Maybelline • Master Shape • Brows

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OoBrittany on 6/15/2012 11:03:00 AM more reviews by OoBrittany

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Dark   Hair: Black, Kinky, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I love how it makes my eyebrows look, I love the brush..but I'm supposed to sharpen a plastic pencil? Seriously?

It would be a perfect brow pencil if the packaging was better.

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AngelBell7 on 6/13/2012 9:17:00 PM more reviews by AngelBell7

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Black    

For the love of God cant you make this a twist up pencil?? this makes NO type of sense. Is this really the simplest way you could think of?? At least you could have made it a wooden pencil! I beg of you Maybelline change it to a twist up pencil FAST. Its a pretty good pencil so make it make it a GREAT pencil and change it!

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zyasia on 6/6/2012 7:32:00 PM more reviews by zyasia

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Dark   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Other    

After reading these reviews, I had to laugh. I thought I was literally going crazy when I used this pencil down to the nub and could not figure out how the hell to get the rest of the pencil out. It's such a relief to know I'm not the only one who was confused by this thing, lol! With that said... this pencil SUCKS. Not only is it extremely waxy, the fact that I have to sharpen PLASTIC is preposterous to say the least. Needless to say... I won't be buying this pencil again... EVER. Maybelline needs to totally recall this thing. I feel almost cheated having bought it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

Kali89 on 5/19/2012 5:49:00 AM more reviews by Kali89

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I enjoyed the product inside the pencil, but I would not have bought if I knew it would need sharpened. That sucks. Just completely sucks. I actually came on here to see if anyone knew how to twist the stupid thing up. I want to say I'm the idiot, but come on. What makeup company would make sharpening pencil out of plastic. Maybelline, that's who. Maybe she's born with it, maybe we won't make products that are easily operable. I will only repurchase this if the packaging is changed to a twist up version.

That said, I liked the product. I have normal or slightly sparse brows, but the individual hairs are long. I won't trim them because I feel it fills in the places that aren't as naturally full as I'd like. The wax keeps the long hairs at bay. I wouldn't recommend this to someone who has very, very little or no brows, but I think it may be one of my favorites. I've used Sephora's brand (ehh, very red-tinted), Diorshow brow (my favorite, but the universal brown just isn't dark enough), Revlon (2nd favorite - very waxy - you don't get much), Define-a-Brow (eeeevil! Broke every single time) and Sharpening pencils galore.

UPDATE: I take it back. I take it all back. This pencil is Satan incarnate. After you pass the initial unsharpened product and go through the ordeal of sharpening it is too soft and really shiny. Because it is so soft too much product goes on even using a light hand. THEN when you try to super blend it out it leaves a very yellowish-muddy cast to it. Don't buy this and if did don't wait to return it.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

kristina5475 on 5/12/2012 8:16:00 AM more reviews by kristina5475

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

I TRIED to like this product and I did at first. But then when it came time to SHARPEN it. Oh......My.......God....This was NOT an easy or accomplished task. It sucked. How are you supposed to sharpen this????? The plastic around the wax product is INCREDIBLY thick and tough. It does not sharpen at all like any of my other pencil products with plastic - and I have a LOT. Again, I like the product itself - the part you apply - but the casing? Bleh...I will not buy this crap again until Maybelline changes the casing.

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lilac819 on 5/9/2012 10:28:00 PM more reviews by lilac819

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

i'll make this short.
Sharpening this crap is horrible!! It breaks off when I sharpen it. Texture isnt even worth a penny. Horrible waxy feel. filling in my eyebrows with a light hand = no color pay off. Filling in my eyebrows with medium pressure = streaky and too much color and wax. horrible!!!!!!!!!

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vawhite13 on 4/23/2012 12:02:00 PM more reviews by vawhite13

Age: 36-43   Skin: Oily, Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I love this brow pencil. It does a great job blending in with my brows and has not smeared at all while I am wearing it. My brows are bushy so I just need to fill in some areas where you can see my skin. It's great, after I fill them in I use the brush and it blends in amazingly! Looks very natural. The only problem I have which is HUGE is that when you sharpen it it gets stuck in the sharpener and breaks off! It is very waxy so it gets stuck inside the sharpener! =O I am very dissapointed.

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Tifmcd on 4/20/2012 12:35:00 PM more reviews by Tifmcd

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

seriously? you sharpen this?? I agree with everyone else... what a joke!

Yes.. it is waxy... and it moves too.

