The 15 Best Drugstore Eyebrow Pencils MUAs Love For Brows That Wow

Best Overall

CoverGirl Easy Breezy Eyebrow Pencil

$7 at Amazon $10 at Ulta $7 at Target

Our top pick comes from CoverGirl, a mainstay in the eyebrow pencil world. The brand's Easy Breezy Brow Pencil has a microfine tip you can use to fill in sparse areas, darken your eyebrows for a bolder look, or define the shape. Just twist the pencil when you need to extend the tip—no sharpening required. After drawing in tiny hairs and creating the perfect arches, flip it over to the spoolie side and brush out your brows to blend your work.

We appreciate that this is a long-wear formula, but while it'll last several hours on most people, the staying power may not be as good on oily skin. We also wish this eyebrow pencil came in a few more shades, though the available colors should work for most brunettes and blondes.

Who It's For

We recommend this product to anyone in the market for an affordable brow pencil that never needs sharpening.

Shades: 4 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Budget

E.l.f. Brow Pencil

$3 at Amazon $3 at Ulta $3 at Target

Of all the wallet-friendly picks on this list—all of them, really!—this fan-favorite pencil from e.l.f. wins for both serious affordability and equally as serious brow-filling. Costing just three bucks, it achieves everything you could want a brow pencil to do, including shaping, defining, and filling in patchy spots. The creamy formula is easy to apply and instantly makes your brows appear thicker. That thick look lasts all day, from first thing in the morning to long past your dinner date. It also features a handy built-in spoolie. The tip will get less sharp over time, so it's not our pick for creating defined hairs.

Who It's For

This is a great pick for people with brown hair, blondes, and even redheads (thanks to the auburn shade) looking for a user-friendly eyebrow pencil for under $5.

Shades: 5 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Long Wear

Milani Precision Brow Pencil

$9 at Amazon $11 at Ulta $8 at Target

We like that this eyebrow pencil has an ultra-fine tip for creating realistic-looking hair-like strokes. What's more, it provides intense color payoff and promises to stay in place (no fading or smudging) all day long. The smear-resistant formula lasts until you wash it off. There's also a spoolie on the other side for feathering and blending. Just be careful when you apply it as users say the tip can easily break off.

Who It's For

If you're searching for an eyebrow pencil that lasts the entire day without smudging or smearing, try this one from Milani.

Shades: 5 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Natural

Burt's Bees Natural Brow Pencil

$10 at Ulta $9 at Target $23 at Walmart

Leave it to Burt's Bees to create an eyebrow pencil that not only works well but is also made with skin-friendly, earth-sourced ingredients. Infused with plant-based goodness, like moisturizing jojoba oil and shea butter, the formula is 99.9 percent natural. Even the cedarwood used to make the actual pencil is sustainably sourced. It's also just the thing for shaping and filling in sparse brows—it glides on smoothly and evenly. It's just not the best as making ultra-fine strokes.

Who It's For

Those who prefer natural, sustainably sourced beauty products will appreciate Burt's Bees's take on the eyebrow pencil.

Shades: 2 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Brunettes

Honest Beauty Eyebrow Pencil

$13 at Target View on Honest.com

This eyebrow pencil from Honest creates a soft, natural-looking brow with just a few easy-to-apply strokes. The creamy, conditioning formula contains jojoba oil to help it glide on smoothly. Boasting a soft-glide tip and an attached spoolie, it's both buildable and blendable—you can fill in and shape your brows, then brush them up to fluff the hairs and soften your work.

Who It's For

We wish this product came in more shades, but the soft black and ash brunette shades are suitable for people with black or dark brown hair.

Shades: 2 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Blondes

Ulta Beauty Ultra Slim Brow Pencil

$10 at Ulta

We're big fans of this brow pencil from Ulta for those with lighter-colored brows. It comes in 12 shades, five of which cater to blonde hair: taupe (a go-to for many blondes), ash taupe (for cooler tones and gray hair), blonde, ash brown, and soft brown. Though the formula isn't waterproof and doesn't last as long as others on this list, the super-fine precision tip makes it easy to draw hair-like strokes. We love that it's cruelty and paraben-free.

Who It's For

Folks with blonde or gray hair should consider Ulta's Ultra Slim Brow Pencil, which comes in a handful of lighter shades. (There are also shades for medium brown, dark brunette, and even black hair.)

Shades: 12 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Shade Range

NYX Professional Makeup Micro Brow Pencil

$8 at Amazon $11 at Ulta $11 at Target

You won't have trouble finding your perfect match with this brow pencil from NYX. It comes in a dozen shades (including ash blonde, auburn, gray, black, and a range of browns), each with good pigmentation that glides on easily with impressive color payoff. (That said, be careful not to rub your brows, as the formula isn't smudge-proof.) We also like how the micro-tip allows you to draw in teeny-tiny hairs.

Who It's For

If you're looking for a particular shade to complement your eyebrow hair color (one shade lighter is ideal for most people), you'll find it with this pencil.

