By Terry Eye Modeling Brush Stencil 2

I love unique brushes and unusual shapes in makeup tools. But it would do me good to remember that sometimes the fact that no one else makes a certain makeup brush might be due to the fact it's kind of useless. Case in point: By Terry Eye Modeling Brush Stencil 2.

By Terry Eye Modeling Brush Stencil 2 is a cute brush with a very small round and flat head. The handle is elegantly long and slim, the head is tiny and it's described as meant for precise crease work and intensifying eyebrows. In reality, the small head fits into the depth of the crease but in my case (I have a deep crease) that's not the only part of the brush that goes in: the metallic ferrule also joins the action and I feel it. It's unpleasant. The brush hair is soft and nice, but having the ferrule in my crease is a weird stabby sensation.

As for using the Modeling Brush on eyebrows, I wouldn't recommend it either. It's too big and flat for that. Even when you're trying to fill in serious gaps you don't want the result to look too heavy or painted. The whole point of using an eyebrow brush is to get that feathered natural look- to make the eyebrow powder or gel you're using appear as part of the hair. The modeling brush gives me clownish results.

Since this is a small and precise brush I tried using it for smudging and smoking the lash line, but while it's not horrible, the hair is too floppy for smudging and the ferrule gets in the way here, too, if you're working on the lower lashes. It's also not precise enough for this task.

Bottom Line: perhaps one day I'll find a use for this brush.

By Terry Eye Modeling Brush Stencil 2 ($45, ridiculously and grossly overpriced. I'm glad I got it on clearance) is available from Barneys and Space NK.

Photos by Buffy and me.