Pencil Two

Sonia G. Pencil Two Brush ($28.00) is a medium-sized eye brush that is wide, rounded, and comes to dome-shaped edge. It's about half the size of the typical, tapered crease brush, but it's significantly denser and firmer as a whole. The Saikoho goat hair bristles are incredibly smooth and feel like silk against my skin regardless of the movement or direction I use with it. The brush picks up product exceptionally well, whether they're denser, firmer formulations or softer, more powdery ones.

The brush is supposed to be used to "pack on and smudge cream eyeshadow" and "define the outer v" and "inner corner." It is, actually, the type of shape that is particularly good for applying cream eyeshadow into the crease, especially when the goal is to really diffuse and blow out the color. I've used a similar-shaped (smaller) brush that's synthetic for this purpose for years, and this one is definitely softer and kinder on my eyelid area.

As I tend to work with more powder eyeshadows than liquid/creams, the most common way I use this brush is for highlighting the inner tearduct, as it lays down rich coverage while buffing out the edges easily. It worked well for applying color onto the outer corner/lid area and diffusing a bit into the crease area. I wouldn't reach for this (or recommend it for) more traditional crease work, as the size is larger and density just makes it work better for blowing out color than getting into a small area precisely.

Per the brand, the handle has a total length of 151mm with a brush head length of 11mm and width of 7.8mm. As part of the core range, the handles are wider than average (the PRO range has thinner, more tapered handles). You can safely assume that the brush has held up beautifully over many washings and uses; if there are any issues from washing, shape changes, and the like, they'll be called out specifically.

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