Brush Envy #3: Zoeva Makeup Artist Zoe Bag pt 1. 25 Brushes

I've been using the Zoeva Makeup Artist Zoe Bag Set (PHP 11 625 from Sephora.ph, bought 40% off back when it was still Luxola) since forever s as one of two alternate pro brush kits. I've found softer brushes, but overall I'd still say the quality-to-price ratio is superb. The bristles are comfortably soft, I don't get fallout with any of the brushes and the shapes for most of them are pretty spot on!

I'm going to do a quick review of each brush in the 25 piece kit and end with some final comment about the overall collection. I marked my absolute favorite pieces with an asterisk(*), do watch out for those!

Face Brushes

• 101 Luxe Face Definer Brush* - It's easily one of my favorite face brushes. The head shape and size are great for sweeping through large areas, and somewhat poking through tighter ones.
• 106 Powder Brush - It has great tension, but I rarely use it since the 101 Luxe Face Definer is my face powder pick.
• 109 Luxe Face Paint Brush* - I think of it more as a specialty brush. Though squared out, the head is a little thick and the natural fibers make it uniquely coarse. I believe I haven't seen another brush like this one. I prefer to use it to thin out skincare and primer.

Cheek and Specialty Brushes

• 127 Luxe Sheer Cheek Brush - Using this, I take pigment with the raised end, and sort of buff-blend it out with the short end. This brush head is built for personal application, I don't know why they chose this one for the pro set.
• 105 Luxe Highlight Brush* - It's a smaller version of the 101 Luxe Face Definer, and I love it for putting highlighter. On smaller faces or editorial concepts, it doubles as a blush brush.
• 110 Face Shape Brush* - This is a great brush that I don't necessarily use every single time. It's best for pushing foundation on the sides of the nose, or anywhere else for people with deep pores or wrinkles.

Underused Face Brushes

• 103 Defined Buffer - I never use this, so I can't really speak about it. It is pretty dense and has a soft, even top, which I imagine would feel and... buff well.
• 104 Buffer - A thicker and flat version of the (angled) 103 Defined Buffer. I don't use it either.
• 122 Petit Stippling Brush - It's not a favorite of mine because I rarely have use for it, but it is pretty great for perfecting blush blending. The textured tip just automatically buffs out harsh lines, especially of cream blush, seamlessly.
• 125 Stippling Brush - I reserve this for certain kinds of foundation. It's not a favorite of mine because I rarely have use for it, but it is great for layering watery and sheer foundation.

Eye Brushes (Concealer)

• 142 Concealer Buffer* - Love this brush to death and beyond. The tension and rounded shape are perfect for pushing creamy concealer onto fine lines. Everyone who sees this brush for the first time seems to know and just get it.
• 233 Cream Shader* - While suggested for cream eyeshadow, I normally use this brush more often for color correctors under the eyes. I like to use 2 separate brushes for eye correction and concealing because I don't want to mix orange corrector residue with a light concealer.

Eye Brushes (Shader)

• 222 Luxe All Over Shader* - A favorite in this kit. The head is about a finger pad's size- perfect for setting the eye area, for a quick wash of base color, or for dabbing glitter at the center of the lid.
• 234 Luxe Smoky Shader - This brush has pretty limited use, but I don't hate it because it does that job well. I've only ever used it to pack black pigment over a creamy base when doing a black smokey eye. I hate doing that though, because I still have to pick up another brush to blend the edges.
• 227 Luxe Soft Definer - This is kind of a MAC 217 dupe. The bristles are too even, I would have preferred them more rounded head, while keeping this tension. I don't particularly like it because it lacks a good natural coarseness, but I can make do.

Eye Brushes (Crease)

• 228 Luxe Crease Brush* - That's what the material says now, but when I bought this waaaay before it was a 228 Crease with black bristles, while the Luxe version is white. I believe it's pretty much the same thing. I love this brush for setting the eye area and casting a really wide, soft shade near the crease. It's pretty much essential in laying the first shadow and making everything look well-blended.
• 221 Luxe Soft Crease Brush - A little less rounded than the 228 Crease, I reserve this brush for buffing out harsh pigment, and not harsh lines.
• 231 Luxe Petit Crease Brush* - On the other hand, this brush is my go-to for medium pigments. The head is a little wider, but it has some kind of tension, so I can alternate between pushing in pigment, and sweeping it out.

Eye Brushes (Detail)

• 226 Smudger* - This is the exact perfect size and tension for undereyes. I hardly use it to smudge liner on the upper eyes, even though it seems that's the purpose it was made for.
• 230 Luxe Pencil Brush* - I almost exclusively use this on dark shadow. The tight and pointed head allows for complete control in blending, which is crucial in not overspreading dark pigment.
• 223 Petit Eye Blender Brush - This is a great shape for 'artistic' purposes. I use it a lot for crease-looks and theatrical shading, but oddly enough I just can't seem to find any use for it with everyday eyeshadow looks.
• 237 Detail Shader - As named, it is great for detail work. I almost exclusively use it to blend shadows around crease looks. It's a very good brush, just not often used for my default shadow styles.

Eye Brushes (Brow and Liner)

• 312 Detail Liner Brush* - The small angled tip is perfect for pushing gel liner around the lash line.
• 317 Wing Liner Brush - But for drawing a quick huge line across, and drawing the flick, I prefer the wing liner brush. It's faster and offers more control. It's also thinner, so I can get that really sharp edge in an instant.
• 322 Brow Line Brush - I've seen a lot of people showering this brush with love, especially paired with the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade. I don't have that, so I currently use it for blending the edge near the nose.

This pro-kit, while easily accessible to the masses, offers an awesome pro selection of brushes. All 25 pieces don't see equal traffic with me, but with its 25 pieces, it offers just about all brush heads for any application technique you prefer. It's most obvious how complete it is with the face brushes. A lot of brushes go unused, just because I personally have a pretty simple, sponge-centeric base routine. I absolutely love the collection of eye brushes here, and thus far have only added a spoolie and lip brush to this set.

One thing I like is that I believe this kit can also be used personally. I find that if you're not too attached to using certain brush heads for your application style, It's great to have as many brushes to alternate in between washes. The bag also makes a great travel case for people who hate carrying 10 million pouches - but this review is getting long, so I'm stopping here and sharing my Bag setup and review on the next one!