PR Samples
I introduced you to Studio Harcourt a couple months ago after spotting the brand at the Cosmoprof beauty convention in Las Vegas. Today I'm back with a review of 3 products by this brow specialist: the Brow Powder, Brow Duo Brush and Brow Fixative Serum!
But first, a word about the brand history. Long before launching brow products, Studio Harcourt was a legendary photography studio founded in 1934 in Paris. For the past 80 years, they have been creating iconic portraits of movie stars and celebrities with a distinctive style: the close-up portraits are always black and white, with strongly contrasting light and shadow on a gray background. Inspired by the chiaroscuro painting technique and early cinema aesthetic, this style makes Harcourt portraits unmistakable with a very 1940's glamorous look, as the photographer seems to be sculpting with light.
Marion Cotillard by Studio Harcourt 1999 - CC BY 3.0 |
The Harcourt Studio still makes portraits (if you have 385 euros to spend for your Instagram profile pic, they'll do a color digital photo for you. Starting at 995 euros for the black and white traditional portraits), and of course they offer beauty services to get you all glammed up for your photo shoot. From there they opened a studio dedicated to brows, since brows frame the eyes and structure the face, making them particularly central to a good portrait. Naturally, they started creating and licensing their own brow products, now available under the the name Studio Harcourt.
The line of brow products remains true to the Studio's aesthetic with black and white packaging, and the phrase Sculpting With Light printed on every box. The range includes all the brow essentials from tweezers to stencils, scissors, pencils, etc. The whole brand gives me an impression of quality and elegance, not just because of its prestigious name: the products seem to be well thought-out, functional and beautifully designed. I have been able to try three of them, let me give you my opinion in detail!
Brow Powder
Housed in an elegant black compact with the brand logo in white print, this brow powder has quickly become my favorite.
First, the color Taupe is the absolute perfect match for my coloring. Most brow products look too warm on me, which makes my brows look weird. Yes, I have a warm skin tone and a warm golden light brown hair color, but my brows happen to be cool, and any brow product with warm undertones looks like a complete fail on me. This Taupe is perfectly neutral, not too ashy, not too dark, with just enough beige to it to look natural.
It's also highly pigmented, so I need very little time to fill in my sparse brows. It blends in very easily for an even, natural result. It also adheres to both skin and hair very well, so there's no fall out or fading throughout the day.
Brow Duo Brush
This brush looks like the classic double-ended spoolie/slanted brush, but the angled side is a little thicker and fluffier than most similar brushes. While that would probably make it hard to use for very sharp application of a cream product like a brow pomade, I find it perfect to use with a brow powder. Since it's a little thicker, it makes filling my brows very quick, and it's still fine enough to draw a precise edge. I actually got an Anastasia Beverly Hills brow kit ages ago that came with a super thin angled brush, and I replaced it with a thicker Wet n Wild liner brush because it would take me forever to fill my brows. Here I just need a few swipes of the Duo Brush dipped in the Brow Powder for fuller brows!
Brow Fixative Serum
This is a little different from your typical brow fixing gel. It has an oddly shaped silicone brush with bristles that are much longer on one side than the other. That's because this Serum contains ingredients to promote growth of both brows and lashes, so the longer side is made to apply to your lashes!
The texture is also thinner and more fluid than most brow gels. It doesn't feel gooey or crusty once dry, and it gives a natural hold - not the strongest gel ever but enough to go through a regular day. The brush needs getting used to, but I find that it distributes just the right amount of serum evenly through my brows.
Overall
Studio Harcourt has created a beautiful line of brow products that are easy to use. The trio I tested allows me to refine my brows in under a minute for a natural yet polished result. I particularly love the Brow Powder for its perfect shade, texture and pigmentation level.
Where to buy?
Not available in stores in the US, but the site The Beauty Lounge seems able to deliver in North America.
The products featured in this review were given to me by the brand. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links. I receive a very small commission when you click on those links, and the money generated covers a small portion of my expenses to purchase products for review. Clicking on those links helps ensure that Beaumiroir continues to publish reviews of new and exciting high end French products - at no cost to you!
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