When Love is Not Enough: Surratt Expressioniste Brow Pomade Review

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

What's the longest you've waited for something to restock? The Surratt Expressioniste Brow Pomade was out of stock at Sephora and other retailers for close to a year. October marked ten months since I had signed up for an email alert for a restock, an alert I never ended up receiving. By some strange chance, I happened to be looking at the listing for the product when it became available again, and I ordered it without much hesitation since I was in the market for a brow styling product.

Surratt Expressioniste Brow Pomade is a whiteish fluid that comes in a tube with a toothbrush like applicator (but much skinnier). It is waxy feeling and dries invisible. The product is really flexible and provides very light hold, like a very light hair wax cream. I wanted to love it because the reviews for it are overwhelmingly positive, and it had been recommended by a friend as a total slam dunk.

Here's my naked eyebrow. My hairs are on the longer side, and I typically have to condition them with a bit of facial serum when applying skincare or hair conditioner in the shower. If I don't, they stick out in every which direction. I stopped trimming my brow hairs a few years ago, primarily out of laziness.

This is my eyebrow filled in lightly with a smidge of Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow (a shade that is evidently too warm for me, it looks reddish on the tail) with Expressioniste Pomade worked into the hairs and smoothed over with a spoolie.

The pros: my brows look soft and the hold is fluffy, not spikey and hard. The finish is matte/invisible instead of glossy like my previous brow gel (Holika Holika Wonder Drawing 1 Sec Topcoat).

Here's my eyebrow an hour after the initial application. I think you can see what the issue is here. Even the slightest move or accidental touch knocks my brow hairs out of alignment. Just a slight brush of my hand against my forehead means that my brows are done for. Surratt Expressioniste Brow Pomade doesn't provide enough hold if you have longer eyebrows like me where the hairs are also very resistant and unruly. If your brow hairs are thinner and more pliable, but still long, you might be able to get away with it.

I had so hopped that this product would be the perfect balance of hold but also natural looking, kind of fluffy. Unfortunately that's not the case. The silver lining - at least I'm not in love with a product that seems to be hard to keep instock (what's up with Surratt's inconsistent replenishment lately anyways?)

What's the longest you've pined after a product? Was it worth it when you finally got your hands on the goods?

Surratt Expressioniste Brow Pomade is $25 and it seems like it's no longer stocked at Sephora, period. It is however, available from SpaceNK as well as Beautylish.

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