After my raving review of Benefit’s Gimme Brow, many people very kindly suggested alternatives for me to try, or requested comparisons with similar products. I’ve been quite busy (!) but have managed to test out Maybelline’s Brow Drama and compare it.

I ordered the Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara from FeelUnique; £4.99, three shades (I went for the palest) and free delivery. You can’t complain about that. (Though I did have some kind of promo code for the delivery, I think it’s usually £10 minimum.) Maybelline’s Brow Mascara promises to give brows a “sleek and structured look” and yes, I think that it does add a hint of colour and it certainly helps to keep naughty hairs in place. Regardez-vous the photos below. Before:

(Fair-coloured brows, little bit messy perhaps, but to be absolutely honest I have no problems with them as they are. Yes a bit of grooming is always nice, but most days I simply can’t be bothered. Anyway…)

After! Can you see a lot of difference? A little more defined, maybe, and a hint darker? Look, there’s nothing wrong with this brow mascara whatsoever, but Gimme Brow it ain’t. For those who have singled this one out as a kind of dupe, I hate to let you down but it’s not. The Gimme Brow adds volume to each hair so that sparse bits are filled in and everything looks a bit more thick and fullsome: Brow Drama is a tinted brow gel. A nice one, but – as I said – it doesn’t have the same dramatic results, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Take another look at the Benefit before-and-after:

Left eye (as you look at the screen) done, right eye natural. Now I know I’m doing a weird kind of expression, so ignore that and focus on the depth and thickness of the brow itself. Quite an amazing difference, don’t you think? There’s not actually any real comparison or competition here, because the products are almost entirely different. Like comparing a plumping, scarlet red lip gloss with a slick of lip balm. The Brow Drama grooms and holds very well (especially nice at £4.99) but for me, Benefit’s Gimme Brow reigns supreme. Please do suggest more alternatives and I’ll work my way through!

You can find Maybelline Brow Drama here – £4.99 and Benefit’s Gimme Brow here, £18.50.