The Perfect Brow Pencil for Black Hair.

Finding a brow product that suits black hair can be a challenge. The sparser your brows and the more filling in they need, the more difficult it is to find a color match because it's even more visible. 

I've always used dark brown brow powders for my brows because I feared black would look much too severe and harsh, but I was never completely satisfied with the color match. It was always very obvious to me when I looked in the mirror that my hair was black and my brows were brown. Not exactly the most natural looking, if you ask me. So, when Procastinating Pretty mentioned that Shiseido made a grey-toned brow pencil on my last brow routine post, I knew I had to give it a try.

The Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil in GY901 Natural Black is a soft grey-black pencil with a rather thick angled brush on the opposite end. After drawing short strokes through my brows, I use the brush to ever so gently blend it together to fill in any visible gaps and soften the edges as needed (leaving the tail alone). The pencil itself has a rather hard texture that still allows me to easily fill in my brows without requiring much pressure or effort, but it's not creamy where I'd have to worry about it smearing or wearing off after a few hours. 

I wasn't exactly keen on the idea of trying a brow pencil, to be honest, because in my experience, they tend to make my brows look overly drawn on, something I already have an issue with because my brows are naturally so sparse. I was actually completely happy and content with how my Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Brunette performed, aside from the fact that it was too brown for me.

When I tried the Shiseido pencil for the first time, I actually thought my brows looked too grey; however, after a few days, I started getting used to it and after taking FOTD photos, I noticed how much more natural they looked - like my brows actually belonged on my face for once.

Another great thing about this pencil is the lasting power. Although I generally didn't have issues with the Anastasia brow powder lasting on me, I did notice that sometimes, at the end of a long day, my brows would fade a bit in certain places and turn quite shiny due to my combination skin. With the Shiseido pencil, my brows rarely become shiny at all, and if they do, it's to a much lesser extent than with the brow powder. Even after a 15+ hour day, I can feel confident that my brows haven't gone wonky or better yet, disappeared into oblivion.

Bare brows

Brows filled in with the Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil in GY901 Natural Black

(By the way, does anyone else have one "good brow?" I think my left brow (your right) is perfection, but my right brow always seems to be marching to the beat of its own drum. Sigh.)

For comparison purposes, on the left, I used the Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Brunette, and on the right, I used the Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil in GY901 Natural Black. I think the brow color on the right suits my hair color much better. What do you guys think?

There are times that I still wonder if my brows appear a bit grey, but in general, I'd say the color match of this Shiseido pencil is infinitely better with my black hair than anything I've tried in the past. Good thing the formula happens to be a winner too! For those who have thicker brows than I do, I think this grey-toned pencil would easily blend in with your brows and look incredibly natural.

Black-haired ladies: Your brows need more grey and less brown. I repeat - more grey; less brown.

I purchased the Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil in GY901 Natural Black from Nordstrom for $20.