Beauty NYX Wonder Pencil Light Vs Deep Eye Brightener, Compared
The Wonder Pencil in Light suits fair to medium skin. The Deep shade suits deeper tones. The Brow Highlighter lifts the brow bone. There is no product literally called Fake Awake. This comparison breaks down shade, use, and best skin tone.
| Factor | NYX Professional Makeup Wonder Pencil Li | NYX Professional Makeup Wonder Pencil De |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Check price | Check price |
| Best for | Fair to medium brightness | Medium to deep brightness |
| Shade | Light nude | Deep nude |
| Use | Waterline, lips, brows | Waterline, lips, brows |
| Formula | Creamy pencil | Creamy pencil |
| Finish | Natural matte | Natural matte |
| Best skin tone | Fair to medium | Medium to deep |
Our Verdict
The winner depends on your skin depth. Light wins for fair to medium skin. Deep wins for medium to deep skin. The Brow Highlighter wins as the perfect companion for both. For the full fake awake effect, pair the right Wonder Pencil with the brow highlight. Bright, rested eyes are one pencil away.
More Top Picks in This Category
Not sold on either of these two? Here are more bestselling options worth considering.
Best for: Best brow bone highlight to complete awake eyes.
NYX Professional Makeup Eyebrow Cake Powder Highlighter
- Cake powder formula
- Highlighter shade
- Brow bone brightening
Pros
- Lifts brow bone instantly
- Soft natural highlight
- Pairs with Wonder Pencil
Cons
- Powder needs a brush
- Shimmer subtle
Want the Full Picture?
Brightener and Flash Photography: The White-Cast Risk
Which SPF ingredients cause flashback is covered for foundation, but brightening pencils carry the same risk. Light-reflecting brighteners work with tiny light-diffusing particles, and under camera flash those particles can bounce back as a visible white cast, especially in the inner corner and brow bone where the product is concentrated. The Wonder Pencil's brightening effect comes partly from its light shade and partly from its finish, both of which read stronger under flash.
The at-home test before an event: take a photo with flash in a dim room after applying the brightener exactly as you plan to wear it. If the inner corners glow white, blend the product more thinly or switch to the deeper shade for photography. The difference between photo and daylight matching matters here, a brightener that looks perfect in daylight can look stark in flash photos. For events with photography, apply the brightener more sheerly than usual and set it lightly, which reduces the flashback without losing the brightening effect. The Maybelline Stay Matte guide covers base products with similar flash considerations.
Nude Brightener Shades for Olive Undertones
Olive is mentioned as a footnote everywhere, but no guide lists which nude brightener shades actually suit olive undertones. The problem: olive skin has a greenish cast, and nude pencils that are too pink turn ashy, while ones that are too yellow look sallow. The Wonder Pencil's Light shade suits fair olive skin, but medium olive skin often needs the Deep shade even when the depth seems too dark, because the undertone match matters more than the depth match.
The test: apply the pencil to the inner corner and check whether the eye area looks brighter or duller. The right nude brightener visibly brightens olive skin, the wrong one visibly flattens it. When between the Light and Deep shades, olive undertones usually do better going deeper, the deeper shade's warmth counteracts the greenish cast. And the multi-use angle: the same undertone logic applies when using the pencil on the lips or brows, test each area separately, the right shade for the eyes is not always the right shade for the lips on olive skin.
Brightening Pencils on Mature Eyes
Foundation for mature skin gets the "use hydrating formulas" line, but brightening pencils on mature eyes need specific guidance. The concern: shimmery or very light brighteners settle into fine lines around the eyes and emphasize crepey texture. The Wonder Pencil's creamy, non-shimmery formula is actually well suited to mature eyes for this reason, the brightening comes from the nude shade rather than reflective particles.
The placement that works after 50: inner corner only, pressed gently with a fingertip, not drawn in a thick line. Keep the brightener away from under-eye bags, lightening a puffy area emphasizes the puffiness, brighten the inner corner where the shadow lives and leave the puffy area alone. The brow bone highlight lifts the eye visually, but on hooded mature eyes, keep it to the bone itself, not blended down toward the lid, where it can look frosty. Less product, more blending, and matte over shimmer is the mature-eye brightening formula.
Mixing Light and Deep: The Custom Brightener
Shade mixing as a skill is never taught for pencils, but the Light and Deep Wonder Pencils are designed to be mixed. The method: apply the deeper shade first as the base, then layer the lighter shade just in the very inner corner, blending where they meet. This creates a gradient brightener that matches the skin at the edges and brightens at the center, more natural than either shade alone.
Which formulas mix safely: creamy pencils blend seamlessly, while waxy or dry pencils skip over each other. The Wonder Pencil's creamy texture is ideal for mixing. Ratios for seasonal transitions: in summer, use more of the Deep shade as skin tans, in winter, shift toward Light. The multi-use mixing extends to the lips too, the two shades mixed create a custom nude lip liner. Mixing on the back of the hand first lets you test the ratio before committing it to the face, and the mixed shade can be applied with a fingertip for the most seamless blend. The Armani Fluid Sheer guide covers another blendable brightening format.