Whether you’ll gladly die on the hill of big, bushy brows or ready to embrace the resurgence of skinny brows, you’ll need a brow-setting product to keep your strands in place. Sure, there are a plethora of waxes, soaps, and gels to choose from, but as we all know by now, different formulas don’t provide the same results. If you need a product that’ll provide maximum hold without drying out your brows, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze Gel is a new pick that’s already become a staple in my makeup bag for keeping my arches in perfect shape from the moment I swipe it on until it’s time to wash off.
Consider this clear gel-wax hybrid as the baby sister to the brand’s ever-viral Brow Freeze Sculpting Wax. Like its predecessor, it promises a lamination-like effect that lifts, sets, and secures each hair in place, but where it differs is its texture. As its name suggests, the Brow Freeze Gel has a lighter, more fluid gel consistency to minimize flaking and create a softer, more natural finish to your eyebrows.
The key to this light yet strong-hold gel is a polymer, a film-like molecule that’s used in beauty products like brow gels and hairsprays for a thicker, stickier consistency. The polymer du jour in Anastasia Beverly Hills’ latest launch is polyacrylate-2 crosspolymer, which gives this formulation its extreme hold and non-sticky texture, according to the brand. “It is a hair-setting polymer that creates a soft, touchable, humidity-resistant, flake-free hold for brows,” says Krupa Koestline,
cosmetic chemist and founder of KKT Innovations Lab. “It also has a thickening effect.”
Sure, it has a budge-less hold that could rival hairspray, but my brows aren’t suffering from extreme dryness or fallout after using it. That’s all thanks to good old glycerin, a humectant known for its hydrating properties. “Glycerin is essentially like a sponge that pulls in water,” Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai in New York City, previously told Allure.
I also have to give a round of applause to the Brow Freeze Gel’s innovative wand applicator. Instead of the usual spoolie most brow gels come with, Anastasia Beverly Hills opted for what they describe as a “triple-action comb applicator.” One side features thin micro-bristles that sculpt and place every small hair into place, while the longer bristles create a fluffed-out effect. I also use the smooth, bristle-less sides to smooth strands into place for a laminated effect.