Line up!

This post is part of Backlog Beauty, a series of beauty reviews I should've published last year or the year before that but I didn't or wasn't able to. Most of the beauty products I'll be reviewing in Backlog Beauty are from previous collections that may or may not be available anymore.

Okay, so if you've seen my review on the 114 Paddle Brush, you'll know how much it surprised me and how much I love using it now. It's honestly probably the best brow brush I've used so far (with brow powders, anyway.) and I'm pretty much bummed that Ellana Cosmetics decided to discontinue it. Good thing I got it, eh?

Today's focus is on the 116, aka the Precision Brush Eyeliner. Again, just like with my brows, I prefer using a thin angled brush when applying my eyeliner to get that clean line and that crisp wing. My fave ones to use are the EcoTools Angled Eyeliner Brush and the MAC 266. They're amazing with gel liners and with pretty much cream products in general.

Now the 116 is not an angled brush. It's like the 114 but smaller. It's a bit thinner/narrower sideways but the shape is pretty much the same: oval-like, but this time the thinnest part is on top while the other 2/3 of the brush is thick. I don't know if you can see it in the photos clearly, but on the side, you'll see that the shape looks like a mountain: flat then curve then a slight dip again.

Not gonna lie, this was quite a struggle to use. I don't know why I had a bit of a hard time applying liner with it. Is it because of its unusual shape? Is it because I'm out of practice? Is it because I should be using an eyeliner than an eyeshadow? Maybe all three? HELP??? (PS. Oh yeah, I used a black shadow to test this brush out. Apparently, almost all my gel liners are either dried out, expired, or both, so all I have are eyeshadows until I purchase a new pot of gel liner. I did spritz my brush though to get the liner more opaque.) 

Because of the shape of this brush, as well as its thickness, the end product you'll have is quite a thick line. You won't have a thin, almost invisible line; what you'll have is a line that screams "eyeliner!!". Honestly, I don't mind that thick line. My eyes are a bit hooded anyway so thin liners basically disappear on me. So if you're someone who likes a thick liner on the lid, this brush gets that done in a snap. Easy peasy. Now if you're wanting to use it for a cat-eye, well, you're in for a wild, wild ride, sweetie, because this brush ain't it.

SIGH. Achieving a wing with this brush was a struggle, honeyyyy! Honestly, I was stressed for like 90% of the time. For starters, you can't flick the wing upwards like you would with an angled brush. With the 116, you have to drag the brush downwards at an angle if you want to create the form/foundation of the wing then build it from there. You'd think it'll be easy but nope! I couldn't achieve that crisp flick of the wing and when I did, I messed it up instantly when I tried to clean up the liner itself. As you can see on the photos with the colored wing, I tried really hard to get that wing nice and clean and crisp but I just can't. The struggle!!!

Overall, I think I'd rather use my trusty angled brushes for a winged liner. I'd still use this brush, but only if I want to achieve a thicc line. Or maybe use both brushes- the 116 for the body and an angled brush for the flick. Also, I could easily use this as a highlighter as well, specifically for the browbone, cupid's bow, and nose bridge. But for using this solely for a winged liner? Hard pass, fra. Hard pass.