One of Excel‘s most popular items is Powder & Pencil Eyebrow EX. Even though I tried NewBorn’s W Brow EX N in B2 Grayish Brown (and both NewBorn and Excel are makeup lines from Sana), I still decided to get the powder-pencil-brush trio from Excel. I went for PD05 Grayish Brown, and today I will be sharing my thoughts on it.
Sana Excel Powder & Pencil Eyebrow EX in PD05 Grayish Brown (サナ エクセル パウダー & ペンシル アイブロウ EX PD05 グレイッシュブラウン/ Sana Excel 3合1持久造型眉筆 05 炭灰棕, ¥1450) was released in Japan in April 2012 (when Powder & Pencil Eyebrow EX was launched). (Currently, Powder & Pencil Eyebrow EX is available in eight shades.) It contains a retractable oval-shaped eyebrow pencil, an eyebrow powder that is loaded on a sponge tip and a screw eyebrow brush.
The pencil in PD05 Grayish Brown is a medium-t0-dark (towards dark) gray with a hint of brown tone. It has an above-medium pigmentation level, and it has a velvety matte finish. It feels smooth on the skin, dispenses pigment on the skin efficiently and has a good staying power. I personally find it to be more pigmented than how I want an eyebrow pencil to be, and I need to be quite light-handed with it. The color looks natural and doesn’t look brownish on me, but I would prefer a shade that is slightly more gray-toned and slightly less brown-toned. (I have very dark hair with very little brown tone.)
The powder in PDo5 is a medium-depth taupe-ish brown with a subtle yellow undertone. It has a light-to-medium pigmentation level, and it has a satiny finish with very fine multi-hued shimmer (that doesn’t look obvious on the eyebrows). It is easy to apply, and it has a good staying power. It is lighter and more brown-toned than the pencil, and it is too light and too brown-toned as an all-over eyebrow color for me. I usually use it for the heads of the eyebrows to create a natural and less defined look.
The screw eyebrow brush feels soft on the skin. It blends the colors and softens the edges of the colors well.
Both Excel’s Pencil & Powder Eyebrow EX and NewBorn’s W Brow EX N have the pencil and the brush at the ends, the powder in the middle and the applicator of the powder on the pencil’s side. There are two very small differences. Firstly, the stem of the brush of Excel’s Powder & Pencil Eyebrow EX is slightly longer. Also, Powder & Pencil Eyebrow EX has caps for both the pencil and the brush whereas NewBorn’s W Brow EX N doesn’t have a cap for the pencil. (The cap for the brush can be used on the pencil when the brush is being used.)
The pencils in Excel’s PD05 Grayish Brown and NewBorn’s B2 Grayish Brown have virtually the same (oval) shape, color, finish, pigmentation level, ease of application and staying power. The two powders have virtually the same pigmentation level, ease of application and staying power, but the powder in Excel’s PD05 Grayish Brown is more yellow-toned, cooler-toned and more shimmery. (When worn, the difference in finish is not obvious.)
Both products work fairly well on me. I don’t have a clear preference, but the powder in Excel’s PD05 Grayish Brown looks very slightly cooler-toned and appeals to me very slightly more.
Even though I have no major issue with the two products, I generally find the looks created by eyebrow pencils to be slightly too neat and defined. Personally, I am more used to and therefore prefer using a powder and an eyebrow brush to create more natural looks. However, I do use these 3-in-1 products from time to time to achieve more defined and precise looks. Also, the retractable pencils in these two products can be very useful in filling very small gaps.
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