Sometimes I do get questions about my brushes, like which ones I recommend and which ones I would purchase first. This is so long overdue - sorry Vonvon! I'm going to review some of my brushes I've had for years and some that I've acquired the last few months. I'm not going to lie, I am fond of brushes and I do intend to get more because I'm so lame like that - plus, I can get lazy washing brushes so having back ups are helpful. Besides, there's no such thing as having enough brushes right? *wink*



I know it may look like I have a big collection, but its definitely not as much as a lot of people out there - like youtube gurus, lol. I'll start with my first purchases - Sonia Kashuk brushes. Sonia Kashuk is available at Target and their white handled brushes range from $5USD - $14USD. There are also a "professional" brush line, but its a little more pricey with a fancier handle.


Aside from the duo stippling brush and the pencil/smudge brush next to it, all the other brushes I have had for about 9 years - these brushes have been with me since high school, lol. Next to the smudge/pencil brush, is a lip/detail brush, a fluffy blending brush, an angled brush and an eyeshadow brush. When I first purchased these brushes, they were extremely soft, dense, blends everything smoothly and doesn't shed at all. They really were quite good brushes, but recently, I've found them to be a bit prickly. The only brush that stayed soft is the angled brush and the lip/detailing brush. I read on MakeupGeek and MakeupAlley that these brushes have better bristles now, so I purchased the pencil brush to try out. The thing poked my eye like a mother okay, its the worst brush I've tried from Sonia Kashuk. Thankfully, the duo fiber brush is really soft and works great. If you're thinking about getting anything from Sonia Kashuk's white handled brush line, I recommend getting the duo fiber brush, the angled brush, the flat eyeshadow brush and maybe try their other face brushes. I haven't tried the professional brush line yet, but they do have tester so you can touch the bristles and they're amazingly soft. Sonia Kashuk occasionally has brush sets out, and those are better value for your money as well.


You can tell I like duo fiber brushes right? LOL. These brushes are from a line called Studio Tools and are available from Target as well. They're much cheaper than Sonia Kashuk (ranges from $2USD - $9USD), and surprisingly enough, have some really good brushes. The duo fiber brush costs only $7USD and works great! I love using this for blushers since its a little smaller than Sonia Kashuk's and fits on my cheek perfectly. It's slightly more dense as well. The only downfall with this brush is that when I first washed it, there was some color bleeding out from the bristles, but after 2-3 washes, it stopped. The crease brush is tapered so you can place the color exactly where you want and it blends eyeshadow really well. My favorite has the be the medium shader brush. It reminds me of the MAC239, but more soft, more flat and less firm. Its real nice for packing on color, blending - everything. This is a versatile brush and I prefer it over their smudge brush. I recommend all of you to buy the medium shader brush if you have Target in your area.


Eco Tools brushes - I was so so with this brand at first as their 6-piece set didn't appeal to me much. But when I decided to give this brand another chance and purchased their 5-piece mineral set, I was happy. This set comes with a powder brush, a concealer brush, a fluffy blending brush, a mini kabuki and a brush pouch. They're all super soft, and I love using that fluffy brush for concealer. The powder is somewhat flat so it works nicely for contouring also. I recommend people to purchase this brush set rather than the 6-piece because you get pretty much similar brushes, just that this one is more to useful because of the bristles - in my opinion. I think this set was under or around $10USD.


ELF Studio brushes are the only brushes from ELF that I've tried out. I'm a bit hesitant to purchase any from the regular line only because the bristles look like they can poke my eye out, lol. Plus, the images that ELF has on their website for the regular line doesn't look appealing - some of you know what I mean. All of the studio line brushes range between $3USD - $6USD. I got two powder brushes (totally recommend!), blush brush, angled foundation brush, smudge brush, precision brush and an angled liner brush. All the brushes are super soft, silky and work superb. The foundation brush I find I have to clean the most (after each use) when I use foundation, but if I were to use the powder brush for foundation application instead, I'd get 2 uses. The blush brush I'd recommend for girls who have a small cheek area like myself, because you can deposit color right where you want and blend it out. The angled brush I find works well for eyeliner and applying shadow on the lower lash line/waterline, but doesn't do well for brows - because its too soft and thin for my liking. I'd skip on this. The precision brush and the smudge brush works great for those who like to do the pencil technique or cut crease. Its real nice for detailing and the precision brush works well with a gel liner. Though if you're just starting, I'd say go for the smudge brush since its slightly larger and easier to work with.


Okay, now the mother load. I purchased this set on ebay for around $30USD (20 for brush set - 10 for shipping) and I get 28 brushes. I was expecting to get it in a box since that was what the seller said it would come in, but it came in a bubble envelope. But no complaints as my brushes were nicely wrapped and were in one piece. The brand for the brushes were Pupa, but I'm not sure if its the same as the Italian brand Pupa as the brushes on the Pupa site are clear handles with red lettering and these ebay brushes varied. I don't know if there might be two brands with the same name? Anyway, these came in a nice pleather brush roll and stunk like a mother when I first got it. So I had to wash it and leave it out sitting for about 2-3 days and the smell went away. I really like the eye brushes as there are different sizes of eyeshadow brushes, 2 detailing brushes, a lip brush, a precision brush, an eye groomer and spoolie, 2 angled brushes (a stiff one and a soft one), 2 crease brushes (2 sizes), foundation brush, highlighting brush, angled face brush, 3 large face brushes and a huge fan brush. Its said to be squirrel and pony hair, but I don't think thats true. The eye brushes are pretty soft, but I was quite disappointed in the 3 large face brushes (the ones near the fan brush). They were so coarse when I first got them, I even washed them about 10 times and they were still coarse. Its been about 2 months and they've just recently softened and are more useable. Also, the face brushes had some kind of dye in them because there were some dark gray/brown color that came out when I was washing them. I know there are some youtube gurus and bloggers that have purchased sets from the same seller yet they say their brushes are super soft and didn't have the same problem as me, so maybe I got a bad set? I don't know. The one thing that I do like about these face brushes are that they dry fast and they keep their shape. No matter how much I wash them and how much I abuse them (LOL), they always keep their round shape everytime! I have not found a brush that can keep its round shape like that besides stippling brushes. No brush guard needed at all. If you're just a beginner, I wouldn't recommend getting this brush set only because it is overwhelming to have so many brushes when you don't even know what you're doing. But if you're looking to expand your brush collection and try out decent/good quality brushes at a good price, I'd recommend starting with a small set and see if you like it then work your way up.

Sorry for such a long-winded post. I left three brushes out because I've talked about similar brushes. I hope this post was of somewhat use to many of you out there looking for some bang for your buck. Thank you for those who took the time reading this post. I'll be back after Thanksgiving week due to having an exam before the holidays and spending some quality time with the family. Hope to talk to you all soon! ♥