2026 Global Eyebrow Pencil and Brow Gel Rankings

Updated 2026-09-04. For pencils, start with InStyle on May 21, 2026: Allison Lax tested 12 popular pencils, kept 7, and named Victoria Beckham Baby Blade the overall top pick. For brow gels, see InStyle's 2026 top 12, where the overall winner is Benefit Gimme Brow+. Allure readers in 2026 voted the same Gimme Brow+ as their brow champion (10 shades, about $28). In a March 4, 2026 editor's pencil shortlist, the overall top pick was Glossier Boy Brow Arch (2025 Best of Beauty). Vogue Scandinavia's top pencil pick was Chanel Stylo Sourcils Haute Précision, with Nyx Micro Brow as the drugstore favorite. Byrdie's April 16, 2026 brow pencil review named Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat as the overall winner, and its June 12 brow gel review named Legendary Brows.

2026 Global Brow Pencil and Brow Gel Overall Tiers

Tier	Representative Products	Format	2026 Testing Criteria	Listed Price in Article
S	Victoria Beckham Baby Blade, Benefit Gimme Brow+, Glossier Boy Brow Arch, Nyx Micro Brow Pencil	Wax pencil, fiber brow gel, angled pencil, drugstore fine-tip pencil	InStyle's overall pencil pick is Baby Blade: during a bachelorette party in hot New York weather in June, it was the only one that did not smudge; it contains camellia oil and rosehip oil, can be used for fine or thick strokes, and comes in only 6 shades. Gimme Brow+ is Allure readers' brow champion and also InStyle's overall No. 1 brow gel, with 10 shades and fibers to fill sparse brows. Boy Brow Arch is Allure's March 2026 overall pencil pick, with 9 shades including Auburn and Grey, an angled tip, and a brand claim of 12-hour sweat resistance. Nyx Micro Brow is Vogue's No. 1 drugstore pick, about €10, and Taupe works well	Baby Blade $35; Gimme Brow+ about $26–28; Arch $24; Nyx drugstore
A	ABH Brow Wiz, Benefit Precisely, My Brow, Kosas Brow Pop, MAC Pro Brow Definer, Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat, Legendary Brows, Patrick Ta Major Brow, Chanel Stylo Sourcils Haute Précision	1 mm fine tip, waterproof fine tip, triangular tip, 14 waterproof shades, refillable, fine-brush brow gel	Brow Wiz is InStyle's pick for beginners: 12 shades, a 1 mm tip that resists breaking, and color that faded by half after a 90°F New York summer day. Precisely is Allure's waterproof pick: 1.5 mm, 12 shades, and the brand claims 12 hours of wear. Kosas Brow Pop is InStyle's pick for sparse brows: 10 shades, castor oil, and a rubbery feel that requires a firm hand. MAC is InStyle's pick for mature skin: 14 shades including grays, and the brand claims 24-hour waterproof wear, so remove it gently. Brow Cheat is Byrdie's overall best eyebrow pencil. Legendary Brows is Byrdie's overall best brow gel and Vogue's number-one brow gel. Patrick Ta comes in 5 shades, and InStyle describes it as hard to remove. Chanel is Vogue's number-one pencil, at about EUR 50	Brow Wiz $26; Precisely $27; MAC $24; Chanel about EUR 50
B	ABH Perfect Brow Pencil, REFY Brow Pencil, ABH Dipbrow, ABH MicroStroke Pen, Rare Beauty Brow Harmony, Merit Brow 1990, Kosas Brow Pop Nano, e.l.f. Brow Lift, Benefit 24-HR Brow Setter, Ilia In Frame Clear, L'Oréal Faux Brow Pen, Got2b Glued 4 Brows	wooden pencil, high-pigment blonde shade, pomade, hair-stroke pen, drugstore setting gel, drugstore hairspray-turned-brow-gel	Perfect Brow has the strongest pigment InStyle has ever tested, but it is easy to overdo; 8 shades. REFY is InStyle's pick for blondes: 8 shades, and a light hand keeps it from looking like a marker. Dipbrow is Vogue's number-one brow pomade, and it calls for an angled brush and warming it on the back of your hand. MicroStroke is Allure's long-wear pen, and the brand claims 24 hours. Harmony comes in 6 shades, and Allure describes it as easy to smudge. Merit 1990 has only 4 shades. Nano is 1 mm and a 2023 Best of Beauty winner. e.l.f. Brow Lift is Byrdie's overall best drugstore clear option, at about $7. Ilia's clear gel is the one a T Magazine writer reached for on 2026-05-22. Faux Brow is a dual-ended pen, and Vogue notes the cap does not close tightly, so it dries out. Got2b was reformulated from a salon hair gel into a brow product	Brow Lift $7; Got2b about EUR 7; Dipbrow about EUR 25
C	Kiko Eyebrow Expert Palette, IsaDora Precision Pen, LH Cosmetics Brow Wax, Fenty Brow MVP, Hourglass Arch Brow, Glossier Boy Brow gel, ABH Brow Freeze, Nyx Brow Glue, Maybelline Brow Fast Sculpt, Benefit Precisely Detailer, e.l.f. Instant Lift, Makeup by Mario Master Blade	powder palette, Nordic waterproof pen, wax applied with a brush, 14-shade waterproof fine tip, the original Boy Brow	Kiko, IsaDora, and the LH wax are Vogue's picks for powder, waterproof, and messy brows. In a March 2026 Allure editor piece, Boy Brow Arch had already pushed the original gel aside. Detailer is the 0.8 mm fine tip from Precisely; Allure named it but did not give it a separate blind-test score. Fenty MVP comes in 14 shades and did not make InStyle's top seven or Allure's top six	A powder palette is not the same as winning the group
D	generic three-shade brow pencil, clumpy brow gel	shade gaps, brush head clumps together	InStyle explicitly calls for something that can draw hair strokes rather than a block of color; gels with brush heads that are too big or that clump did not make the top twelve	Don't Buy by Brow Shape

