I Tested Dozens of Blonde Brow Pencils to Find These 7 That Are Actually Good

There are very few life struggles that come with being blonde. Stereotypes generally play in our favor—even the one about being dumb apparently just makes people more eager to help us out. In fact, the only issue I’ve ever experienced that’s directly related to being a natural dark blonde—with some not-quite-grown-out highlights—is how hard it is to find a brow pencil that works with my hair color.The primary issue I run into is that Big Brow seems to have decided that all blondes want to use pencils with very warm undertones. I’ve been let down countless times by a product that looks light brown in the packaging but is straight up orange once I apply it. I’m sure there are some strawberry blondes out there who appreciate this option, but I’m personally looking for a neutral brow shade.My other primary hurdle in my Goldilocksian quest is if brands have a blonde option it’s often too light for me, and their second lightest shade tends to go straight into brunette territory. I’m looking for a cool-to-neutral light taupe, and this hue is relatively rare (although things have gotten better since I first started filling in my eyebrows 20 years ago).So, in a selfish act that could be passed off as beauty journalism, I called in every blonde eyebrow pencil I could get my hands on (36 in all) and tried a new one every day for about a month. My four requirements were thus:The pencil need to be a dark blonde shade without a hint of warmth. The formula needed to be creamy and saturated enough to go on smoothly and fill in my brows fully, especially the right one which is sparse thanks to some chicken pox-induced scaring.The tip needed to be thin enough to create natural-looking “hairstrokes.”The product had to include a spoolie. The biggest secret to good brows is to brush them into place, and any pencils that made me hunt down a separate tool to do so were all-but automatically disqualified. Some, like the unnamed orange one in the left image below, were so bad I had to remove them immediately. Others were OK enough that I kept them on for a day, but ultimately didn’t do a good enough job of filling in my brows to earn a permanent spot on my makeup roster.Kara McGrath for CosmopolitanI audibly yelped when I applied this orange brow pencil.Of the three dozen I tried, these were the seven best brow pencils for my dark blonde hair.Bobbi Brown Precise Brow Pencil in Warm BlondeKara McGrath for CosmopolitanFirst up on the list, proof that you can’t go by name alone when picking out a pencil that will work well for you. I never though a shade with the name “warm” in the name would make the cut, but I much preferred this to the other shade (Sandy Blonde) the brand sent. My brows look naturally fluffy and fully filled in with this thin pencil.Benefit Precisely My Brow in shade 2.5Kara McGrath for CosmopolitanI wasn’t surprised the Benefit’s thin (but not its thinnest!) Precisely, My Brow Pencil made the final cut for this list. It’s a longtime favorite of mine for its creamy formula, fine tipped pencil, and wide shade range. While 2.5 Neutral Blonde suits me best, the brand also sells two lighter shades of blonde for my platinum pals.LYS Secure Brow in Ash BlondeKara McGrath for CosmopolitanThis LYS formula is perfect: It’s creamy without being too slick and did a great job filling in my scarred area without giving me block brows. The pencil itself is thin but doesn’t fell like it’s going to break, possibly because it has a triangular shape. And speaking of triangles, I felt the the three-sided applicator makes this easier to hold than your average rounded tube. The shade Ash Blonde is actually recommended for people with gray hair, but it looked like a cool, light brown on me.Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Precision Pencil in Soft BlondeKara McGrath for CosmopolitanRare Beauty’s pencil has a slightly thicker tip than a lot of the others on this list, but I still feel like it creates natural looking hair strokes. The Soft Blonde color looked like it might lean too warm when I swatched in on the back of my hand, but ultimately read as a neutral once it was nestled into my natural brows.Maybelline Tattoo Studio Longwear Brow Pencil in BlondeKara McGrath for CosmopolitanI found that, unfortunately, the drugstore brands I tested tended to be the biggest offenders in the crime of making all “blonde” brow pencils orange. Maybelline was the exception. This formula is super, duper creamy—like, borderline too creamy, but that did mean that it easily covered up any sparse spots in my brows. The pencil is pretty thick too, so it definitely requires a light hand to apply it in a way that looks natural, but once I nailed that technique this under-$10 one became a favorite.Dior Diorshow Brow Styler in BlondKara McGrath for CosmopolitanOn the flipside, this Dior option was the priciest pencil I tried, and it performed quite well. The color is the exact light, neutral taupe I was looking for, and it has an ultra thin pencil for natural looking application. I also appreciate that it comes in a twist up applicator, so I don’t need to worry about losing the cap.Makeup by Mario Master Blade Brow Pencil in Dirty BlondeKara McGrath for CosmopolitanAnother pencil without a cap, Makeup by Mario’s Master Blade lives up to the name’s promise to make your brows look professionally done, in my opinion. You can barely tell I filled them in; it just seems like my brows are naturally lush and fluffy.Why trust Cosmopolitan?Kara McGrath is a writer and editor with over 15 years of experience covering the beauty space. That job includes testing as many makeup products as possible, and her hunt for a good blonde brown pencil has spanned the bulk of her career.Kara McGrath is a writer and editor with over 17 years of experience covering the beauty industry, women’s health, and a wide range of other lifestyle and wellness topics. After most recently serving as content director at Allure (2019-2025) and executive editor at Bustle (2014-2019), she is now fully freelance. In addition to Cosmo, her writing has appeared in Allure, The New York Times, Marie Claire, Business of Fashion, Playboy, NH Magazine, and more. Kara lives in New Hampshire with her dog, four cats, and a rotating cast of foster animals. You can find more of her work at karamcgrath.com.