Brow pencil that doesn't smudge

Anastasia Beverly Hills MicroStroke Detailing Brow Pen leads with 19 of 20 reviewers saying it doesn't smudge or wear off, and it is also the best pick sold on Amazon. IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil follows at 16 of 20. Maybelline Express Brow Ultra Slim Pencil, Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil and NYX Micro Brow Pencil each have more reviewers saying they smudge than saying they don't.

  • 186 store reviews counted
  • Ulta shoppers
  • Oct 2017 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Does it smudge? What buyers said
  1. Anastasia Beverly Hills MicroStroke Brow Pen 20 said either way
  2. IT Cosmetics Brow Power Pencil 20 said either way
  3. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz 25 said either way
  4. Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil 26 said either way
  5. Maybelline Express Brow Ultra Slim Pencil 24 said either way
  6. Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil 23 said either way
  7. NYX Micro Brow Pencil 23 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for smudging. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Best record Anastasia Beverly Hills MicroStroke Brow Pen 19 of 20 say it doesn't smudge Check price on Amazon
What stands out

A waterproof label is no guarantee. Both Benefit pencils sold as waterproof, Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil and Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil, land at 14 of 26 and 10 of 23.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points buyers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1

Anastasia Beverly Hills

MicroStroke Brow Pen

Best for hair-like strokes

19/20 say it doesn't smudge

67% say it draws hair-like strokes and 57% say it lasts all day. Ranked on Ulta reviews alone.

What buyers praise

  • Draws hair-like strokes 67%
  • Lasts all day 57%
  • Looks natural 52%
  • Fills sparse spots 29%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 19 of 20

How often it comes up: about 1 in 9 of this product's 841 store reviews mention smudging.

2

IT Cosmetics

Brow Power Pencil

Best for a natural look

16/20 say it doesn't smudge

40% say it lasts all day and 32% say it looks natural. 4 of 20 reviewers who mentioned smudging said it smudges or wears off.

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 40%
  • Looks natural 32%
  • Good shade range 20%
  • Handy spoolie 12%
  • Fills sparse spots 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 8%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 16 of 20
  • Brand site 2 of 2 shown, not counted

How often it comes up: about 1 in 75 of this product's 4,940 store reviews mention smudging.

3

Anastasia Beverly Hills

Brow Wiz

Best for shade range

18/25 say it doesn't smudge

44% like the shade range and 60% say it lasts all day. 7 of 25 reviewers said it smudges or wears off, and 12% mention the price.

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 60%
  • Good shade range 44%
  • Draws hair-like strokes 12%
  • Looks natural 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 12%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 18 of 25
  • Brand site 5 of 5 shown, not counted

How often it comes up: about 1 in 126 of this product's 22,722 store reviews mention smudging.

4

Benefit

Goof Proof Brow Pencil

14/26 say it doesn't smudge

The most reviewers weighed in on this one, and 14 of 26 said it doesn't smudge. 50% say it lasts all day, while 12 said it smudges or wears off.

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 50%
  • Good shade range 23%
  • Good value 7%
  • Looks natural 7%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 14 of 26

How often it comes up: about 1 in 47 of this product's 3,789 store reviews mention smudging.

Share of 30 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

5

Maybelline

Express Brow Ultra Slim Pencil

11/24 say it doesn't smudge

12% call it good value, but 13 of 24 reviewers who mentioned smudging said it smudges or wears off.

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 32%
  • Good value 12%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 11 of 24
  • Brand site 2 of 2 shown, not counted

How often it comes up: about 1 in 41 of this product's 11,417 store reviews mention smudging.

Share of 25 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

6

Benefit

Precisely, My Brow Pencil

10/23 say it doesn't smudge

Sold as waterproof, yet 13 of 23 reviewers who mentioned smudging said it smudges or wears off. 20% mention the price.

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 20%
  • Good shade range 16%
  • Looks natural 16%
  • Handy spoolie 8%
  • Fills sparse spots 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Too expensive 20%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 10 of 23

How often it comes up: about 1 in 28 of this product's 9,540 store reviews mention smudging.

Share of 25 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

7

NYX

Micro Brow Pencil

Best for good value

10/23 say it doesn't smudge

24% call it good value and 16% like the spoolie. 13 of 23 reviewers who mentioned smudging said it smudges or wears off.

What buyers praise

  • Good value 24%
  • Lasts all day 24%
  • Good shade range 20%
  • Handy spoolie 16%
  • Looks natural 12%

What buyers complain about

  • Shade too warm or red 12%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 10 of 23

How often it comes up: about 1 in 59 of this product's 7,101 store reviews mention smudging.

Share of 25 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 7 products ranked here carry 60,350 reviews at Ulta. We searched them for smudging and read the newest matching reviews, up to 30 per product and store, posted between Oct 2017 and Oct 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Ulta also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. They run much more positive than store reviews of the same products (across 19 products with both, 76% of brand-site reviewers said the product solved the problem, against 55% of Ulta shoppers), so we show them on product cards but never count them.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts and link to the product pages, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Anastasia Beverly Hills MicroStroke Brow Pen Ulta (21 reviews counted)
  2. IT Cosmetics Brow Power Pencil Ulta (25 reviews counted)
  3. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Ulta (25 reviews counted)
  4. Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil Ulta (30 reviews counted)
  5. Maybelline Express Brow Ultra Slim Pencil Ulta (25 reviews counted)
  6. Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ulta (25 reviews counted)
  7. NYX Micro Brow Pencil Ulta (25 reviews counted)

People asking about it on Reddit

  1. Looking for eyebrow pencil which doesn’t smudge easily, I’m abit of a sweaty Betty and I’m struggling to find anything! r/Makeup, Jun 2023, 25 comments
  2. Any recommendations for good pigmented retractable eyebrow pencils that don't smudge? r/MakeupAddiction, Feb 2025, 10 comments

Questions buyers ask

Which brow pencil doesn't smudge?

Anastasia Beverly Hills MicroStroke Detailing Brow Pen has the best record here at 19 of 20. IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil follows at 16 of 20, then Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Eyebrow Pencil at 18 of 25.

Does Benefit Goof Proof smudge?

For a lot of buyers it does, even though it is sold as waterproof. 12 of 26 reviewers who mentioned smudging said it smudges or wears off. The most reviewers weighed in on Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil, so the read is a solid one.

Is there a brow pencil that doesn't smudge on Amazon?

Yes. The best pick sold on Amazon is Anastasia Beverly Hills MicroStroke Detailing Brow Pen at 19 of 20. IT Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil and Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Eyebrow Pencil are sold there too.

Does the NYX Micro Brow Pencil smudge?

Often, by these reviews. 13 of 23 reviewers who mentioned smudging said it smudges or wears off, though 24% call it good value.

Related problems

Brow pencil Brow pencil for sparse brows Top pick: IT Cosmetics Brow Power Pencil 181 buyer reports Brow gel Brow gel that holds all day Top pick: Benefit 24-Hour Brow Setter Clear Gel 313 buyer reports Eyeliner Eyeliner that doesn't smudge Top pick: Physicians Formula Eye Booster 390 buyer reports Brow gel Brow gel that doesn't flake Top pick: Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel 217 buyer reports

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through "Check price on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.