Who would've expected that there is a large and legit fanbase for brushes in the beauty community? I could hardly believe myself when I heard of skincare sluts but brush bitches? For real?
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| Sephora Face And Eye Tool Kit |
They're just dinky wooden or plastic rods with fiber on top. I got by around five years of wearing makeup without buying a "special brush". Freebie sponges, mini brushes and my hands were good enough for me.
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| image via Pinterest |
I don't know when it happened, I don't know how it happened; it just did. Brushes can mean a world of difference in refining your makeup application and sometimes, I just like zooming out of the house without leaving foundation fingerprints everywhere. I tell you: the first brush purchase awakens a never-ending search for the best one, sort of like mankind's quest for meaning (not really.)
Price:
USD 32 plus sales tax (8.25% in Texas) from Sephora. That's around Php 1540 total. Sephora items are available in various countries or online (Sephora.com) with limited international shipping.
Sadly, I think this particular kit is phased out. I tried Googling it and I know I saw it a few months ago but the page, much like Cady Heron's limit, does not exist as of this writing. You can check my haul story here.
Sadly, I think this particular kit is phased out. I tried Googling it and I know I saw it a few months ago but the page, much like Cady Heron's limit, does not exist as of this writing. You can check my haul story here.
Product Description:
The Sephora Face & Eye Travel Tool Kit is one of the many brush kits from Sephora containing their house brand brushes. There are tons kits with varying combinations of brushes so it can get a bit overwhelming. I think I spent over an hour on the brush section! Normally I'd give up and just come back when I'm not so overwhelmed, but it cost us $50 to get to that mall (one way) and dude that's already a Tom Ford lipstick!!!
The Face & Eye is housed in a 6" x 3.5" x 0.5" pleather case with a frontal magnetic snap, no buttons. That's pretty compact; and I can easily grasp it even with my small hands. I love that the slots have sufficient spacing to keep the bristles from mooshing into each other. It also has a bristle guard to keep your pigments from getting all over the place. The only con with it is that the pleather seems to attract stains.
This kit contains:
- Powder Brush
- Eyeshadow Brush
- Crease Brush
- Smudge Brush
- Angled Liner Brush
The brushes are uniformly 4.75" long. I know the photo doesn't completely support that but I must have been off with my shot angle. These brushes are mostly level, especially when stowed away.
It has black handles and black ferrules. I think the bristles are all natural, or at least they feel that way, except for the liner brush.
It has black handles and black ferrules. I think the bristles are all natural, or at least they feel that way, except for the liner brush.
Performance:
I like how the head of the Powder Brush is small enough to work blush on the apples of my cheeks. It has great density in that it can pack pigment on, but leaves enough sway for blending.
It's also useful for powder foundation, highlighter, contour and maybe even setting. Except mineral foundation. I settled on a kit with one face brush instead of those with a secondary liquid foundation brush because I can always use my hands for liquid foundation.
I love this brush but I must be honest and disclose that it's shed about two strands in the five-ish times I've washed it. That's pretty worrisome for me and I hope those were just loose strands that were ready to fall out at any time.
The Eyeshadow Brush really close in shape to the MAC 217. It has good density and gives a bit. It has the most mileage with me, mirroring my use of the MAC 217 in my full-size brush collection. I use it for lid washes and general blending purposes.
The Smudge Brush is really important to me because I'm pretty finicky with eyeliner, given my uneven lids. When I travel, I can't always afford to wear eyeliner. Minor climate fluctuations drastically affect eyeliner performance on my eyes and even 1 fucking % change in humidity can screw my look up (not really.) Maybe some of you can't relate, I don't know. It's a hardknock life living with one eyelid crease.
An easy cheat I do is to smudge dark eye shadow on the rim of my eyes. The dense, wide and rounded head of the Smudge Brush does a great job in packing, then feathering dark shadow out.
I think this is Sephora's dupe for MAC 224. It has a lot of give but it doesn't feel thin. It's perfect for cutting a crease (obviously) but I mostly use it to erase harsh lines. Sometimes I highlight with it too, and it's great to use with powder highlighters on the nose bridge and cupid's bow.
I'm least satisfied with the Angled Liner Brush. I'd prefer a pointed brush or maybe even a concealer/lip brush over this. I feel like this is too narrow and stiff, which may create streaks in my liner.
There's not enough room for useless brushes and back then, I consoled myself that I'd use this for brow powder but I'm not so sure it will work well with that.
I like how the head of the Powder Brush is small enough to work blush on the apples of my cheeks. It has great density in that it can pack pigment on, but leaves enough sway for blending.
It's also useful for powder foundation, highlighter, contour and maybe even setting. Except mineral foundation. I settled on a kit with one face brush instead of those with a secondary liquid foundation brush because I can always use my hands for liquid foundation.
I love this brush but I must be honest and disclose that it's shed about two strands in the five-ish times I've washed it. That's pretty worrisome for me and I hope those were just loose strands that were ready to fall out at any time.
The Eyeshadow Brush really close in shape to the MAC 217. It has good density and gives a bit. It has the most mileage with me, mirroring my use of the MAC 217 in my full-size brush collection. I use it for lid washes and general blending purposes.
The Smudge Brush is really important to me because I'm pretty finicky with eyeliner, given my uneven lids. When I travel, I can't always afford to wear eyeliner. Minor climate fluctuations drastically affect eyeliner performance on my eyes and even 1 fucking % change in humidity can screw my look up (not really.) Maybe some of you can't relate, I don't know. It's a hardknock life living with one eyelid crease.
