I see REFY on every 'cool girl's' Pinterest board, but which products are actually worth it?
Once every few months I dedicate a chunk of my day to decluttering my makeup draw. Not only the products, but the eyeliner shavings and used cotton rounds that keep them company.
As a beauty journalist, I’ve learnt to appreciate the joy of having a capsule collection of products that I genuinely love. With a gazillion beauty brands out there, it’s unlikely to find one where each product has a spot in my makeup bag. And then, I discovered REFY.
The brand launched in 2020 with a petite collection of eyebrow products, all designed to carve and sculpt fluffy arches, even if you don't have the natural fullness of the brand's founder Jess Hunt.
Fast forward to today and nearly every beauty editor I know has at least one REFY product in their bag. The line-up is still considered, with only a small assortment of blushes, bronzers and lip products to shop, but everything is designed to serve a genuine purpose in your makeup bag.
When you have a mooch through the collection, notice that every product is meticulously designed to help enhance or define your already perfect natural features. With no base products in the range, like concealer or foundation, the brand encourages you to embrace what you’ve already got.
Lately, REFY has launched into the lifestyle category, named the 'Curated' collection', with a gallery-style pop up in London. Keeping in line with the minimalist grey hues of the brand's packaging, the new collection features a steel coffee cup and saucer; a metal mirror, chrome claw hair clips, earrings and key rings.
There's also a capsule collection of ready-to-wear and bespoke fashion pieces that embody the REFY lifestyle. Starting with minimalist T-shirts, scarves, tote bags and hoodies, then moving onto one-of-a-kind items like a custom-made metal dress.
My REFY Review
REFY Lash Sculpt
I'll be honest, I find mascara quite boring. I switch between five tubes because I've never found a fave. But when Lash Sculpt, REFY's first ever mascara, landed on my desk, I have never been so quick to try a product.
Inside the grey tube lies a mascara wand unlike any other I've seen. Not like your traditional cylindrical shape, Lash Sculpt has a curved, slim and slightly daunting looking wand that, frankly, doesn't look like something you'd wanna put near your eye.
But, because anything in the name of beauty or whatever, I gave the wand a go and haven't looked back since. The curved shape fits snug around the natural curvature of your eye, helping to lift and define the lashes without the wand smudging against the corner of your eye. The finish isn't dramatic, nor will it give mega-volume, but rather lengthens and separates the hairs to deliver brow-skimming lashes.
REFY Brow Sculpt
When REFY launched its Brow Sculpt, it may have been the brow gel to end all brow gels. In just a few strokes the product holds down your hairs to deliver a laminated effect, and keeps them in place without going stiff.
As the consistency is almost similar to PVA glue, less is more when it comes to application. Start at your inner brow and gradually brush through in upward diagonal strokes. Then, use the handy dual ended brush to comb those bad boys out.
REFY Brow Pomade
The last time I had a brow pomade in my makeup bag was when the ABH Dip Brow was carving out my block brows in 2016. While that was a great pick for the look of the time, the natural approach took over and a precise pencil became the desired tool.
Still a natural brow girlie, I was a little dubious to try the Brow Pomade, but the fluffy results proved I had nothing to worry about. The dual ended applicator houses a little pot of pomade that glides over the skin, while the brush creates the illusion of natural brow hairs. I am pleased to say, a pomade has now made a reappearance in my makeup bag.
REFY Brow Pencil
A brow pencil with an ultra-fine tip is a staple in my makeup bag, and oh how REFY have delivered. With such a teeny tiny pencil, you would never expect the amount of pigment that transfers onto your skin.
The smooth, creamy formula makes applying the product easy. Just use a very light hand and an upwards flicking motion to fill in the sparse areas of your brows. To really achieve that REFY look, only apply the product to the areas where you need it and leave your natural hairs to do the rest.
REFY Face Primer
Hybrid skincare makeup hybrids are slowly becoming the norm, so it’s logical that the Face Primer followed suit. It’s infused with niacinamide to protect your skin from pollutants, and glycerin, the most popular humectant for hydration. Because of the super hydrating formula, the primer creates a base which genuinely encourages dewy, natural-looking skin.
The applicator deserves some attention too. You glide it onto your skin, like a paint roller to a wall, and it dispenses an even amount of the silky serum to then massage into the skin.
REFY Cream Bronzer
Cream bronzers are a tricky one to navigate. They’re either too muddy, too warm toned or too stiff that blending them into your foundation seems impossible. If you're starting to lose faith in the trusty cream, look to this pot of buttery goodness.
REFY's Cream Bronzer seamlessly melts into the skin and will have people curiously wondering if you're wearing makeup or if you've spent two weeks in the Med. It's the kind of glossy glow that Jess Hunt is so famous for, and comes in a variety of tones so you can find your flattering shade.
