My first post introduced the brushes which I use for eyeliners. You might be wondering why these brushes and how did I pick them out? I judge them by size and firmness, they have to be small enough for the detailing of eyeliner yet firm enough to apply color smoothly and evenly.
Yet you don't want a brush that is too firm or it feels like pins and needles on the eyes. You also don't want one that is too soft and limp that you end up drawing your lines with the side of the brush and scratching your eye with the ferrule. (I have done this.) You want a brush where the tip will bend enough to allow the liner to be pressed onto the lid while gliding across the lash line. This is usually possible with brush that has a tapered tip, in other words, the hair isn't all one length but various lengths. This grabs the color product at different lengths for a smoother application. Color is applied and the tip of the brush becomes your visual guide for lining while the bending of it applies the color. Anything that may have been missed from this should be filled in with the longest hairs as they glide on more color. If the brush bends too much, you have less control of the product on the brush. If it is too firm, then you feel like you are poking your lashline.
In the two following pictures, you can see how my brushes compare in size to a regular sized eyeliner pencil. They aren't that big especially the Brush Up Kolinsky and the Cinema Secrets Filbert #2. The Paula Dorf is smaller in width than the pencil while the Becca and the Smashbox are about the same. That is as wide as you want the brush any wider and it feels awkward in the hand as well as on the eye.
Next, check out the firmness of these brushes. Notice, also, they all have tapered ends. The brush should only bend about 1/3rd the length of the hair with the exception of the Brush Up Kolinsky which bends about 2/3rds; this helps draw the detailed line. Notice how firmly packed the hair is at the ferrule. This is important because it means you won't have to apply so much pressure to the tip. Sometimes, when you don't feel the pressure of the brush on your lid, you end up holding your breath and tightly grasping that brush. Eyeliner has to be done in a relaxed state.
Okay, so here are some of the thoughts that could pop into your mind. I am on a budget and I buy my brushes at an art supply store. I have no access to these brushes and can't touch them, I have to order them online. I like synthetic brushes and prefer them over natural hair.
Nothing is wrong with buying them at an art supply store, just make sure the tip bends just enough. Some of those brushes may not be tapered on the ends. You can easily remedy that by taking some cuticles scissors and just cutting into the tip vertically.
I don't have access to these brushes much either in store. I bought these online. I admit sometimes it is a gamble but the ones that are less of a gamble are the pro brands or from beauty supply stores that cater to pro makeup artists like Frends which I bought the Brush Up Kolinsky from. Cinema Secrets brushes are great too. Can't go wrong with the Filbert #2.
Synthetic brushes are great. If I had access to great synthetic brushes I would probably go all synthetic. The ones I can't stand are the taklon ones that you see at the art supply store, you know those yellow ones. Those are usually too soft and really flimsy. They also splay easily. There is more of a darker colored one like a golden brown nylon hair one. Those are better. Of course, with technology there are higher quality synthetics out there just not easily accessible for many but if you do get your hands on those and like them, then stick with those.
Remember, these are my opinions you may have a brush that is shaped differently that works well for you; that is great. However, if you are stuck with a set of eyeliner brushes that do nothing for you then use this post as a guideline to finding different brushes or to reconsider the ones you own which may be similar to these. Any questions? Any comments? Just scribe below.
More posts are in the works for eyeliners.