Shades: 12 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Hair-Like Strokes

Revlon ColorStay Micro Brow Pencil

$10 at Amazon $10 at Ulta $9 at Target

Revlon's Micro Brow Pencil has one of the finest tips you can get with a drugstore eyebrow filler—it even gives higher-end options (including Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz) a run for their money. The ultra-skinny, mechanical-pencil-like tip is ideal for creating precise hair-like strokes when filling in sparse brows. We also like that the long-wear formula lasts up to 16 hours, but bear in mind it may not hold up as long on oily skin.

Who It's For

If you're looking for an eyebrow pencil with a super-skinny tip for drawing in tiny hairs, this is the one.

Shades: 7 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Defined Arches

ColourPop Brow Boss Pencil

$8 at Ulta $29 at Walmart View on Colourpop.com

This retractable eyebrow pencil flaunts an ultra-thin precision tip. You can outline your brows, draw in feather-like strokes, and achieve the perfect definition. Beyond the fine tip, we love that the long-wear formula resists smudging and fading for several hours. With nine available shades ranging from soft black to warm blonde, you'll easily find the exact hue to imitate your brows. Some users have noted that the tip can break or fall out though.

Who It's For

Reach for ColourPop's Brow Boss when outlining your arches, defining your eyebrows, or filling in thin areas with hair-like strokes.

Shades: 9 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Waterproof

L'Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Definer

$7 at Amazon $11 at Ulta $9 at Target

Thanks to the waterproof formula, this brow pencil resists smudging, smearing, and fading through sweat and inclement weather. It lasts all day (or longer), holding up until you remove your makeup. The extra-fine tip allows you to draw realistic-looking hairs—but since the consistency isn't very creamy, it can be a little finicky to apply, especially if you have thicker brows.

Who It's For

When you really want your expertly crafted brows to stay in place all day (or night), grab this waterproof eyebrow pencil.

Shades: 10 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: No

Best Fine Point

Maybelline Ultra Slim Brow Pencil

$10 at Ulta $8 at Target $9 at Walmart

With an incredibly fine point of 1.5 millimeters, this brow pencil is ideal for those looking to fill in sparse areas. It creates precise, hair-like strokes, leaving you with beautiful, natural-looking brows sans smudges or unwanted streaks—no microblading necessary.

Peña gives this product his stamp of approval, noting that it's a breeze to use and comes in several great shades. "I reach for the soft brown and light brown shades first and then use a darker pencil to add definition where needed," he tells Byrdie.

Who It's For

If you suffered through the overplucked brow days of the '90s and early 2000s, add this fine-tipped eyebrow pencil to your cart.

Shades: 7 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: No

Best Fine Point, Runner-Up

Juvia's Place I Sculpt, I Shade Brow Pencil

View on Juviasplace.com

While slightly more expensive than the product above, we love this pencil for drawing delicate, hair-like lines, too. Armed with an ultra-slim precision tip, the retractable pencil creates a totally natural and sculpted look. The formula is long-lasting and glides on super smooth without ever looking cakey. We also love that the opposite end has a built-in brush, which is great for fluffing up your brows to create fullness. We just wish the brand would expand its shade range a bit (there are only four shades to choose from).

Who It's For

We recommend this product to those who prefer an extra-fine precision tip that glides on easily when filling in their brows.

Shades: 4 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Color Payoff

The Lip Bar Vegan Brow Gel + Brow Pencil

$14 at Target $14 at Walmart

There are several standout attributes of this brow gel and pencil combo from The Lip Bar. It's creamy formula glides on smoothly, for starters. However, its most notable quality is its outstanding color payoff. Use the angled pencil tip to add definition and fill in sparse areas, then brush your brows into place using the gel and attached spoolie. The gel-like consistency takes a bit to get used to and it's not as long-lasting as others we've tried.

Who It's For

This double-duty product only comes in three colors, but if your shade is one of them, we think you'll appreciate the superior pigmentation.

Shades: 3 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Dual-Ended

Treslúce Beauty Hello, Brows! Dual-Ended Brow Pencil

$6 at Ulta View on Treslucebeauty.com

Sometimes, you need a microfine point, and at other times, you need a thicker, angled tip. This dual-ended eyebrow pencil offers both. But beyond two tip sizes and shapes, you'll get two complementing shades. For instance, the black option has a true black fine tip for drawing hair-like strokes and a soft black angled tip for filling in thinner areas. We just wish it had space for a third end so that it could come with its own spoolie.

Who It's For

If you're unsure what tip size or shade to get, we suggest this dual-ended brow pencil, which features two shades and two tips.

Shades: 5 | Spoolie: No | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best 2-in-1

Revlon Brow Fantasy

$7 at Amazon $17 at Walmart $4 at Walgreens

Brow pencils can do a lot—define! shape! shade!—and completely transform the look of your eyebrows and face as a whole. They can't, however, can't tame unruly eyebrow hairs. That's where this brow gel and pencil duo comes in. By housing both formulas in one handy tube, you can use the pencil to fill and define your brows and then flip it over to apply the tinted gel while brushing the hairs into place. Users have noted the pencil needs to be sharpened quite a bit, and the color is not as long-lasting as some others on this list.

Who It's For

We stand behind Brow Fantasy for anyone looking for a multi-use product that saves time and space in their makeup bag.

Shades: 2 | Spoolie: Yes | Cruelty-Free: No