An easy cheat I do is to smudge dark eye shadow on the rim of my eyes. The dense, wide and rounded head of the Smudge Brush does a great job in packing, then feathering dark shadow out.
I think this is Sephora's dupe for MAC 224. It has a lot of give but it doesn't feel thin. It's perfect for cutting a crease (obviously) but I mostly use it to erase harsh lines. Sometimes I highlight with it too, and it's great to use with powder highlighters on the nose bridge and cupid's bow.
I'm least satisfied with the Angled Liner Brush. I'd prefer a pointed brush or maybe even a concealer/lip brush over this. I feel like this is too narrow and stiff, which may create streaks in my liner.
There's not enough room for useless brushes and back then, I consoled myself that I'd use this for brow powder but I'm not so sure it will work well with that.
Edge:
Fits my palm! I cannot stress how small it is. It's almost like an empty wallet, actually.
Plus, unlike the cheap brushes (Php 150 - 500 per piece) I get from local department stores, the bristles of these brushes do not scratch, are heavenly soft yet sufficiently packed.
Local budget brushes always seem too bare to do a good job. The only ones that have ever been okay enough to consider are Artist Studio and Marionnaud.
Plus, unlike the cheap brushes (Php 150 - 500 per piece) I get from local department stores, the bristles of these brushes do not scratch, are heavenly soft yet sufficiently packed.
Local budget brushes always seem too bare to do a good job. The only ones that have ever been okay enough to consider are Artist Studio and Marionnaud.
Rebuy:
If it's any good, I wouldn't have to. I'm not interested in the other Sephora travel sets, either. I took over an hour deciding on this set so I'm dead set on it :))
If it's any good, I wouldn't have to. I'm not interested in the other Sephora travel sets, either. I took over an hour deciding on this set so I'm dead set on it :))
Beauty by Tellie score: 5/5 - Trusted by Tellie
I initially only liked it for its compactness. It's small and really thin when closed, probably thinner than 2 iPhones stacked atop each other.
Each eye brush is valuable and serves a unique purpose because of their varying densities and shapes. The Smudge brush is denser than the Crease brush, while the Eyeshadow brush is somewhere in between, each allowing me to create a unique finish. I can have dimension in my EOTD and not have to suffer looking like I McGyvered my makeup :))
I've held off mentioning my biggest love point for this brush set up to now because I'd like to defer credit where it is due. I wouldn't have realized this little gem had I not lent Liz my set:
I titled this review Brush Envy because Liz loved it so much that she offered to pay for it a few minutes after borrowing it. That's a huge wave of affirmation because everyone knows she's tried a lot of brushes. She wouldn't have to pay for a brush as I assume she's up to her ears in brush sets!
The average eyeshadow brush head in the market doesn't suit Filipinas. We generally have small lid spaces and if you're a beginner, that extra space eats up your room for error. And beginners are prone to lots of error (I know the feels.)
Imagine, how can you tastefully blend eye shadow on a small lid space when the brush you're working with has packed color on too big of an area in the first place? Tapos ibblend mo pa? (And after all that, you'll have to blend it in?) That's how people wind up looking like they got punched! A smaller brush head affords you more control and more room for error.
Pretty glad I ended up with a set that has three of these perfectly-sized eye brushes.
Click here for other Trusted By Tellie reviews.
Click here for other reviews. (Thank you V for helping me fix the search results :D)
How do you pack your tools for travel? Do you pare down or keep comfy with your full-size sets?
I initially only liked it for its compactness. It's small and really thin when closed, probably thinner than 2 iPhones stacked atop each other.
Each eye brush is valuable and serves a unique purpose because of their varying densities and shapes. The Smudge brush is denser than the Crease brush, while the Eyeshadow brush is somewhere in between, each allowing me to create a unique finish. I can have dimension in my EOTD and not have to suffer looking like I McGyvered my makeup :))
I've held off mentioning my biggest love point for this brush set up to now because I'd like to defer credit where it is due. I wouldn't have realized this little gem had I not lent Liz my set:
The sizes of the brush heads, especially on the eye brushes, are perfect in their tininess.That's mind-blowing.
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| Sephora Eyeshadow Brush is smaller than the MAC 217 |
I titled this review Brush Envy because Liz loved it so much that she offered to pay for it a few minutes after borrowing it. That's a huge wave of affirmation because everyone knows she's tried a lot of brushes. She wouldn't have to pay for a brush as I assume she's up to her ears in brush sets!
The average eyeshadow brush head in the market doesn't suit Filipinas. We generally have small lid spaces and if you're a beginner, that extra space eats up your room for error. And beginners are prone to lots of error (I know the feels.)
 |
| Sephora Crease Brush is smaller than the MAC 224 |
Imagine, how can you tastefully blend eye shadow on a small lid space when the brush you're working with has packed color on too big of an area in the first place? Tapos ibblend mo pa? (And after all that, you'll have to blend it in?) That's how people wind up looking like they got punched! A smaller brush head affords you more control and more room for error.
Pretty glad I ended up with a set that has three of these perfectly-sized eye brushes.
Click here for other Trusted By Tellie reviews.
Click here for other reviews. (Thank you V for helping me fix the search results :D)
How do you pack your tools for travel? Do you pare down or keep comfy with your full-size sets?
