Anastasia of Beverly Hills 'Express Beauty'

So according to the website..... http://www.anastasia.net/ ..... Miss Anastasia Soare, originally an esthetician from Romania but now living and working in L.A., is known as the 'Beauty Innovator and The Definitive Brow and Eye Expert' and, it says, for good reason.
She boasts an impressive list of celeb clients from Oprah to Madonna, and has been featured in Vogue, Allure, Elle and a number of other high profile publications.
She ''developed her own specific Golden Ratioª technique behind the science of shaping eyebrows"* based on her background in Art, engineering, architecture & mathematics, as well as her interest in Leonardo DaVinci's 'Golden Ratio'.

All that, along with years of dedication to the balance of beauty,  has led her to where she is now and to her hugely successful 'Anastasia Brow Studios'.

So there you have a small background snippet of woman herself, now onto the product at hand.
The 'Beauty Express' Eye & Brow Kit.



The kit contains:
BROW WAX CREAM
BROW POWDER DUO
EYESHADOW DUO
STENCILS
ANGLED BRUSH
And boasts "All-in-one kit with instructions straight from Anastasia"
.....And all this for the fairly pricey sum of $39.50 (That's just under €30 direct conversion)

(Watch video for my detailed review & opinion of the product!)

Cover

Wax, Brow Powder Duo, EyeShadow Duo 

Instructions

The full kit

My filled in brows using the kit

So even though I'm clearly not a blonde anymore, I still opted for the blonde kit as I don't like my already naturally dark brows to look much darker for more natural day looks. The lighter shade of this duo would be a little like MAC's 'Omega' and the darker one not dissimilar to 'Cork' shadow also by MAC.

The brush is fairly standard but nice, nothing to complain about, and I really like the clear wax for keeping my hairs in place. The wax also serves as a 'glue' for the powder to keep it in place.

The EyeShadow duo is very natural & non invasive on the lids with an iridescent beige highlighter and a darker peach/beige matte shadow which is very natural looking on the lids. 

It comes with about 6 different shaped plastic templates for shaping your brows with & of course instructions are included!! 

I can't diss the products themselves as they all work nicely, though an eyebrow pencil would be a useful addition to the kit as the powder doesn't cling to bare skin as well as the hairs, even with the wax, so any 'bald' spots might need the assistance of another separate product. 

My main issues with the kit are 

1). the price, which at nearly $40. (or €30) is on the pricey side, 

2). the size of the kit. A bit clunky & large for the average makeup bag... and...

3). The stencils are a bit of a pain to keep in place while filling in the open shape.

However, it's not all doom & gloom!!

The finished effect is very nice and with 6 or so shapes & sizes to choose from, there is going to be a template to suit most everyone. 

It's not really designed to be used for very thick brows (Think Brook Shields/Jennifer Connelly) unless you were to use the powder free-hand, or take the plunge and pluck any hairs outside the template shape chosen.

It would serve as a very useful kit for people not used to shaping their own brows, or for people who have recently gotten their brows thinned of shaped for the first time.

And it would also come in handy for makeup artists or beauticians to use as an aid for lessons or demo's.

As always let me know you guys' thoughts on the kit if ye have tried it out or maybe one similar!?

Either way, thanks for reading & Chat soon!!

Take Care,

Siobhán.

xx