So ladies, I think for the first time I am a bit unhappy with something I've gotten from Aromaleigh.

Let me back up and clarify - my push brush was cheap. And poor quality. And it was my favorite eyeliner brush. So obviously I wanted to replace it with the awesome brushes Kristen sells here and ditch the inadequate knockoff. I eagerly awaited the order that contained it for a little over a week and when it arrived? Needless to say bright pink tissue paper was in remnants across the entire room.


Now, I knew this brush was wider than my old one - but I was SHOCKED as how large it was! It is so broad I can't USE it and I am so disappointed. I can't do smoky, thin lines pushed into my lashes because it is so wide it can't contour to my eye, it forces the line to be thick because I can't be precise with it (a straight line just doesn't curve to the lashes when it's THAT big!).

I love the quality, I can tell already how wonderful it would be to use, but I cannot for the life of me get the hang of this brush or find a way to make it work for the subtle, deep lines I like to do. For an eyeliner brush it needs to be HALF the width it is, and then it would be positively perfect for me

So ladies, HEEEELP! Help me here, does anyone know how I can make this brush work short of sawing it in half or cutting some bristles short? Because it's truly useless to me as is and I really need a brush as high quality and amazing as this to help me apply my dry liners.

I have had good luck with the thin liner, I can get a line the right width for my eye but it's so soft and glides and I can't get the intensity or smokiness I need from it with sealant and Drama Queen liners. I need a to be able to do a line that thin but with the 'push' and firmness of the Flat liner. These two need to mate and have perfect little baby brushes.

I don't want to buy brushes from a company other than Aromaleigh, I love it so much I want all my cosmetic money going right here. But I am at my wits end with this tool and need any help I can get


*UPDATE SEVERAL POSTS DOWN*

I'm not exactly sure - is it the "thin liner" brush you just got?

I also bought the push brush for lining and didn't love it. Too big for me, too. BUT...it wasn't a complete loss for me - I can use it to apply shadows wet to my lid.

I found that I had the same problem - the thin liner was too thin sometimes, but the push brush just didn't let me maneuver it the way I needed. I actually use a cheap nylon-bristle art brush from my local superstore (guess which one) that is thicker than the thin liner but easier to use than the push brush was for me.

i'm guessing you got the flat liner brush. i bought this brush quite some time ago (not from aromaleigh) and love it. i like using it on my brows too. i suppose you could cut some of the hairs off if you can't find some way to use it. it's certainly better than tossing it.

I am guessing that you got Flat Liner too. I will admit it isn't my favorite brush to line with, I much prefer the thin liner. However, I do find it preferable to use in cases where I am looking for a very natural look and want the minimal amount of eyeliner. I lightly dip my brush in the dry minerals such as the Pure Drama Liners or Umber Matte shadow, tap it off and lightly wiggle it at the base of my lashes, a look I can't quite get with the thin liner, it is softly smudgy. I couldn't find myself wet lining with the Flat Liner.
Something you could try with your thin liner to increase intensity of you Drama Queens is once that you have wet lined, dip your brush back into dry minerals and tap the color over the top of your wet-line.
I believe that nothing is a total loss. You may not be able to use the Flat Liner like you had hoped, but put it aside for a while and you may find it handy to do another task. I have used it to apply shadow to my brows, like Nadja mentioned, and I have plans on trying it with the Eyeshadow Creams. You could also try using it to smudge a harsh eyeliner line.
Hang in there and continue to experiment with it, sometimes these things take some getting use to.

I also use it for my filing in my brows. I've never figured out how to use it for a liner brush.
I think I also have used it for the cream shadows.

I guess I could cut some of the bristles to make it smaller. I, too, haven't quite figured this brush out. I've loved every other brush I've gotten from Aromaleigh. I'd love for someone who uses it do a tutorial to explain how they use it as a liner.

Kathy

The best brush for me for a thicker line (thicker than the thin liner brush) has been the lip liner brush on the other end of the lip liners.

I use the lip liner brush for a great smokey look. Something I couldn't come up with otherwise. I use carbon and love the look. Or any mineral eyeshadow. Love it.

Yes, it was the Flat liner (push brush), sorry for not clarifying! And a tutorial would be a GREAT idea. I could try dry-lining with it over the wetline, that is also a wonderful idea!