InStyle's Top 7 Pencils (2026-05-21)

InStyle Label	Format	Shade Range	How We Tested
Overall	Victoria Beckham Beauty Baby Blade	6	At a June bachelorette party in New York, this was the only thing that didn't melt off my face in the heat. It can draw on brows that look like you just woke up, or you can layer it for a fine, stiff finish. The shade range is small, so some people buy two to mix a match.
Beginners	Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz	12	The 1 mm tip makes it nearly impossible to tell where your real hairs end in sparse spots. It has a waxy feel, and after a 90°F summer day about half the pigment is left, so you'll want to set it with a clear gel.
Almost No Brows	ABH Perfect Brow Pencil	8	Wooden and sharpenable. The pigment is the strongest in this batch, it's hard to wash off all day, and a little goes a long way.
Long-Wear	Patrick Ta Major Brow Defining Pencil	5	The pencil-plus-pomade formula glides on but is hard to remove—you'll need a double cleanse
Sparse	Kosas Defining / Brow Pop	10	Angled tip: use the point to draw individual hairs and the wide edge to fill in gaps. Castor oil and panthenol. You have to work the rubbery texture in
Mature	MAC Pro Brow Definer	14	Contains gray. Castor, argan, and coconut oils, so it doesn't tug at thin skin. The brand claims 24-hour waterproof wear. Overly aggressive makeup removal can pull out real hairs
Blonde	REFY Brow Pencil	8	Highly pigmented, so a light hand is essential to avoid looking like a marker, and it dries down to a powdery finish

InStyle first tested 12 popular pencils, scoring them on how easy they are to draw with, how well they last, and the final brow shape they produce. Makeup artists Sania Vucetaj, Joey Healy, and Elke Von Freudenberg shared application techniques. Pencils were not scored on "millimeters of growth."

