Hey, friends! Late last week I received an incredibly generous (and equally aesthetically pleasing) delivery from Poni Cosmetics - an indie, Australian owned company that I have been lucky enough to try a few things from in the past. Once I opened the little box of wonder I was faced with something that will bring drool to the mouth of any beauty blogger: new brow products. Once I'd finished squealing, I set right out to try the new Mane Stain brow creme so I could review it for you all, right here and now — shall we?



This is a gel/pomade type product which claims to be waterproof and long lasting — all words that are music to a brow lover's ears. If you know me, you know that Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow is my holy grail brow product, so I was super duper excited to see if this little baby could give Queen ABH a run for her money.



Alright, let's start with some basic facts, the Mane Stain costs AUD$40 and comes in four colours (which are weirdly numbered #1, #2, #4, and #5 - my organisational brain weeps) ranging from a warm blonde to a dark brown. All of the colours are wonderfully neutral — or even cool! — toned, which avoids the dreaded orange look that occurs with so many brow products.

Top-Bottom: #5 Thoroughbred, #4 Chestnut, #2 Palomino, #1 Little Palomino

I use #5 Thoroughbred, which is cool enough for my hair, but I would like it a smidgen darker. The product itself is so, so deliciously smooth and therefore easy to apply in nice, clean lines. However, a light hand is needed to avoid sharpie brow; this stuff packs a pigment punch! Once on your pretty little face, the product is nice and easy to blend out with a spoolie (which you can find at the end of the Pro Brow Brush, aka my favourite of all time ever, ever) - which is ever so important when it comes to creme products.



Application-wise, the only way this differs from it's ABH comparative is that natural-looking brows are much harder to achieve. If you have fairy fingers which allow you to use a very, very light-touch you may be able to manage it, but I find the dryness of the Dip Brow much easier for this task. However, this is a non-issue if bold brows are your thing!

After testing this bad boy on several long and physically active work days, I can confirm that these are totally sweat and smudge proof — my foundation had long melted off but my brows were snatched, and thats the main thing, friends. Or the mane thing, am I right? No? I'll stop.



All in all, I would say this is a pretty strong rival for the ABH Dip Brow, needing only a little more care during the application process. The product itself it well designed and the packaging is pretty damn adorable. However, when comparing the AUD$40 price tag to Anastasia (approx AUD$24, depending on conversion rates), my scales tip back to my OG pot of wonder.

Have you tried this product? What did you think?

Enjoy!
Sophia ♡