8.31.2012

Cle De Peau Eyebrow Pencil Review, Photos, Swatches


I announced on Twitter recently that I had discovered a new holy grail eyebrow product. This formula is PERFECTION! So much so that I wrote it in caps. I have very thin, short yet stubborn brow hairs, and it is difficult to find a grey pencil to match the color of my brows as well as work with the texture of my hairs. The only caveat? The price. But look below! My brows look full (nearly impossible to achieve these days) and natural. Continue reading to see why I love this product so...


Back to the price of this extraordinary product. Cle de Peau is the epitome of a luxury brand, it makes no pretenses of being otherwise. In short, their makeup is very expensive. And they think it should be.

Cle de Peau Beaute Eyebrow Cartridge in 204 [the actual product]: $25
Cle de Peau Beaute Eyebrow Pencil Holder: $30
Total: $55 + tax




This makes my stand-by $20 + tax Shiseido Natural Brow Pencil in Natural Black feel like drugstore makeup. But the splurge is worth every penny. You only have to purchase ONE holder, so consider it an investment. The cartridge refills are $25, which not cheap (automatic/mechanical brow pencils always come with less product than a traditional pencil like the Shiseido).

UPDATE: I have used this pencil regularly for one year now, so I would say it is clearly worth the investment.

Top to Bottom: Armani Silk Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in Black, 
Cle de Peau 204 Brow Swatch (heavy), Shiseido Natural Black Brow Swatch (light)

The Cle de Peau seems darker, but it is not so on my brows. The Nordstrom tester was old and had hardened, making it difficult to properly swatch the color. I had to swatch a few times, but at least you can see what the color looks like when built up! The Shiseido Natural Black is more of a true grey, the CdP in 204 is a cool grey with a hint of cool brown. I was scared the color would turn into an ashy brown on my brows but as you can see in the first photo, it looks like a proper grey. It makes me so happy!

I loved the color of the Natural Black pencil because I have grey brows (I inherited them from my grandfather), but the Shiseido formula is much more waxy (better for fuller brows). Sometimes, the combination of the pigment and the excess wax would cause my brow hairs to bunch up.. but it was, at least, long lasting. The Cle de Peau formula, on the other hand, has the ideal blend of pigmentation and wax. If anything, I would prefer just a little less wax, but the wax level in the CdP Brow Pencil allows for more control over the direction of my brow hairs than does the less waxy Armani pencil. This way, I can avoid topping with a brow gel (I prefer to use as little as possible on a day to day basis).


The CdP formula glides over my brow hairs, allowing me to shade them in and shape them simultaneously. The color does tend to pool up around the follicles of my brow hairs when too heavy a hand is used. It will last well enough through respectably tough gym sessions, so long as the brows are not disrupted by towels or fingers. The spoolie brush provided at the end of the holder also has the right amount of spring to comb through my very fine brow hairs. Spoolies that are too soft (Lioele) are useless, those that are too hard (Armani) only remove color instead of blend. The CdP Spoolie actually allows for blending.



Last but not least would be the angled shape of the brow pencil cartridge. It does not have the popular triangular shape, like that of Lioele's or Tom Ford's Brow Pencils. The CdP is widest at the middle and sharpest at either edge. It reminds me of a sculpted thin sword! Some people may not prefer the softer angle of the CdP, but I find it easier to use when creating a variety of brow looks. It does not deposit excess amounts of product on my brows when I use the widest bit of the pencil, and when I use the either of sharp edges, I can create an individual hair effect.

Overall: I wholly recommend you give this Cle de Peau eyebrow pencil a try! I knew of its availability but was too reluctant to pay the hefty price tag, even in the name of beauty. I am glad I finally became bold enough to go for it!

29 comments:

  1. have you ever tried to go for a more natural looking brow? i feel like your brows look way to done most of the time, and appears tattooed on once you fil it in the way you do. I used to like your brows but now its quite arched and tranny-esque.

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    Replies
    1. Wow Val, thanks very much for your catty and immature comment.

      Delete
    2. Yeah WOW Val! That was so wrong! She says often that she goes for a natural look most days but does a more dramatic look to show specific looks or when she's going out.

      Rae - LOVE your brows - they really frame your face and carry your eye makeup looks and are balanced with the look overall. Plus, it's awesome that you're able to change them, yet still look like you.

      Delete
  2. Rae! Have you ever tried Chanel's brow pencil in Blonde Cendre (20)? I am an Asian with sparse grey brows like yours too and i was totally surprised when told by the SA in Chanel that this colour would work best on me - and I really have found no better alternative (formula OR colour) since then! Also, I live in HK and you can imagine the humidity especially during summer and spring time where its over 100% humidity. The formula doesn't pool up around my brow hair at ALL and it looks completely natural and stays put the entire day!

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    Replies
    1. I once used Blonde pencils, but the colors are generally pull too red or they are too faint! I'm glad you have found one that works for you :)

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  3. My goodness, $55+ tax. That is definitely an eyebrow investment haha I do like the angular shape of the pencil. Glad you finally found something to replace your Shiseido. I wanna go swatch this at Neiman's next time I'm there.

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    Replies
    1. You definitely should! Your brows are pretty full, though, so I'm sure you don't need a high maintenance product!

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  4. Hi Rae! Welcome to my new discovery also! I didn't want to post anything about this miracle pencil since I didn't want all the negative comments about the price. Like you stated... Worth every penny!!
    Also...Miss Val, may I give you some advice about manners.
    1. Don't be rude and call people names
    2. Rae was only stating HER OWN PERSONAL COMMENTS!
    3. If you don't like something...find a positive to counter act your negative and be on your way
    4. Don't live your life being a sour person

    RAE.... YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL IN ALL ANGLES!

