Maybelline Tattoo Brow Gel Tint Review – How I Ended Up with Green Brows + How to Fix It

I received some Maybelline Tattoo Brow Gel Tints some weeks ago and I have been meaning to try them out because doing my brows takes time! If I can shorten my brow routine, I’m all for it. As it is, I’m spending at least 5 minutes doing my brows. Also, who doesn’t want to wake up with brows already in place? 🙂

MAYBELLINE TATTOO BROW GEL TINT

The Maybelline Tattoo Brow Gel Tint claims to give you natural-looking brows that stay in place for days.

I received 3 shades:

• Light Brown
• Medium Brown
• Dark Brown

I went with Dark Brown because I have brown hair right now. I tried to apply it with the applicator, but I found it difficult to maneuver, so I used my own angled brush to apply the gel tint.

ATTEMPT #1 – My Brows Turned Green!

I didn’t do any swatch test first and just went ahead full speed. First things first, though, I fixed my brows – shaped them and removed unwanted hair.

I did this with a clean face – just washed my face, no makeup. The gel was easy to apply, but I didn’t know how thick it should be applied. I applied a thin layer first, then just built up the middle and end parts of my brows. This is to make sure that the front of the brow would be lighter, and the middle and end parts of the brow would be darker.

The package directions said wait at least 20 minutes. I let it sit for an hour before trying to peel it off, because some reviews I saw recommended leaving it on for 2 hours for the best results. I had a problem peeling it off because most of it still had not dried, so I scrubbed it off with a spoolie.

And oh, my god, my brows were green! 

How could this happen? Ok, so at least this fades in 3 days, right? I spent the rest of the day googling “brow gel tint turned green”. There were a few reports of it turning green, but nothing that really helped or explained how it happened. How? Why? It worked for almost everybody else I saw on the internet, why not me?

I swatched some of the gel tint on my arm, and they all turned green, too. I was thinking maybe it was because I was acidic… so I swatched it on my sis. I applied a thinner coat on her because she wanted it to dry quickly. And I noticed that the colors didn’t turn green on her.

So I swatched some more on my leg, this time using only one thin swipe (thin coat), and after waiting for 20 minutes, peeled it off, and the colors didn’t turn green.

Encouraged by these results, I was thinking of attempting this again on my brows.

ATTEMPT #2 – SUCCESS!

So first, I had to remove the green stuff from my brows. I tried rubbing it off with a cotton pad and micellar water and it worked. I was able to get everything off. I had to rub a little vigorously, but I was able to remove all the green tint without really rubbing my skin off. My brows weren’t red or inflamed or anything, so I immediately proceeded to do attempt #2.

I didn’t bother with using a different brush because it was already late at night. I shook the bottle just in case I missed doing that the first time. So I just used the brush applicator that came with the bottle started applying the tint in the middle to the end of the brows first, then used what was left on the brush to do the front of the brows for a gradient effect. I made sure to only use a thin coat. I just did one layer and let it dry.

Sorry if I look tired in the pic, this was past midnight already.

In 20 minutes, the gel tint was dry and I was actually able to peel it all off without having to scrub. I peeled each side off in one strip, and I was so happy to see that my brows were not green! My brows were tinted with gray-brown. Take note, I used the same bottle, same shade. So apparently, success just depends on how thick the application is.

The peeling process is not painful at all, and doesn’t take any hair off. If you had played with glue as a child and let a thin layer of glue dry on your skin, and you peel it off, that’s kind of like how it feels.

Here are the brows with the tint gel peeled off:

Once I saw the results, I was really happy with it. I thought I was going to hate this product because of the first failed attempt. But I’m glad I tried again. The results look very natural. But maybe I’ll try Medium Brown next time since I think that would fit my current hair color better.

Some tips to help you succeed with this brow gel tint:

1. Shake well before using. I’m not sure if this helps but I do it anyway.
2. Do a swatch test first.
3. Start with a clean face. No products on the brows that can affect the gel tint.
4. Apply a thin coat.
5. Have a cotton bud handy to wipe away any drawing mistakes immediately.
6. If you make a mistake and your eyebrows turn green, don’t panic. It’s easy to remove with a cotton pad and some micellar water. You might have to scrub a little harder to get everything off, but you don’t have to walk around with green eyebrows for 3 days.

SUMMARY

After learning how to properly apply the Maybelline Tattoo Brow Gel Tint, I am actually very happy with the results. If you are not into microblading, either in concept or in budget, this is a nice alternative to always have “woke up like this” brows. And it did look that way until I washed my face next morning.

Staying power – this tint will fade naturally over 2-3 days. It is recommended that you don’t wash it within the first 24 hours, but I just can’t go that long without washing my face. On my first wash the next morning, I noticed that the color faded a bit. Maybe I’ll try leaving it longer next time before peeling off for a longer lasting tint. However, I think that it will definitely be easier, and faster, for me to apply another coat of the brow gel tint before it totally fades away because I already have an outline to follow. So ideally, one can always have “woke up like this” brows by just reapplying every 2-3 days. Application is really easy and not any trouble at all.

The brow tint stays on all day. It is sweat-proof, shower-proof, etc… I don’t need to worry about wiping my brows if I sweat because this doesn’t budge unless you go at it with a cleanser.

Also, I like that it is not a permanent solution – if you make a mistake, if you want to change it up, it is relatively easy to remove. Or you can just wait for it to fade naturally in a few days.

The Maybelline Tattoo Brow Gel Tint is P599 (regular price), but Maybelline always has sales, so just be on the lookout for those. Last weekend, it was P400+ during the SM Megamall 3-Day sale.