Starting a brush collection: Brush 3- fancy(er) eye looks

The third brush I decided upon is the only other brush, besides the Shiseido foundation brush, that I will actually have been able to see and/or try out before purchasing, everything else either will or has been a blind purchase based on research and reviews. Much like the very first nice brush I got, the Laura Mercier double ended eyeshadow brush (eye colour and pony tail), which to me combines the two most essential and multifunctional eye brushes a gal could need, the Eye Believe brush by The Balm combines the two brushes you could do virtually any dressed up special occasion eye look (or everyday look. Just because I’m super practical and would use something like this for an evening out, doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t love it in their daily work look etc).

I don’t recall exactly how I came upon this or any other of The Balm brushes. It must have been something of a chain reaction involving looking up their blushes (because I’d heard a lot about them in youtube videos), then realizing they had a counter where I live and sort of falling in love with their pink champagne ShadyLady singe eyeshadow in “Luscious Lani”. Oh and the loose glitter galore Overshadow mineral eyeshadows  in…  “If you’re rich, I’m single”, “You buy, I’ll fly”, “No money, no honey” and “Work is overrated” – so basically, all of them. Which is, again, why I have none. I couldn’t decide between the last two, I couldn’t afford both and it’s one of those things where I love the idea of it (shiiiiny!!!), but as pretty as they are, they get everywhere (which can be awesome depending on the occasion) and the odds of me actually using the product are frankly slim to none. However, they are glorious none the less and if I could afford to just buy things for the sake of playing with and looking at them with childlike delight, I would get them all in a heartbeat. Okay, except for the copper one, which, I know, has a redhead on the cover, but I just don’t like red based browns or orange on me. The haircolour on its own is enough. I didn’t get “Lucious Lani” either because I’m an indecisive mess (and because even at retail price, it’s significantly cheaper to get in the US, which is where I’ll probably end up getting it next time I’m there).

Anyway, while exploring their website, I took a look at their brush selection. I’m usually either very classical and like my product design streamlined and minimalistic, or, I love a good dose of quirky cuteness, which these brushes and The Balm cosmetics in general pack plenty of. The line, called “Powder to the People”, consists of just five brushes, three of which are double ended eye brushes and two face brushes. They all cost between 24.50-29.50 USD, which in the context of eye brushes is Hakuhodo territory. I was intrigued by one brush in particular, because to me it looked like the perfect combination of two complimentary brushes to my original double ended LM, with which to create a dramatic smoky eye or a graphic, chiseled retro look, and everything in between.

The way I came to the conclusion of which additional eye brushes one (me) could need for a basic collection, was receiving a luxury pencil eyeliner that came with absolutely nothing else, just the pencil and protective tip, nothing whatsoever to actually help apply it. Every other one I’ve used at that price point has had at least a sponge tip, brush or spooly on one end and if they’re particularly fancy, a pencil sharpener (thanks Chanel) in addition to the actual pencil. So there I was, baffled, with no tool to smudge my kohl pencil with. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Keep an old, otherwise used up pencil around just for the sponge tip…? That’s not particularly classy…  So there you go, that’s one other necessary brush – something to smudge a fine line of kohl liner or eyeshadow with.

I’m not one to play around with eyeshadow too much, I keep it really simple. This is by no means a universal rule, but I think women tend to use more makeup on features they’re more insecure about and leave the features they’re happy with alone, or use very little product on them.  I’ll spend an absolute eternity (and fortune) on my complexion, but my eyes are probably my best feature, so I tend to keep it really simple and not overpower my eyes with too much colour and drama. I actually think it’s the single biggest makeup faux pas I’ve observed on youtube beauty guru channels. I’m often shocked to learn how young a lot of them are and how different they look without the thick layer of makeup they wear. I love to watch “get ready with me” videos and see what they really look like. Almost always, whenever the girl’s got foundation/concealer, an allover eyeshadow and mascara on, I want to yell at the computer screen “Stop! You’ve got it, you look great. That’s enough!” and to them it never is. Dark, metallic eyeshadows, liquid liner on the top and bottom waterline follow, contouring like there’s no tomorrow and a bright lipliner-lipstick-lipgloss combo. Ugh… I mean, each to their own, but I wish they’d realize how nice they look midway through their makeup application.

I almost never wear mascara on my lower lashes. Weirdly, it makes my eyes look smaller. Nor do I like to use any sort of liner along the top or bottom lashline for the same reason. However, my go to evening eyelook is liquid liner heaven with a dramatic, graphic and glossy winged flick. I’ve found my holy grail black liquid liner and have almost, but not quite, learned to use it (I still need a few tries and a good cleaning up to get the look, but I also do it very rarely because I don’t want to waste my liner on failed trials too much). Liquid liner is apparently the most difficult to work with, kohl being simplest – but I personally think they’re incomparable, you can’t get a graphic, pitch-black line with a kohl so I don’t know why people even bother with this comparison; then pencil liner; then gel. I think gel liner is the most popular because the end result is almost as precise as a liquid liner, but it’s much easier to work with (so I hear, I’ve never actually used one myself). I think a winged liner or kitten flick is the single most flattering eye makeup ever! Honestly, regardless of age, skin colour or eye shape, one can adjust the tool (pencil, gel etc) to suit them best and look positively smoldering. Whether it’s beauties like Jane Fonda, Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot or Audrey Hepburn who rocked the look when it first emerged, or Adele, Kate Moss or veteran supermodel Carmen Dell’Orefice (and she’s in her 80s!) now.  Now, technically, I don’t really need a brush for this look as my liquid liner has its own, but, this is certainly a technique I’d like to explore as my skill and means evolve. Even though if I could only have one, I’d choose a black liquid liner, I think I’d really love to play around with metallic cream or gel textures, or powder shadows that can be used both wet and dry. For example, just recently I was sucked into swatching the Effet Faux Cils Crème D’Eyeliner at the YSL counter and my goodness are they gorgeous! Especially the plum violet and peacock green shades (5 Cherry Black and 6 Jade Black). Although they are a splurge beyond my reach for the time being, when I do get them, I know I’ll have the perfect brush for the application.

