Sonia G. Smudger & Worker Brushes Reviews & Photos
Smudger One
Sonia G. Smudger One Brush ($36.00) is a small, flat eye brush that is made out of blue squirrel hair and is designed for building “dramatic intensity” and adding “definition” to the eye. It’s intended to function a lot like a traditional pencil brush but “flat.” The brush head looks almost like a small, shader brush as it comes out of the ferrule, but it tapers to a flatter, wide “point” that works well for smudging eyeliner or applying more precise eyeshadow along the lash line.
I also liked using it for more precise lid color application (perhaps just for the inner lid) or applying eyeshadow under my brow bone, particularly when I was going for a more precise laydown of color. I still found that I tended to opt for a traditional pencil brush (including the brand’s version) over this for applying and smudging out color on my lower lash line.
I preferred this over the Smudger Two, as it was more comfortable against my lash line (not just softer), and I could feel the more pointed shape of the brush head, but it did not feel sharp at all.
Per the brand, the handle has a total length of 147mm with a brush head length of 7mm and width of 9mm. 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.
Smudger One
PPermanent. $36.00.
Smudger Two
Sonia G. Smudge Two Brush ($28.00) is a small, flat eye brush that is made out of Saikoho goat hair, and it was designed to work with “tricky eyeshadow textures” and to be an “ultra-soft smudging brush.” It is the same shape and size as Smudger One but goat hair is much more resilient than blue squirrel, which is why it can be used with creams as well as powders and will pick up more product more readily than Smudger One.
I found the edge to be a little sharp against my lower lash line, both gently going back and forth along my lower lash line as well as using short strokes to smudge out color, and at times, the brush felt just slightly pokey. I didn’t it along my outer lid/outer corner or when I’ve used it to apply more precise brow bone highlighter (right under my brow arch). While I didn’t use it as much for smudging, I liked it for packing on color on my lash line, particularly things like glittery, liquid eyeshadows. The brush did pick up product more readily than the Smudger Two, and it was particularly good at distributing cream eyeshadow without sheering it out.
Per the brand, the handle has a total length of 147mm with a brush head length of 7mm and width of 9mm. 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.
Smudger Two
PPermanent. $28.00.
Worker One
Sonia G. Worker One Brush ($36.00) is a larger, denser eye brush that’s is made out of dyed Saikoho goat hair, and it was intended to be an “eye blending brush” that can “soften” as well as “contour and define.” It’s described as a multitasking brush that can be used for blending, crease work, and laying down color.
It’s absolutely a workhorse of a brush–it can pack on eyeshadow, blend it out on the lid or in the crease, deposit and blend out transition shades as well as brow bone shades. That being said, for how I tend to apply products, which often means applying four to eight eyeshadows per eye, it’s too large to achieve the level of precision I need for that. If you’re someone who often applies one or two shades on the lid or likes a more diffused crease color, it works well for looks like that (as a multi-purpose brush).
I tend to reach for this to apply product to my brow bone, inner tearduct, and for gentle blending of edges at the end. The denseness and larger, more rounded edge helps it gently diffuse edges well, especially for stiffer powders and more matte finishes.
I loved the shape and feel enough that I bought a second one, but I was really happy when the brand released the Worker Three, which is a smaller version of the Worker One/Worker Two (but it is undyed hair like Worker Two) along with the Worker Pro, which is smaller (but a little fluffier–doesn’t have quite the denseness of the Worker One, Two, and Three). I end up using the Worker Three and Worker Pro for more lid/crease work but Worker One/Worker Two for highlighting my brow bone, blending crease and transition shades (but less for initial laydown of color), and highlighting my inner tearduct.
Per the brand, the handle has a total length of 160mm with a brush head length of 15mm and width of 10mm. 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.
Worker One
PPermanent. $36.00.
