REVIEW: Kat Von D 24 Hour Super Brow Long Wear Pomade

I'm not a huge fan of the Kat Von D brand for a variety of reasons, but I was still intrigued when Influenster decided to include me in their Kat Von D brow product campaign. For some weird reason, I've been really in to brow products lately, and I've been especially keen on comparing various micro pencils to my old faithful Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. Given my product preferences and how I normally wear my brows, I assumed they'd send me the Kat Von D Signature Brow Precision Pencil. Instead, I received the 24 Hour Super Brow Long Wear Pomade and the new #70 brush. I was a bit irked at first, since I admitted to myself years ago that I'm too lazy for brow pomades. Yet I've actually started to like this product over the past few weeks, albeit for very specific situations.

The Kat Von D Long Wear Pomade (as I'll be calling it for the rest of the review) retails for $19 for 5 grams of product in a glass jar with a plastic lid. This is on the cheap side as far as pomade price-per-gram goes:

ELF Lock On Liner and Brow Cream, $4 for 5.4 grams -- $0.74/g
Makeup Revolution Brow Pomade, $8 for 2.3 grams -- $3.48/g
Kat Von D Long Wear Pomade, $19 for 5 grams -- $3.80/g
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow, $18 for 4 grams -- $4.50/g
MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme, $19 for 2.8 grams -- $6.79/g
Benefit Ka-Brow, $24 for 3 grams -- $8.00/g

The ELF pomade is obviously a steal compared to all of these, including the Kat Von D, but it lacks a decent color range. By contrast, the Kat Von D Long Wear Pomade currently boasts 16 shades, 7 in "regular" brow colors and 9 in bright editorial or mixing shades, like a pure white and a vibrant pink.

 From left to right: Kat Von D Long Wear Pomade in Medium Brown; Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow in Medium Brown and Chocolate; L'oreal Brow Stylist Definer in Brunette; Milk Makeup Gel Brow in Pilsner.

Influenster sent me the shade Medium Brown, which is probably my closest match in the range, but not the best shade for me overall--I tend to prefer something ashier, like the aptly-named Anastasia Ash Brown. Still, it's not overly warm, and it's definitely a workable shade for me.

Here's a shot of one brow with the pomade and one brow without, just so you can see the undertones. Again, my brow hairs are cooler and this product definitely leans warm.

The actual application of the Kat Von D Longwear Pomade was about as fussy as I expected: you have to dip your brush in to the pomade, then wipe most of the product off on to the lid or the edge of the jar, or you'll end up with way too much pomade. While I prefer a less drawn-on look most of the time, I think you'll want to use light strokes no matter what look you're going for, since that makes it easier to control the application and shape. I started at my arch and worked back, since that's the more sparse part of my brows, then filled in the front of my brows with what was left on the brush.

Speaking of the #70 Pomade Brush: it's very meh. I found it a bit bigger and thicker than I like for most pomades. The smaller, thinner Anastasia #12 is better if you want to make precise lines and/or have more control over your application, and it comes with a spoolie.

The actual texture of this pomade is a bit lighter and less dense than Anastasia Dipbrow, but I don't think the Kat Von D is quite as workable. You need to work quickly and in small sections because attempting to go back over this product once it has dried will create a bit of a mess: you might pull up a bit of the pomade, but it's more likely that the wet stuff on your brush will stick to the already-dried parts. See this portion of my brow:

Is it super visible to the naked eye? No, but again, I always work slowly and with a light hand to prevent more obvious snafus.

The good thing about the fast drying time, however, is that it seems to improve the wear. I didn't wear this pomade for 24 hours because I refuse to sleep in my makeup, even for the sake of science, but I did wear it for 12+ hours on a very humid day that included some traipsing about town and an hour on the porch in a misty rain. Here it is at the 10 hour mark:

As you can see, the pomade stayed decently in place. I do seem to have a bit of fading right in the middle of the arch, but it wasn't noticeable to the naked eye--I actually didn't see it until I looked at this macro shot. I also have a brow hair that has clearly jumped ship, but that's normal for me and isn't the fault of the pomade. (I skipped clear gel on this day to get the most fair and accurate photographs possible.)

I've also tested this on my lids as eyeliner, and it works okay for that. It's not as smooth or workable as a regular gel liner, and it doesn't seem to have the same wear time on my oily lids as it does on my brows, but it definitely gave me a rich, dark line for most of the day without smearing or flaking. If you were in a pinch or trying to cut down on products in your travel makeup bag, this could work as a liner.

While the Kat Von D Long Wear Pomade is a solid product, and the shade range sets it apart, I don't think it's better than the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow. I found Dipbrow a bit easier to work with and even longer-lasting. Still, I enjoy wearing this product on days when I'm out in the elements for a while and I don't want to worry about touch-ups.

RATING: 4 out of 5

Kat Von D products are available at Sephora.

This product was sent to me by Influenster in exchange for an honest review.