Sunday, May 23, 2010

Brush Collection


















So here is my makeup brush collection.













First is the Costco Kirkland Holiday set from 2009, I didn't take a picture of all the brushes in the set, only the ones I use.  Which is most of them except for the double ended one because I don't like double ended brushes(I find it hard to keep them clean, because one of the ends of the brush is always on the bottom of the stand I put my brushes on and it gets all dirty).
From left to right
The eyeshadow brush
I really love this brush for putting on eyeshadow, although sometimes it is sort of big for my small asian eyes lol.  But it is really soft and its easy to use when I'm not in a rush (because when I am in a rush, the brush deposits colour a bit outside of my crease so it looks messy, but when I'm not in a rush its easier to not go outside the crease).
The eye blending brush
I also love this brush and I use it to blend out my crease colour.  It works pretty well and its also super soft.
The flat eyeliner brush
I used to use this with my Shiseido Cream eyeliner( I hate this eyeliner, don't ever buy it, its really hard to work with and its not pigmented at all, the only good thing about it is that it doesn't smudge too badly), and it was pretty good for that, but its started to fray awhile ago so now I can't use it with cream/gel eyeliners anymore because it doesn't give a precise line.  I just mainly use it with powder eyeliners these days.
The smudger brush
I love using this brush to smudge out my eyeliner.
The flat top blush/bronzer brush
I love using this brush with my cream blushes, its super soft and its does a really good job of blending.
The powder brush
A very nice powder brush for everyday powder, its not super dense, but it is very soft.
The angled foundation brush
I do not use this brush for foundation, I sometimes use it to contour the sides of my nose because its the perfect size for it.















Next is the E.L.F. studio brushes.  I don't own all of them, but only the ones that I thought I needed.
The E.L.F. Powder Brush
I use this brush everyday to buff on my mineral powder and I love it.  Its super soft and does a good job of buffing in the powder.  When I first washed it though, the barrel came apart from the handle so I had to super glue it back on, after that it has been fine.
The E.L.F. Complexion Brush
I don't really use this brush much, but I think it would work very well with bronzer for the summer.
The E.L.F. Blush Brush
I love using this brush to highlight =).
The E.L.F. Eyeshadow C Brush
As I had said in my elf haul review, I really don't like this brush because its super hard to wash and it's still sticky after several rinses.
The E.L.F. Contour Brush
I love this brush for putting on crease colour, it is sorta hard to clean like the eyeshadow C brush, but I doesn't dry sticky like it, so I still really like this brush.
The E.L.F. Small Angled Brush
This brush is pretty good for brow powder.
The E.L.F. Small Smudge Brush
I love using this brush for cream/gel eyeliner, it makes a very precise line.














Next are The Body Shop Brushes.  These are the first makeup brushes I have ever owned and I still love them all, they are super soft and still work very well even though I've had them for 5 years.
The powder brush
I used to use this brush to put on my mineral powder, it worked ok for that since it is pretty dense, but now I prefer my elf powder brush more.
The blush brush
I still use this brush for blush, and its the perfect size for my cheeks.
The eyeshadow blender brush
I use to only have this one eye brush, and I could do a whole eye look with this one brush, its very versatile.
The eyeshadow brush
This brush isn't that fluffy, so I think its more suited for cream eyeshadows.
The lip/concealer brush
I sometimes use this brush for concealer, when I have to conceal tiny blemishes, but most of the time I use this brush to highlight the inner part of my eyes.














The next brushes are from the Sigma Face set.
The SS150
This powder brush is the biggest powder brush that I own, other than my elf kabuki, but it also sheds a lot.  Also I feel that it gets dirty really easily and that after 1 use I feel like I need to wash it, because the next time I put powder on my face with it, my face feels really dirty and itchy.  Therefore, I prefer using my Costco Kirkland powder brush to put on powder.
The SS 187
I've used this brush with liquid foundation once before and it looked soo cakey and disgusting.  But I find that all liquid foundations that I've used so far look cakey and disgusting on me so its probably not the brushes fault.  I've also used this brush with blush before but I don't think its amazing or anything.  I probably would not have purchased this brush if it didn't come with the set.
The SS 168
So I pretty much bought this brush set because I wanted the SS168, and it has lived up to my expectations.  Although I think its too big to contour with, I love using this brush for my blushes.  It applies colour where I want it and its easy to use.
The SS 190
As I have said before, I never use liquid foundation because I hate it, so I have never used this brush before.  But comparing it to the other random foundation brush I have, I feel that this one isn't as soft.
The SS 194
I LOVE this brush.  During exams when I had breakouts and such, this brush was able to cover most of my blemishes.  Its just the right amount of stiff, and its a good size for covering blemishes.  I've never used it on my undereyes though, because I prefer blending that area with my fingers.














Lastly, are my random brushes that I picked up from everywhere.
The first one is a foundation brush I bought in Hong Kong.  It's very soft, and I had bought it to use on my under eyes, but in the end I still prefer using my fingers for my undereye area.
The next brush I also bought in Hong Kong.  I'd have to say its not soft at all, and its sort of scratchy, but its the perfect size for contouring my face so I guess I have to bear with this brush until I find another brush that is the same size as this one that is softer.
The next brush is the A-21 from Annabelle cosmetics, a Canadian brand.  This brush is super soft and I use it to highlight the browbone.
The next brush is also another random angled brush I bought in Hong Kong.  I love using this brush to line my bottom lash line with powder.
The next brush is a very fine eyeliner brush I bought in Hong Kong.  It is sorta flimsy, so I don't use it that often.
Lastly, is a very cheap spooley I bought in Hong Kong.  I use it to brush my messy brows.

And that's all my brushes for now!  Feel free to ask additional questions! =)

5 comments:

CrystalLuvz said...

From all these brush sets that you own, which one would you recommend the most???

I've always wanted to try the Elf and/or Sigma brushes, but shipping is sooooo expensive... sigh!

Great review!

alcupcake said...

Hey Jenny!
I don't know if I reply at ur blog or here so I'm gonna do both =P
I would recommend getting the ELF studio brushes the most (I'm not sure about the regular elf line brushes, but my friend that have them don't recommend them) because they are super soft and theres a good variety among them. I would subscribe to their emails to see when they're having their sales and then get the brushes then, cuz that way the cost of the shipping is balanced out from the sale. Or, sometimes I see some ELF studio brushes at winners, so u should check out ur local winners and see if theres any there.
I actually don't really recommend the sigma brushes because when my skin is in its sensitive phase, the sigma brushes sorta irritate my skin.
Or if u can wait till holiday season, around october to december, u could get the costco kirkland brushes because u usually get a set of brushes that has all the essential brushes and it only costs about 20 dollars! =)
Hope that helps!

CrystalLuvz said...

Thanks for your reply!

CrystalLuvz said...

By the way, what's the most discount you can have with the ELF studio brushes??? 50%??

alcupcake said...

the most discount i've had before was 75% off =)