REFY Cream Blush
The REFY Cream Blushes may be diddy, but they pack a pigmented punch. All that's needed is a small tap across the cheeks to deliver a dewy and plump pop of colour. The texture has a slight tackiness to it (but in a good way, obvs) which means you can layer the product while still keeping a natural flush to your cheeks.
There's a shade to suit everyone, too. Peach and Citrine (my current faves) are corals which pair nicely with the Cream Bronzer to deliver a golden glow. Rose and Malaya are pinker in hue, so ideal for a more subtle flushed look.
REFY Lip Sculpt
This compact lip duo comes with a fine tip pencil and setter. When both applied, it leaves a velvety matte-like finish without the well-known cakey texture that often comes with matte lips.
Start by shaping your lips using the pencil (don’t be afraid to scribble out the lines for fuller looking lips), and follow with the setter to keep the product in place. Despite having a silicone base, I enjoyed the buttery feeling of the setter which keeps the liner in place to prove its 10 hour wearability claim.
About once every few months I dedicate a chunk of my day to decluttering my makeup draw. Not only the products, but the eyeliner shavings, used cotton rounds and homeless false eyelashes that keep them company. From the age of 13 (ish) I developed a wild obsession with makeup. As the years progressed, all my money went towards makeup and I fell into the habit of keeping every product I bought (I found an UD Naked Basics palette the other day- what a time!). But, as a beauty journalist, I’ve learnt to appreciate the benefits of having a capsule collection of products that I genuinely love. With, I don’t know, about a gazillion beauty brands out there, it’s unlikely that you’ll find one where all the products deserve a place in your makeup bag. Then, I discovered a hidden gem, which I think is about to be huge… REFY is the brainchild of influencer Jess Hunt (the queen of fluffy brows) and founder of Shrine, Jenna Meek. The dynamic duo set out on a mission to curate a brand that simplifies makeup routines and Featuring select products that mimic Jess’ eye-catching insanely glowey aesthetic (bushy brows, glossy ‘second’ skin, and snatched lips), REFY’s products can be used in many versatile ways. The result is a compact collection of products that’re all you need for a full face of makeup. As the old saying goes, it’s about quality over quantity- and, in this case, without the spenny prices that come with the usual luxury players. When you have a mooch through the collection, notice that every product is meticulously designed to help enhance or define your already perfect natural features. Unlike so many brands that seem to launch a new product in line with a trend, it seems as though REFY only produces a product when it can emphasise your beauty, not conceal it. With no base products in the range, like concealer or foundation, it’s a brand that encourages you to embrace what you’ve already got! In November 2020, REFY first launched its three-step brow collection (featuring a Brow Sculpt, Brow Pomade and Brow Pencil) which became a social media sensation, with the #refybrow reaching almost 400,000 TikTok views. Yes, if you didn't see it, climb out from under your rock, please! Selling out after six weeks, it captured the attention of MUAs like Patrick Ta (who works with the likes of Kim K and Camila Cabello). Almost 2 years on, the brand has expanded its collection, yet is still keeping to its ethos of simplicity and quality. In recent years, the beauty industry has become saturated with brands that are founded by influencers or celebrities (Let’s be honest, we all used Britney Spears’ Fantasy back in the day, a.k.a early 00’s). But now, having a nostalgic noughties fragrance or even being the face of a beauty campaign just isn’t enough. Now, as someone whose literal job is to test and review beauty brands, I never rush to join the hype. As celebrity-driven consumers we’re instantly expected to go crazy as soon as a celeb beauty brand is launched. Yep, they may be fronted by a well-known A-lister, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their products are worth your £££ (however, I do have to make exceptions for Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, About-Face by Halsey and R.E.M by Ariana Grande). But when I would scroll through my TikTok feed and see endless videos of people showing off their jaw-dropping statement brows or impeccably dewy complexion, using REFY products, my F.O.M.O kicked in. I had to give it a try, and boy, did I eat my words! After dropping the simple question into my friend group chat ‘Who uses REFY?’, I low-key wasn’t surprised by the amount of WhatsApp alerts that came in. “I wear their Lip Sculpt all the time”, “Omg I love it”, “I think I’ve bought their brow pencil about a million times”. Safe to say, it’s a hit. And that’s not just with my close circle of friends. The products have have sold out on many *many* occasions (the Lip Sculpt has just been restocked so make a run for it while you can), and has received thousands of 5* reviews on the brands website. So, If I haven’t already convinced you that REFY is worth a shot, have a scroll to see my verdict on every single viral hero that're absolutely worth it.
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