YB13 Pencil Brush

The YB13 and YB12 are both small precision brushes, but they serve opposite functions in the same eye routine. The YB12 is a fine angled brush designed to apply and create — it deposits product precisely onto the skin surface, draws clean lines, and fills brows with controlled strokes. The YB13 is a tapered rounded pencil brush designed to soften and blend — it takes product that's already been applied and works it outward, upward, or into the surrounding area to remove the sharp, defined edge. The tapered point is what makes the YB13 precisely controllable as a blending tool: you can apply it with the very tip for subtle, concentrated softening in a small zone, or with the full tapered body for a broader diffusing stroke. A flat smudge brush or a fluffy blending brush does a similar job over a larger area — the YB13's advantage is that it blends with precision. You control exactly how far the liner or lip liner diffuses and in exactly which direction, which is why it's the correct tool for everything from a subtle lash line softening to a dramatic downward-smudged smoky eye. The Taklon fibres are intentionally slightly firmer than the large powder brushes — they need enough body to move product across the skin surface without simply sliding over it.

The most important instruction for liner smudging is one that the How To Use copy states correctly but deserves emphasis: apply the brush immediately after liner application, before the formula sets. This is the timing window that determines the outcome. The Eye Pencil, the One-Swipe Gel Eyeliner, and the Eye-Mazing Liquid Liner Pen all have a setting window of approximately 30–60 seconds after application. Inside that window, the product is soft and moveable — the YB13 can diffuse it smoothly in any direction with minimal pressure. Outside that window, the formula has cross-linked to the skin surface. The Gel Eyeliner and Liquid Liner Pen especially are designed to be transfer-resistant once set — attempting to smudge a set gel or liquid liner produces dragging, patchiness, and incomplete blending rather than the soft smoky diffusion the YB13 delivers. The practical workflow: apply liner, immediately pick up the YB13, blend before the formula sets. Have the brush ready and in hand before you apply the liner rather than searching for it after. For the Eye Pencil specifically — which has a longer, softer setting time than gel or liquid — you have slightly more time, but within 60 seconds is still the recommended window for the smoothest result.

Three distinct smudging outcomes, all from the same brush. Subtle lash line definition: apply a thin Eye Pencil or One-Swipe Gel Eyeliner line along the upper lash line. Immediately use the YB13 tip to press gently along the line, rolling it slightly upward into the lash roots. The effect is a softened, lash-thickening definition that reads as natural depth rather than visible liner — the line disappears into the lashes rather than sitting above them. Classic smoky eye: apply a thicker Eye Pencil line along the upper and lower lash lines. Use the YB13 to smudge immediately upward and outward from the upper line, and downward and outward from the lower line. The tapered body of the brush can then be used to blend the upper and lower smudge into the surrounding area. Use a light hand and short strokes — it's easier to extend the smudge further than to pull it back. Dramatic downward smoky: apply a liner and use the YB13 to smudge exclusively downward and inward, creating a shadow that falls below the lash line. This creates the most dramatic, sultry effect and works particularly well with the deeper shades — Espresso from the One-Swipe Gel Eyeliner, Adventure from the Weekender Palette applied wet, or the Eye Pencil in Blackest Black. The YB13 is also referenced on the CC Perfecting Primer page as the midday refresh tool — use it to press the primer lightly over areas where foundation has settled into lines, re-blurring without disturbing surrounding makeup.

The lip use case is the one most clients don't think of and the one that makes the most visible difference to the professional quality of a finished lip look. When Lip Liner Pencil is applied and left with its natural sharp inner edge, it creates a visible demarcation line where liner ends and lip colour begins — the hallmark of an obviously lined lip. The YB13 blends this inner edge inward so the liner transitions seamlessly into the lip colour with no visible border. Technique: after applying the Lip Liner Pencil to the full border, use the YB13 tip to gently feather the inner edge of the liner line inward toward the lip centre in short, light outward strokes. The liner should fade naturally from its full intensity at the outer border to a soft, almost transparent edge at the lip centre — allowing the lipstick or gloss applied over it to read as a continuous, border-to-centre colour rather than a layered effect. This technique works with all Youngblood lip liners and is the step that makes a Lip Liner + Hydrating Liquid Lip Crème combination look professional rather than heavily lined. The YB13 is also used to apply the Youngblood Lip Gloss with more precision than the doe-foot applicator allows — for cupid's bow definition or for controlled highlight placement at the lip centre.

The YB13 is explicitly named on four product pages and implied on several more. Explicitly named: the Eye Pencil How To Use (smoky smudge technique), the One-Swipe Gel Eyeliner How To Use (smudge immediately after application), the Lip Liner Pencil How To Use (blending the inner edge), and the CC Perfecting Primer How To Use (midday refresh precision application). Additional products where the YB13 improves the result without being explicitly called out: the Hydrating Liquid Lip Crème (blending foundation application or cleaning edges), the Lip Gloss (precise cupid's bow or centre-highlight placement), the Eye Shadow Quad (precision eyeshadow in the lower lash line), and the Weekender and Weekender II Palettes (applying the darkest shades precisely in the outer corner V before blending). The YB13 is the brush that connects multiple products already in the routine — which makes it disproportionately useful relative to its single-use appearance on the page.

The same cleaning guidance as the YB12 applies, with one additional practical note: the tapered tip picks up dark pigment from liner and eyeshadow smudging and will transfer colour contamination to lip liner blending if not cleaned between eye and lip use in the same routine. Clean the tip between applications in a single session by pressing it onto a clean tissue — most of the surface pigment will transfer, leaving the brush clean enough for a different use without a full wash. For a full wash between daily uses: wet the tip under warm water pointing downward, work a small amount of mild soap or brush cleanser into the tip in a gentle swirling motion on the palm, rinse until clear, squeeze gently, reshape the tapered point while damp, and dry flat or bristle-down. The tapered point must be reshaped after every wash — it's the defining feature of the brush and what makes it perform correctly. Lifespan: three to five years with regular cleaning. The tip is the indicator — once it permanently splays despite reshaping, precision is compromised.