the Achilles heel of many brow gels we tested.
We love the pot, but some might find this packaging to be a bit of a faff, which is why we’ve marked it down half a point. While the brand has since released a new version with a wand (the brow freeze gel: £24, Boots.com), it’s just not as good. We’d also love to see this released in different colours.
Buy now £24.00, Boots.com
BBB London brow build gel
Blink Brow Bar is all about brows, so, we had high hopes for this formula. If you’ve got lots of hairs but they’re fine, this coats them beautifully and adds volume and depth – it also has a tiny spoolie, for precision. It dries very quickly to a natural, powdery, matte finish and contains conditioning macadamia oil and argan oil, for complete brow bliss.
Buy now £23.00, Bbb-london.com
Il Makiage brow factor eyebrow gel
Whether you have thin brows, short brows or even thick brows, this gel has something to offer you. It defines and fills sparse brows while shaping and structuring thicker ones. We love this versatility, along with the fact it can be used with other brow products or alone. It’s also waterproof and won’t clump or harden. The waxy formula is really comfortable, too.
Buy now £23.00, Ilmakiage.com
Glossier boy brow
Fluffy and full brows are key to the minimalist, easygoing Glossier look, and boy brow is one of the brand’s cult products. We like it best in its clear formula, which we use to brush hairs upwards and outwards once we’ve filled in the gaps with a pencil or pen.
This product gives a good hold throughout the day but is soft and doesn’t go crispy. It’s also quick to dry, meaning you can add a little more colour without sticking the hairs to your face.
While they make brows look incredibly thick and healthy, Glossier’s coloured iterations do transfer quite easily. They’re certainly not nap-proof.
Buy now £20.00, Glossier.com
Revitalash hi-def tinted brow gel
When it comes to hair health, you know you can always trust Revitalash. Packed with peptides and oat beta glucans, this formula offers lasting, fluffy results, by fortifying and conditioning your brows. Instantly, it’s just as impressive: it sculpts, holds, tints and styles effortlessly. We love how easy the brush is to use, too, but, as with many of its rivals, we’d like to see a bigger shade range.
Buy now £33.00, Revitalash.co.uk
Essence brow lifting gel set
This miracle pot gives you the most incredible soap brow look without the need for any water. It sticks to brows like glue, without flaking, and gives all-day lift. The clear shade will work for all tones, and it’s not messy at all. Plus, it comes with its own applicator, even though it comes in a pot. It’s the little things that make a big difference.
Buy now £4.00, Essence.eu
Indu flexi-hold brow gel
With the rise of ‘Sephora kids’, it’s nice to see a swift boom of brands that are specifically aimed at the younger generation, giving them safe and targeted alternatives to potentially damaging formulas that are aimed at older, more mature skin and hair. Enter: Indu, a teen-first brand with subtle and efficacious formulas you can trust. This clear, soft and waxy brow gel will last all day (it’s also perfect for touch-ups), and it won’t flake or feel uncomfortable.
Buy now £14.00, Indu.me
Brow gel FAQs
How do I use brow gel?
“You can apply a gel after you’ve filled in your brows or before, or on its own,” says Gushchina. “For best results, avoid applying [base] make-up directly on the brows. If you get foundation or concealer on the hairs, just wipe off before you apply, or do your brows first before your base make-up. Use a wand to lightly brush the gel through your brows in small strokes, in the direction of hair growth, from root to tip. Start from the inner corner and work your way outward. You can use the wand to shape and define your brows as desired, whether you prefer a natural or more sculpted look. Then, if you want more definition, you can go in with a brow pen or pencil and draw small strokes to fill in any gaps.”
Additionally, if you want your brows to hold for a really long time and you’re after an extra-fluffy, laminated look, make sure you fully coat each hair by brushing upwards and downwards before using your wand to create your final shape. This game-changing pearl of wisdom was given to us by Jess Hunt, founder of Refy.
The verdict: Brow gels
We’ve found ourselves reaching for the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow freeze on the daily – it lasts all day and works really well on our heavy, hairy brows. We also love Glossier’s boy brow for ‘no-make-up’ days, giving us a sort of off-duty-model look – or, at least, that’s what we’re going for. If we’ve laminated our brows and they’re feeling a little dry afterwards, we like to use the Revitalash brow gel – it’s also great for anyone whose hair has started to thin. However, for all-round effect and staying power, the Huda Beauty #bombbrows came out on top.
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