I am just so surprised this was sold as a lining brush, it's SO big, and I want to know how someone uses it to line so I can too! They're my favorite style of lining brush, but this is just too wide. If all else fails I hadn't even thought about using it for cream eyeshadow or eyebrows - that will save it from the waste bin!

Artic_Mama,

I was close to buying the brush a few weeks ago. I read the reviews and saw that many users like to use it with the gel eyeliner, which I use everyday. Given the fact that it is so big, I don't understand why it would be a good choice for gel liner. Perhaps those who like it for that use don't apply a solid thin line, but smudge it onto the lower lash. One reviewer did say it was works for tightlining, but with it being a thick brush, I don't understand that.

Here is a description of brushes from my blog from last year:

http://aromaleigh.wordpress.com/?s=push+brush&searchbutton=go%21


Used with the "push" technique, the push brush is the easiest way to line your eyes. If you're trying to use it like a traditional brush and draw it across your eye, then yes, you're going to have problems, as that's not how a push brush is intended to be used.

Hope this helps!

K

Thanks for the reference, Kristen. Makes me want to go get my flat liner and experiment with it more!
I think sometimes we get used to a certain technique and since we are creatures of habit, have a hard time with new techniques.

Tonight after reading and posting in this thread, I had to try out this brush, again.
I really don't use it for lining, as stated above. I really didn't figure out how to use it, when I bought it.

I recently discovered blue orchid. Thanks to whoever showed it in a FOTD, or if it was discussed in the weekly challenge . . . I can't remember. Anyway, it was something I'd ordered a sample of, but ... hmmm. . . had never used.

So, I thought it would make a great liner for my eye color. Decided to try it with the push brush. So I cleaned off my makeup and added a touch of primer, just next to my lash line. Then added a little shadow just at the end of the brush. And gently pushed dry blue orchid right against my lash line. I have to say . . . I really loved the look.

I can't use it the way I've always used a liner brush. Not a quick little swipe along the eye. But. . . it does give an incredible, very slightly smudgey, natural look. I will definitely be playing with this tomorrow. I'm having computer issues with loading pics at the moment. . . but I'll try to put pics up, if possible. I'll keep experimenting. Well, there goes my eyebrow brush, but thanks for bringing the topic up so I have a new techique and new look!
Kathy

Yeah, I'd read that tutorial a few months ago and that's how I used my old push brushes... maybe my eyes are just too small or I am going for too precise a line with the wrong tool?

I have never tried using the sealant on my life and applying the minerals to that, I usually mix them together separately... maybe I can get the look I am going for by tamping them on top of the sealant?

I will give it a shot tonight!

hey Artic! how did your experiment go?

I just went and checked the little flat liner brush I have (VERY old, from another company that I used to work for), and it's .36" across the brush head; AL's flat liner brush is .375" across the brush head, so I think it's safe to say that .015" isn't gonna make a huge difference... I use my push brush EXCLUSIVELY to line my eyes (unless I'm using one of AL's pencils); I'm totally inept at using the fine liner -- I always end up w/anything BUT fine lines w/that one... if you go back to the FOTD thread and look at any of the pix I posted (just a handful -- allergies are getting the better of me right now ), all of my eye liner was applied w/my push brush...

anywhoo, like Kristen said, the flat liner is definitely meant to be PUSHED into the lash line, not drawn in a single, uninterrupted stroke across the lid (that's never been an option for me anyway since my hands tend to be rather shaky)... I use mainly wetlined minerals w/the eyeliner sealant or the indelible gel eyeliners, and both of them work wonderfully for me w/the push brush, but it DID take me a while to get the hang of it when I first discovered AL and started using something other than just pencils to line... don't give up yet, it probably just takes a bit of practice!

*MWAH!*
Tanya

Ugh, the experiment has been forestalled for at least a few days, maybe more?

Being term in this pregnancy has put me in a bit of a timecrunch, and I've been contracting a ton and really fatigued, so just not in the mood to expend the energy to hold my arm up and brush my hair let alone put on makeup! A fifteen month old running around saps whatever minimal time and energy I do have!