This is what the Eye Believe brush is – an angled eyebrow and gel liner brush. Wait, eyebrow? What? Technically, yes .If you use a brush to fill in your brows with a powder product, that’s great, you’ll get even more use out of this one. I don’t, I use a pencil and find powders sort of useless (no point in sugar coating it – if you need to cheat the shape as much as I do, powders really are useless, however, if all you need is to fill in your brows, they’re absolutely fine. Also, powders require much less skill which is why many beginner makeup artists use them exclusively and look extremely confused if you insist on a pencil – “But we were taught that any eyebrow shape can be achieved using powders.” Lies), but I find the shape of an eyebrow brush – short, flat and angled, is ideal for smudging shadow and pencil liner. So there’s my first requirement sorted. The (The) Balm website actually lists this as one of the uses as well, despite referring to it as an eyebrow brush  in the beginning, so that was very encouraging. The other end is a liner brush, so that’s my other requirement sorted. And it’s not just an eyeliner brush, because, let’s face it, there’s a myriad of different ones out there. The reason I was drawn to this one despite not having an immediate use for it, is that it’s shaped very similarly to the tip of my liquid liner. I find that particular shape easiest to work with. Much less error and stress prone than the longer, thinner brushes which one would typically associate with liner application.

At the time I was really getting into brushes, not only their function but make and origin too. There was no detailed information on The Balm’s website about where their brushes came from or what they were made of (it’s not just them , it’s the majority of cosmetics companies– I tried to find out the same about Chanel brushes ,and the sales person really didn’t know, she noted that for some reason lately clients have been wanting to know specifically which animal hair, not just natural or synthetic, is used etc, and Chanel don’t provide this information, not even in the product catalogue. I know because she took it out to show me and there was really nothing specific. I guess since it’s Chanel, they assume the name is enough to ensure people of the product’s quality). I’d say they’re relatively expensive (again, there are 18USD Hakuhodo eyeshadow brushes), so I decided to try and contact them to see if I could learn more about their brushes. I wasn’t actually expecting to get a response, but within an hour of sending them an email (using the general information address listed on their website), I received a very informative (and all around nice) answer to my inquiry. I learned that the brushes are manufactured in China and was also provided with a table listing each of the brushes and material/bristles used to make them.

Description of the hair used in each brush, courtesy of The Balm Cosmetics.

I thought their counter where I live didn’t have brushes, but I was wrong, they do. I got to look at the Eye Believe and other brushes in person and that’s how I made the decision to get it. I didn’t get mine there though. As mentioned, the entire line is a lot more expensive here (the number in Euros is higher than the number in USD and then you consider the fact that the dollar is a third cheaper…), so I found a better deal on eBay and had it shipped for free to a friend of mine in the US, who then sent it to me along with some other things. It ended up costing 20.50USD (which is a dollar more than when I first found that seller, but oh well…) and it didn’t come with the cardboard holder (which, at least to me, isn’t a tragic loss). I’ve heard you can find The Balm sales on hautelook, so it’s worth keeping your eyes open.

For the most part, the brush has worked out as planned. However, although advertised also as useful for applying eyeliner, the angled brush I find is a bit too rough and better suited for eyebrows only. I’ve actually found a use for it in a look I wear about every other day. I’ve discovered a use for a dark green eyeshadow I’ve committed to using up, by tapping the angled brush into the shadow and lining my lower lashline. I have hazel eyes and depending on the lighting they can look brown, green or amber, and with this particular shadow they tend to look more green, which I like. This gives a much softer definition to the eyes than using mascara on the lower lashes or lining them with a pencil. I’ve really been enjoying this look! The trick is to pat the colour on rather than drag the brush, it’s still not the most pleasant sensation in the world, but this also doesn’t claim to be a blue squirrel brush and I knew what it was when buying it. I’ve also used it to smudge a kohl pencil on the lid and that time I did drag the brush along, strangely enough, it didn’t feel like barbed wire at all. It was very effective and diffused the pencil with very little effort, so In that sense it does fulfill the purposes I’d assigned it. 

It’s absolutely usable for both tasks once you develop the most comfortable technique. I haven’t used the pointed liner brush for its intended use yet, because I don’t have any suitable products, but I can’t see a single reason why it wouldn’t work. I’ve tried drawing a graphic line with it using regular powder eyeshadow and it works (the line smears within 10 seconds but that’s not the brush’s fault). Also, since I pat the dark green eyeshadow on (this  packs quite a high level of pigment and with absolutely no fall out) sometimes I leave it as is, and sometimes I go over the line with the nice and soft liner brush to smooth it out once the actual colour’s been applied. I know what you’re thinking, why not just use that end to apply the colour too? Well, it doesn’t work that way, the liner tip is very soft and slippery, powder products don’t really stick to it…

All in all, I’m very pleased with the Eye Believe and think I made the right choice for me, for now. To be honest, it’s the one brush I don’t have a secret “deluxe list” replacement for in the back of my mind, and I think that says a lot. At 16 cm it’s the longest brush I own and compared to the Laura Mercier double ended one, this is much more comfortable to use. I’m completely unaware of the opposite tip to the one I’m using, it allows for nice control (which it should if you think about its function) and I would certainly recommend it, especially to someone who travels a lot and uses powders to do their eyebrows. Brush No. 4 coming soon  =).