NARS Wide Contour Brush #16

My Sephora brand angled contour eye brush (this particular shape and size has been discontinued for a while now) reached the end of its too-short life. It held for about three or four years, but was obviously not as well-made as I would have liked (it was from the regular line, not the Professional Platinum). But I loved it because the density, angle and the small-medium size were not only unusual but also incredibly efficient. But we're not here to talk about my dead brush but about my (unsuccessful yet) effort to replace it.

NARS Wide Contour Brush #16 is too big and wide to be a true contour brush or to fit in the crease as my old brush did, but it's a great tool otherwise. It's incredibly soft but till dense enough to pick the right amount of color for the entire lid. It can give a wash of a base color and even under the bone highlighting (I have enough lid space to land an airplane) and also does a good job blending whatever I throw at it. NARS No. 16 feels nice on skin and steady in my hand and delivers great results especially for soft and natural looks.

What doesn't NARS Wide Contour Brush #16 do? Real contouring. Or any precise and detailed work, especially with dark colors. It's just too wide and soft for this. But other than misnaming it, I don't have any complaints for NARS regarding this brush.

Bottom Line: Not an essential if you already have enough wide blending brushes, but nice to have, especially because of the somewhat unusual shape.

NARS Wide Contour Brush #16 ($33) is available from some department stores and narscosmetics.com.

All photos are mine.