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*TOP REVIEWER* stephani99 on 4/13/2012 3:02:00 AM more reviews by stephani99

Age: 36-43   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Other, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I don't understand the difficulty in sharpening this; it can be done with a regular eye/lip pencil sharpener. I used my Sally Beauty Supply sharpener, the silver round metal one made in Germany, and UD Grindhouse with no problem. Just treat it like any other pencil. The plastic casing is not that hard to get through, it just looks like it OR they've changed it since it originally came out and mine is a newer/better version but regardless, I had no issues that way but plenty other issues causing this to be one of the worst brow pencils I've ever tried. If I could give it a 0 lippie rating I would. Sorry Maybelline, but this was an Epic Fail for me.


My issue with sharpening was the opposite of everyone else in that I did nothing BUT sharpen it. Every. Single. Time. The wax "lead" in this is so annoyingly soft that all it did was smear as I applied it to the point that the more I tried to fix it, the worse it got. It was also incredibly difficult (read: impossible) to apply with any precision whatsoever, much less blend afterwards, because it was so damn soft I couldn't keep a point on it for more than two seconds before I had to sharpen again so forget any kind of detail work or nice brow "tails". Blending just caused it to smear even more than applying it did, if not come off entirely. Because of all this, my entire pencil wore down so fast that I swear I went through half of it in three days because of all the sharpening to get and keep a point on it! I felt like I was using a half-melted brown crayon, which is what it looked like as well. This does not work well IMHO, for those of us whose brows need filling in. It applies so much product with each swipe that no matter how little pressure I used, I couldn't get a natural look with this no matter what. Just a heavy, thick layer of brown wax. And forget blending; every time I tried I ended up with it smearing around worse than it already did, and would come off on the spoolie, my hand, my brow brush, my dog, my husband, whatever touched it or so much as breathed near it. It never seemed to set so their claim of "long lasting" is a joke. It is heavily pigmented though and does hold brows in place so if that's all you need and you have thick brows that you have no problem staying within the lines so to speak, this might work. However, I don't need that and am growing mine back in so this was a Master Waste of Money for me and went back for a refund. I went back to their Define-a-Brow which does everything this doesn't, and doesn't need a sharpener at all :) Until now I wasn't sure that one was doing it for me until I tried this - now D-a-B feels like it should be awarded serious HG status, LOL

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cccpamanda on 4/9/2012 12:21:00 AM more reviews by cccpamanda

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Other    

Maybe I received a defective product or maybe Im just missing something, but I used this product twice and the pencil has gone down to the nub and I cant get more product to come out. Could someone help me figure this out? Theres got to be more product than two uses.

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bradwell3 on 4/5/2012 10:02:00 PM more reviews by bradwell3

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Olive   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

All I can say is that I love, love, love this product. I purchased the soft brown color and I can honestly say that this brown for me is the most natural. I know that some complained about the waxiness, but for my sparse brows I was able to achieve a natural look without having that drawn on look! Light stokes are key!

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stl63 on 4/5/2012 6:31:00 PM more reviews by stl63

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I love this product! The color is perfect and I don't have a problem with the texture of it. While I was initially worried about the plastic casing on the pencil, it actually sharpens easily. The casing looks plastic, but it's actually a lot softer and so sharpens well. I didnt have to use the special Maybelline sharpener as noted in one of the other reviews, I just used the sharpener that I use on all my other eyeliner pencils. I definitely recommend it! Dont let the plastic casing prevent you from buying this awesome product.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Tresha on 4/2/2012 9:05:00 PM more reviews by Tresha

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Tan, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

The best thing about this eyebrow pencil is the spooly brush. This product is awful. I got the Blonde color. It turned gray and went on very wet. I prefer a more dry product because my skin is oily. I returned this immediately!

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dana0804 on 3/27/2012 3:45:00 PM more reviews by dana0804

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

I'm normally a benefit-of-the-doubt kind of girl. But Maybelline's response to this crappy product has me a bit miffed. They really should replace this product with something else. And refund my $8.

The plastic casing on the product doesn't sharpen correctly!


I wrote to Maybelline - and this was their response:
"We are sorry you are having a problem with this product.

Even though the Master Shape Brow Pencil has a plastic coated appearance, it can be sharpened with our Maybelline Expert Tool Dual Sharpener. Our Dual Pencil sharpener has a precision 3-in-1 sharpener to sharpen small, medium and large pencils to a perfect point.

We hope this information is helpful."

This is my response:
Sorry, it's not helpful - that's pretty weak. How is one supposed to know this when purchasing that a special-recommended-sharpener is supposed to be used? Wait until you've exhausted the product and written to the company and THEN find out there's something more to purchase with the product? Um... here's an idea, package it together - or write this on the product package. Or don't put the product in plastic. Not user friendly, and not customer service friendly. It's not a "plastic coated appearance". This thing IS PLASTIC. Check your product line - what you show on the website is NOT what is being packaged. It's plastic, for sure. Others are reporting the same issue on Makeup Alley AND Amazon, I'm not losing my mind.