I WILL do the experiment one of these days, for church if nothing else, but I am so POOPED I am lazing out on all but facewashing right now!

quote:

Originally posted by Artic_mama:
Being term in this pregnancy has put me in a bit of a timecrunch, and I've been contracting a ton and really fatigued, so just not in the mood to expend the energy to hold my arm up and brush my hair let alone put on makeup! A fifteen month old running around saps whatever minimal time and energy I do have!

hey, at least you have a really REALLY good excuse! me, I'm not fighting allergies today (for a change), but I am fighting a headache and...uhm, general witchiness (my hormones have taken another dive recently -- time to up the Rx progesterone, among other things), so today I'm like "makeup schmakeup"... oh well, there are worse things, I guess...

btw, hope your L&D goes well! I didn't realize you were so close to term; we'll miss you while you're gone...

*MWAH!*
Tanya

Yep, lining with a push brush is different than how most of us learned to do it, but I really like it. I use it with the gel liners and just touch the bristle ends to the gel and then raise my eyebrows and just touch the bristle ends along my lash line. I stipple it along the lash line all the way across. You won't get a distinct line with it, but you can get a very subtle darkness right at your lash line. I use a lip brush when I do a colored liner, but I love the push brush when I uset he black out. You can't really tell I'm wearing liner, but I get dramatic definition. There's definitely a learning curve, just play around and see what happens.

Oh man, I had a HORRIBLE medical day today, hours of testing due to some pregnancy issues, otherwise I would have posted experiment pictures!

Since I HAD to leave the house today I went ahead and played with my makeup a bit. I used the same technique I do with my smaller push brushes but with a few alterations and it looks GREAT! The brush has redeemed itself and I like the look better than my thin liner, which I didn't think I would.

I was pushing pigment before, but I wasn't wiggling and dabbing enough so the color wasn't depositing as I wanted and I lacked the control I was looking for.

I did Maiden as an allover base and highlighter, Visage from the crease down, higlighting the outer and inner corner, and Grace in the crease and V. I decided Drama Queen Teal would look GREAT with these colors so I dove in (and mind you, I have never even WORN blue shadow before, let alone blue liner, and as of today it's my new favorite look!)

I decided to wiggle in a dry line on my top lid with the Drama Queen Teal to smokey up the lash line. I got a lot of stray glittery bits elsewhere using this technique but they brushed away easily. THEN I used the sealant and wetlined the same liner in a thinner, clean line next to the lashes on top of the smokier dry line, and a scant wetline on the bottom outside corner - not nearly as saturated with color as the top line.

This was the trick! It looked very natural but the wetline gave it some punch and definition. That, with some black mascara, Rococo on the cheeks and Epitome on the lips was really phenomenal, It looked very dreamy and ethereal but not too dramatic despite the unnatural
colors.

It also softened up well through humidity and lots of labwork, and cleaned up easily when some of the liner started to stray a bit.

I find I can get a more complex, subtle line with this push brush. It isn't better at drylining than my cheapies, about the same (even with a different technique) but with the wetlining it REALLY shines. The thin liner is too soft to give me a thin, tight wetline... it likes to fan out and do a dramatic, harsh look. This let me get the same saturation of color but much tighter against my lashes and with less finicky movement and fussing to get it thin but DARK.

A slightly narrower brush would probably be easier to use out of the bag but with some fiddling I definitely love the effect. I am not quite remembering what I had a hard time with before because as I said my other, narrower push brushes use the same technique. I think I was applying too light a hand to it and moving it too much. It really is more of a dab technique than a shimmy or sweep, even over a small area. And dry it does lack a little control simply because the edge bristles that aren't making as tight of contact with my lashes are flicking around a bit and dropping glittery bits.

One thing I will advise with this is that it takes MUCH more pressure than I would have thought. TO really get the pigment deposited and not falling off it requires a much firmer hand than most eye tools, but it is worth it.


REDEMPTION FOR THE FLAT LINER!! HURRAY!

You know,I remember discovering the flat liner and gel liner worked better if I got more on the brush, too. I still just used the very ends of the bristles, but I'd get more gel on the bristles. It really is a very nice look. I'm glad it's working for you.

Artic Mama,

I must thank you because you caused me to take a closer look at my flat liner and I have been experimenting with it this week, you have redeemed it for me too!
I still prefer my thin liner for wet and gel liners, but I LOVE to use the flat liner now for my dry minerals, it gives a nice soft to smoky line as opposed to a clean cut line.
I also tried it for the cream shadows like Cinseven suggested and found that it worked excellent for that too!

i'm glad you figured out how to make this brush work for you. it is a wonderful little brush.