Le Metier de Beaute Eye Shadow and Eye Crease Brushes

Le Metier de Beaute eye brushes challenged and conquered my usual preference for hefty makeup brushes. The eye shadow and eye crease brushes are full size yet the handles are really short: shorter than brush lines by Paula Dorf, Hakuhodo Kokutan, RMK and Giorgio Armani, yet the heads are full size, densely packed and as well-crafted as one would expect from this luxury brand.

The Le Metier de Beaute Eye Shadow #1 brush is excellent for most shading tasks. If you have smaller lids this is all you need for a full wash of color, and even I, with my parking lot size eyes, lids and crease have no problem using it all over. It packs on color as needed and deposits it evenly for the best possible finish. Short handles are easy to control and I've come to appreciate the sophistication of this little brush. This eye shadow brush is all natural goat hair and very soft.

Le Metier de Beaute Crease Brush #1 is shaped between a blending and a pencil brush, round, domed and fully packed with soft goat and pony hair that's soft enough to be very comfortable in the crease while picking up color, applying it and blending gently. The MAC 217 is here only for size comparison because just about everyone owns a couple of them. However, the Le Metier de Beaute brush exposes the 217's main flaw: its scratchiness. Crease Brush #1 doesn't mess or erase other colors previously applied and like its sibling, Eye Shadow Brush #1, it performs well with a variety of textures, not just Le Metier's superior ones.

The LMdB crease brush is better than the Paula Dorf for a precise/cut crease. Paula's Sheer Crease brush is more of a blending brush and has an advantage in blending and sheering out because of the head's size- it creates a gradiant and I prefer it for blending upwards while the LMdB is a perfect tool for blending from the crease down and softening the outer V.

I've had these brushes for three weeks or so, so I can't comment on aging, but I can tell you that neither one has shed even one single hair so far.

Bottom Line: the more I use them, the bigger the love.

Le Metier de Beaute Eye Shadow Brush #1 ($40) and Eye Crease Brush #1 ($45) are available from Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and nordstrom.com. Mine were sent  by the company for my consideration.