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  5. I'm so glad you were able to find a product that works for you! I agree that it is definitely an investment as with any other HG product, it's better to have one-two that work than a bunch that don't. I'll definitely take a look the next time I'm at a department store. Thanks for the thorough review!

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  6. Oh no. I was hoping that you WEREN'T talking about this! Because I've tried it and kind of fell in love. :( But I just couldn't stomach the exorbitant price, which is why I've stuck with my MAC Spiked Eye Brow Pencil... When you referred to an "expensive" brow pencil on Twitter, I was thinking more along the lines of the Dior or Chanel pencils. Now I have to go back and try this again. Why must you tempt me? Ack. Haha!

    Btw, how dare Val be such a meanie?!

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  7. Jumping over from Instagram. Aha... I must try. I've been using shadows like Benefit BrowZing, Smashbox's Brow Pencil, among others... Even got a brow tattoo (on my blog if you're interested: search brow tattoo). Anyways, thanks for the heads up on this. Will try for sure. xoxo.

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  8. I didn't know you had so much issues with your eye brows... I always thought your usual eyebrow routine make your eye brows look pretty flawless =) I adore your brow shape. Glad you found something that works! Hope the Etude House one works out though hehe.

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  9. Great info, as always! Have you tried Suqqu brow pencil or powder? I just start doing brow business. I love them full and natural but they don't always look good in pictures. BTW, I LOVE how quick you get back to your readers/subscribers. Been following you since Jan 2010 and learned a lot from you. Thank you Rae! xx

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  10. Hi Rae,

    Thanks for sharing. I am Chinese and have really dark black hair (people almost asked me if I dye it black)... anyway, I always have a hard time finding a color for my brow that is natural but not too harsh, my favorite so far is a pencil from YSL in #5, check it out if you can. You may like it as well. It's not easy to find it here in San Francisco, I used to only find it at YSL counter in Blommingdale but I recently saw it at Nordstrom. Keep blogging, girl.

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  11. Have you tried Shu Uemura's hard formula? If so, how does it compare to the Cle de Peau?

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  12. hey rae! have you tried etee lauder's automatic brow pencil duo in soft black? i didn't even know that they had brow pencils until i got it. it's like the cdp in that you have to buy the cartridge and pencil holder. the color is very similar to the lioele.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Have you tried Paul and Joes eyebrow pencil? It is a mechanical pencil with a very thin tip in grey. It works really well for my sparse Asian eyebrows.

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  14. Hi Rae,

    Have you ever tried Liole's brow pencil? That's my holy grail. You should give it a go. BTW your brows do look amazing though.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hello, I was watching Hollyannaeree's new video and she was talking about Missha's new U.S. site. I was browsing and saw this: http://www.misshaus.com/ctrl.php?page=mainProductDetail&p_code=MSMS1291&ctg=ABE
    Have you tried it? It looks so similar to the Cle de Peau eyebrow pencil. I have the same brows and color as yours. I am just trying to find a cheaper alternative I really do respect your opinions. Also, if you do try this, can you do an overall review of all your brow products all together! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello, I was watching Hollyannaeree's new video and she was talking about Missha's new U.S. site. I was browsing and saw this: http://www.misshaus.com/ctrl.php?page=mainProductDetail&p_code=MSMS1291&ctg=ABE
    Have you tried it? It looks so similar to the Cle de Peau eyebrow pencil. I have the same brows and color as yours. I am just trying to find a cheaper alternative I really do respect your opinions. Also, if you do try this, can you do an overall review of all your brow products all together! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I also have this eyebrow pencil and it beats my anastasia brow wiz!

    ReplyDelete
  18. omfrkingawd. i have been search for the perfect color/texture in an eyebrow pencil for the last 11 years and thanks to you Miss Raeview, I finally bit the bullet today and headed over to Bloomingdales and tried it myself. I swatched it on my hand and it was hard, dry and crumbly, but the lady at the counter told me when it's applied on the brows, it is entirely differently. i am totalllllyyyyyy blown away at how natural it looks. I've been using the soft black from Shiseido but am so thankful you've shared this product. My eyebrows are now clean and proper without looking made up. One question though, have you tried the stone grey eyebrow pencil from Shu Uemura? i read online that it only produces color when it comes in contact with the oils on the brows. Im thinking this might be the case for the CdP product. I paid 59 bucks and i hope i dont ever lose this!! I love the casing though. very substantial and i do love the fact that you don't have to sharpen. Please let us know what you think of the Shu Uemura pencil if you've ever tried it. THANKSSSSSS RAEVIEWER!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you are loving it! I do have the SU pencil, it's very natural and less waxy. Less pigmentation since it only darks when comes into contact with hair/oil :)

      Delete
  19. Hi Rae,

    How does the Cle de Peau compare with Diorshow Brow Styler? I'm Chinese with a medium-dark complexion and my hair is the natural black and am currently using the Diorshow and it's pretty decent but I'm curious about CdP. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for the recommendation! Just bought it today after reading your post and love it!
    Have you tried Tom ford's eyebrow pencil in espresso? I also love that!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks for the recommendation! Just bought it today after reading your post and love it!
    Have you tried Tom ford's eyebrow pencil in espresso? I also love that!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for the recommendation! Just bought it today after reading your post and love it!
    Have you tried Tom ford's eyebrow pencil in espresso? I also love that!!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. I've reviewed the TF in full and have used in dozens of videos now.. I prefer the CdP, especially now that my hair is back to its natural brown-black color!

      Delete

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