When you're a beauty journalist, every day is a school day. And so on a chilly March morning, I found myself in a fashionably crumbly London townhouse, notepad (ok, iPhone notes app) in hand, mesmerised by Jamie Genevieve's eyebrow masterclass.
Genevieve, if you're unfamiliar, is a Debenhams counter makeup artist turned YouTube phenomenon turned founder of Vieve. Six years and 20 industry awards later, Vieve has the sort of acclaim, prestige and longevity most creator-owned brands can only dream of. How did she pull that off?
Talent, business sense, work ethic and warmth, of course. But ultimately, it's the products. This brand has more bangers than The Beatles, and the secret, she told us that grey March day, is ''really good versions of the classics" - from the best lightweight foundation that glides over lines, to the most flattering, creamy bronzer for pale skin. Absolutely nothing for your eyebrows, though, until now.
Why this perfect eyebrow duo are my beauty buys of the week
In an industry obsessed with TikTok-friendly 'world first' novelty, it's refreshing to see a brand stick to its guns by simply offering excellently-made, useful stuff we all want in our kits. Hence, Vieve is entering the eyebrow category with (drumroll...) a pencil and a clear gel.
"We've started really simple," Genevieve explained, "They are just the best of what these products can offer, then there's a space for innovation with ingredients." And what makes this the best eyebrow pencil and gel exactly? A few things, if you ask me.
That teeny tiny brush gives so much control and - unlike many - doesn't dump globs of gel down as if they're being sent in to tame a teenage boy's mop. This precise microdose is especially useful if your eyebrows are sparse. The formula manages that rare trick of grooming brows and setting wayward hairs in place, without sticking them together, feeling crispy or flaking off a few hours down the line. It also contains omegas to condition brittle hair, as well as prickly pear and caffeine that can help stimulate the hair bulb for fullness.
Like the gel's mini brush, this has a super-duper skinny nib that's excellent for precisely filling in thinning or gappy eyebrows without loading on too much pigment. This works especially well on pale or thinner brows. Despite being one mere mm thick, that tip manages to maintain a suppleness, so it doesn't snap off mid-application (infuriating when that happens - money down the drain). There are six shades, including a cool-toned taupe that'd be great in grey brows, and a deep, inky, unchalky black.
Technique-wise, I picked up a gold nugget that morning that I've been deploying on my own arches ever since. "I really like to start eyeliner from the middle of the eye, and when you do something similar with brows, it acts like a lift," Genevieve explained, wielding the Modern Brow Definer. "Keeping it darker in the outer corners, it gives it [the brow] a bit of a lift." With the gel, she advises we "go backwards through the brow first, as it's less intense than going through it and sticking it down."
And as the owner of hooded lids and a heavy-ish brow, I'll try anything to open my eyes up a bit and can concur that this little trick works an absolute treat. Sounds good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.