Worker Two
Sonia G. Worker Two Brush ($36.00) is made out of Saikoho goat hair, and it was designed to be used with both cream and powder products to “soften, blur, and diffuse pigment without over-blending.” It is nearly identical to Worker One, but it uses undyed bristles, which gives the brush an ever-so-softer feel and seems wispier against my skin. Otherwise, I find the quality, density, and functionality to be the same as Worker One. I prefer the dyed bristles as they’re still incredibly silky against my skin but look cleaner between washes.
Per the brand, the handle has a total length of 160mm with a brush head length of 15mm and width of 10mm. 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.
Geez, I want that smudger one… managed to order the pencil two and pencil pro which I have been wanting. The pencil two looks great for super smoke out lower lash line.
Hey Christine: Noticed over last while that add to vanity and wishlish are not working at all for me as push buttons anywhere on the site (reviews, product page). The only way I can add products to either is to manually add them on the respective add product pages using the product search, select, enter. I’m on a iPad pro running latest iOs. Doesn’t work on my iphone either.
Hey!
Are you tapping once or twice? Right now, if you tap once, it gives you the help text (identifies that the icon is Vanity or Wishlist) because iOS apparently doesn’t work as neatly as Android re: help text. It won’t add until you tap again (we’re going to look into if there’s a workaround here for iOS). I was able to add to vanity/wish list from blog post as well as a product’s page via my iPhone. Let me know! Thank you!
Oh giddy-up, Christine, it works! Thank you!!!! I thought if the icon was not highlighted it wasn’t ‘working’. The double click saves me a lot of time!
We are working on a fix so that it’ll just be a single tap since that’s not ideal behavior (on desktop, it shows the help text when you hover, and on Android, it just adds it), so we want to make it consistent across all devices! Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
Oh no! This is the first time I’ve heard anyone describe any of her brushes as pokey – and I just geared up to get the Smudger Two on its restock today! I have the Wayne Goss 05 (blue squirrel) and it’s soft but takes a fair amount of work to build up color, and I was hoping the Smudger Two would make quick work of building intensity along the lash line while making it easier to judge the angle of my wing. I wonder if I should go with Pencil Pro/Two instead, or if Smudger One will build the intensity as efficiently just by the unique shape of the bristles?
Because every other brush I’ve tried is really exceptional, I’m wondering if I really did get the “dud” here this time – I mean, it’s by no means rough/painful, but there’s something… there. Last I checked, Beautylish has a really good return policy, though!
I really enjoy all the pencil brushes the brand has released so far. If you’re looking for smudging/applying product more in an actual *line* of product, the Smudgers are better than the Pencils, IMO, since they are more defined in shape/edge.
I’m pleased to say…(this sounds a little wrong) that you probably got a dud. Smudger Two is very comfortable on my lashline and I’m glad I took the plunge! + props to Beautylish super fast shipping to report back so soon 😉 it really has a glorious amount of precision to it, and handled some of the shadows which usually apply too sheer (I’m looking at you Dior!) with lovely full on color. I am also impressed with how comfortably it could soften out that super precise line or pat color on softly as I often have irritation from blending and repeatedly going back in to try and build color up, even with blue squirrel brushes. Very versatile and gentle!
Happy to hear it is working so well for you, Sky! Yay!!
I bought Worker Two and got it in the mail yesterday. I used it today and liked it a lot. I like using as few brushes as possible, probably because I’m lazy and don’t like cleaning them 🙂 so this little multi-tasker is perfect for me
I can see this brush becoming a favourite as it’s easy to work with and so soft, but it still picks up enough product. It was easy to diffuse and blend the colours I used on my mobile lid. I used other brushes for crease and upward.
I will buy more of her brushes in the future.
Do you think Smudger One/Two would work about the same as Builder One for applying lid shades on small eyes? I’m not a big fan of the raised ferrule on the Builder One, but it’s a little longer than the Smudger brushes so I wasn’t sure.
I think it’s a lot firmer/thinner in a way that it wouldn’t perform similarly!