Buyer beware - horrible casing. (Great color, great coverage, I like the product INSIDE the pencil, but this needs to go back to the drawing board.)

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1stone on 3/7/2012 4:26:00 PM more reviews by 1stone

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Coarse   Eyes: Blue    

Like most comments I found the acual product very nice, great color, nice consistency . .. great until it came time to sharpen! I must be a doofus but I actually spent a little time trying to twist this up! I contacted Maybeline incredulous that it does not twist! They told me it needs to be sharpened, I told them I NEVER would have purchased it as I find sharpening makeup pencils to be annoying and messy. When there are so many twist up options nowadays why buy a pencil that needs to be sharpened? The product is PLASTIC not wooden, I not surprisingly assumed it would be a twist up product. On top of that, the plastic is NOT easy to sharpen, I was told I need a MAYBELINE sharpener (??) I told them I wanted a refund. They have agreed to send me one. Can't complain about the customer service, but goodness who designed this, and why was this awful design "error" (as I see it) not addressed before it hit the stores?

The email address is: maybelline@us.loreal.com

The info they required is the name of the store and location where I purchased it, the shade of the pencil, the lot number (teeny tiny embossed letters on the pencil) and how much I paid for the product.

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*TOP REVIEWER* jqsuared on 2/26/2012 2:59:00 PM more reviews by jqsuared

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

This is the first review I've done in a long time and I thought this product was entitled to an opinion. First, I have NO BROWS. It started back in the day when those super skinny brows were trending. I had awesome, dark, (I also have naturally blonde hair, so having dark brows was a blessing.) thick eyebrows, and my mother, who of course, knows NOTHING when you"re 15 yrs old, warned me that my brows wont grow back, just like hers. Now, I'm significantly older and of course, momma is always right. I have a few random and spare hairs, but they grow in the oddest places, like my eyelid?!? So I NEED a good brow pen/pencil. My favorites thus far are LM brow pencil and LG brow marker. I also LOVE my cheapo Avon Glimmer Stick brow stick. It was 3 bucks! I also like "Define A Brow", it's slim and sturdy. My biggest issue with my brow artistry is getting the color just right. And of course, keeping my stenciled brows on my face. Mater Shape is the PERFECT color. PERFECT consistency. I have not a single complaint about the colored product INSIDE the worst possible packaging you could ever imagine. Before I read the reviews about this pencil on MUA, I wasted about 20 trying to figure out how to click, or push up the effin thing up. Wait, WHAT? You want me to SHARPEN this plastic thing? Yes. Sharpen. Unless you have some sort of PhD is sharpening, don't bother. It's seriously, not worth it.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Minerva10 on 2/23/2012 10:30:00 PM more reviews by Minerva10

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Ugh, hello waxy! Yuck my brows looked awful. One lippie for color payoff, but again way too waxy for me. Will not repurchase. Too bad cause I love the package/spooly brush.

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kutzeyes on 2/19/2012 6:36:00 PM more reviews by kutzeyes

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Green    

This a really nice, inexpensive brow pencil (and I have tried them all).
A little waxy, just enough for a smooth application and staying power. I use this to fill in gaps in the brow area, cover with some BE brow powder (great staying power, as well). My problems with the brow are now solved.
As other reviewers state, this product is a real trip when you need to sharpen it. The plastic coating on the pencil makes it really tough. But, for 5 dollars, I will muscle up. The formula is really nice, I hope Maybelline will get the message and make a change soon.

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*TOP REVIEWER* chrisie on 2/18/2012 7:57:00 PM more reviews by chrisie

Age: Unknown   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

Great disappointment for this product.I was looking forward to trying,since I like other Maybelline brow products.The color was great,but too waxy on my brows.Even worse,when I brushed them.The pencil has to be sharpened rather quickly.I looked at the packaged to see If I missed a sharpner.Nope not there.Then,I tried twisted it.Nope.Then,I thought maybe hidden sharpner in cap.Nope.Finally,after all that I used my own sharpner & it worked,but it broke alot.Ugh,learned my lesson.

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tigerlily8 on 2/17/2012 3:12:00 AM more reviews by tigerlily8

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Normal   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

It was nice for about a week and then the point wore down. So I thought it looked like one of those that you twist the end and the point moves up from inside and nothing happened when I twisted. So then I tried a couple of my sharpeners and the plastic got all mangled and hardly anything sharpened. So I tried using the little bit I got sharpened and it was so extremely soft that it broke off and wore down completely. I tried sharpening it again with another sharpener and got nothing but the soft stuff breaking off. It went in the trash and I didn't get to use it. I thought it was ridiculous.

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