Brow gels and reader votes

Criteria	Styles	Prices listed in the article	How to use it
Allure 2026 Readers' Choice for brows / InStyle 2026 Best Tinted Brow Gel overall	Benefit Gimme Brow+ Tinted Volumizing Eyebrow Gel	About $26–28, 10 shades	Readers say the fine fibers fill in sparse spots, and the small brush is easy to control, so you won't end up with two unrelated blocks of brow
Allure 2026-03 Pencil Roundup / 2025 Best of Beauty	Glossier Boy Brow Arch	$24, 9 shades	Angled tip, coconut oil, available in Auburn and Grey. The brand claims 12-hour sweat and humidity resistance. Editor Sarah Han wrote that it edged out the original Boy Brow gel
Allure waterproof pencil	Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil	$27, 12 shades	1.5 mm, auto-dispensing. The brand claims 12 hours. The Detailer is a 0.8 mm fine tip
Byrdie June 12, 2026 brow gel roundup / Vogue brow gel	Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows	About $28–34	Fine-tipped brush: Vogue wrote that they used to hate tinted brow gels, and only switched over because this brush tip is fine enough
Byrdie drugstore clear	e.l.f. Brow Lift	About $7	The budget-friendly pick in the public summary
Vogue drugstore pencil	Nyx Professional Makeup Micro Brow Pencil	About EUR 10	Fine tip with a spiral brush—Taupe works well

How is this ranked?

Data dimensions	Main data sources and benchmarks	Snapshots and statistical periods	Rating weights
Eyebrow pencil hands-on testing	InStyle · 7 Best Eyebrow Pencils; Allison Lax tested 12 products and interviewed Sania Vucetaj, Joey Healy, and Elke Von Freudenberg	2026-05-21	Main table 35%. Application, wear, tip; excludes growth serums
Reader votes and editors' pencil shortlist	Allure Readers' Choice 2026 Brows: Benefit Gimme Brow+ (10 shades);Allure 6 Best Eyebrow Pencils Overall: Glossier Boy Brow Arch (2025 Best of Beauty)	2026 reader poll; editor's article dated 2026-03-04	Main table 30%. The 12/24-hour claims are the brands' own
Brow gel testing and formula-by-formula road tests	InStyle · 12 Best Brow Gels of 2026 Overall: Gimme Brow+;Vogue Scandinavia · best eyebrow products 2026	Currently online in 2026	Secondary table 25%
Cross-checked against the editorial team's overall verdict	Byrdie Brow Pencils(Overall winner as of April 16, 2026: Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat);Byrdie Brow Gels(Overall winner as of June 12, 2026: Legendary Brows; drugstore clear pick: e.l.f. Brow Lift, $7). T Magazine, May 22, 2026: personal go-to is Ilia In Frame clear gel	April 2026 to June 2026	Supplementary 10%. The full Byrdie article is paywalled, so only the overall verdicts from the public summaries were used

What Vogue Scandinavia is still recommending, by format

Vogue Scandinavia breaks things down by format: pencils, pens, powders, pomades, and setting gels. For pencils, the overall pick is Chanel Stylo Sourcils Haute Précision; the drugstore pick is Nyx Micro Brow; for tinted gels it's Legendary Brows; for clear setting gel it's Schwarzkopf Got2b Glued 4 Brows and Edges; for pomade it's ABH Dipbrow; for a pen suited to sparse brows it's L'Oréal Infaillible Faux Brow Pen (dual-ended; it dries out if the cap isn't closed tightly); and for unruly brows it's LH Cosmetics The Brow Wax. The growth serum Xlash is described as showing results in 4 weeks and full results in 12 weeks — that's the brand's own regimen, and it wasn't tested against the same hot-weather wear log used by InStyle, so this article doesn't rank it on a growth leaderboard.

For concealer, see Concealers and Dark Circle Correctors Ranked. For foundation, see Liquid and Cushion Foundations Ranked. For lipstick, see Lipsticks and Mirror-Finish Lip Glosses Ranked。