Measurement
- Head: 3.2 cm H x 3.5 cm W x 2.5 cm D (1.25 in H x 1.4 in W x 1 in D)
- Handle: 13 cm L (5.1 in L)
Review & Usage
NARS brushes have recently been re-designed and are now referred to as Artistry brushes. I purchased the Contour Brush #21 along with the Paloma Contour Blush (review) and I have to say they work together wonderfully. The brush has shiny black bristles and matte black handle with a glossy red bottom that can only be seen when you are using the brush and looking in the mirror. The overall design may look rather plain to most, but to me, it has this mean and masculine look to it that I’m drawn to. The round handle is of a good size and length. It’s pretty lightweight compared to most brushes, making it comfortable to hold.
#21 is basically a medium-sized angled brush that is designed for contouring. Most contour brushes seem to be too big for my face but this one is the perfect size. The head fits nicely into the hollows of my cheekbones and with a little turning of the handle, I can use it everywhere else on the face as well such as along the jawlines, chin, and temples. And if I squeeze the the bristles together, I can use it to contour down the sides of my nose, too.
The hair is super soft and is not scratchy at all (it may look like it is in the photos but it’s really not). I also like that the bristles are not too dense which work good for light contouring. It would be an ideal brush to use with high pigment powders as well. I have not experienced any bleeding or shedding so far.
Since it blends quite nicely, I sometimes use it as a blush brush, too. This type of brush really works great when you are working in a small area that needs precision product placement.
Footnote
I think the hair could have been trimmed with a little more precision because I notice some jagged cuts. It doesn’t affect its performance in anyway but it would sure look a lot nicer. At this price point, I expect something close to perfection! :)
Purchase
US$42 at Sephora ○ Nordstrom ○ Saks ○ Beauty.com ○ NARS
US$42 at Beauty.com and NARS counters
It looks nice!
It is a nice brush. :)
Sounds pretty good!
It’s a good brush! Safe travels to Greece, Melissa! We’ll miss you! :)
Hey Jaa! The Nars brushes have grabbing a lot of attention and I was curious about the contour brush and you reviewed it! :D Looks really good! The best part its not scratchy!
Yay! I wanna try a few of their other brushes from the new line as well. The powder brush is looking really good! Ha ha.
Safe travels to Spain, Divya! We’ll miss you, too!! :D
Hi Jaa! That was such a helpful review! I’ve been wondering about NARS’ brushes and this one sounds more promising than the rest! I also sometimes have trouble with brushes being too big for the face, so the fact that this is smaller is very appealing to me.
What kind of brush do you use to contour your face, Carolyn? I always want to know what people use. ^_^
You should have seen me in the Dubai Mall Sephora, LOL! I spent WAY too much time fondling the kabuki/blush brushes there. I think it may have been slightly obvious how few brushes I get to own/use…
This is a really interesting post – I want to try contouring, and I feel like fingers are really difficult to do that with – blush is OK because you’re not really looking for a definite (if blended) shape…
Did you end up buying anything, Syl? How big is the Sephora store at the Dubai Mall? I bet they stock quite a few brands there!
I can’t imagine using fingers to contour…. it has to be very, very difficult to get a soft look!
I bought…many things! It’s pretty big, but not bigger than the Champs Elysees one, I don’t think. Typical of all the Sephoras I have ever visited in any country, it was chaotic and a bunch of the stuff was half out of stock :-P There’s some stuff they can’t stock, though, like the Too Faced Better than Sex mascara (cos of the name), and some brands they just don’t have, like NARS (I suspect also because of many of the names…).
Sexually explicit names huh? I mean, they don’t really bother me… I just don’t understand the appeal….
What do you think is the most sexually explicit name out there? For me, Deep Throat!