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Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:21 am  |
I've been comparing a lot of brushes in some of the other threads and thought I'd just combine it into one big thread and hope this will be helpful, especially to MMU users.
Foundation/Powder Brushes:
Smashbox Face and Body Brush 19
This is a VERY dense brush, shaped like a kabuki but with slightly shorter hairs and has a longer signature red handle. The least soft in this list of brushes, feels a little scratchy comparatively but definitely nothing uncomfortable and would still be considered a soft brush on the market. I like this brush for buffing and for a sheer application of MMU. Out of all the brushes in this review this buffs MMU best however it won't give you too much coverage even if you layer on. I think the most it will give you is medium coverage after a few layers, however gives the most natural finish imo. It is denser than any other brush I have seen/tried - this takes literally more than 2 weeks to dry if you just air dry it after washing. This brush has shed a total of less than 10 hairs even after washings, it shed a little (1-2) in the beginning few uses but does not anymore - the shedding was due to some brushes on the very edges which is natural due to the density of the brush itself.
Retail 52USD but I bought mine on Ebay for about 24USD incl. shipping.
MAC 182 (Kabuki)
Softest kabuki I've tried so far but wanna try JI's to compare. This is very dense and definitely baby-butt soft, even after washings. Mine has not shed on me so far. I like to use this most with finishing powders and highlighters like my Guerlain Meteorites. Gives a very light sheer coat without moving any of your existing makeup which is actually a very hard quality to find in a brush nowadays. This would also work very nicely with blush giving a very natural flushed look with almost any colour as it seems to pick up an ideal amount of pigment everytime. I don't use this with MMU as I don't think this brush would buff too well as the brush hairs are a bit longer so it might offer very sheer coverage.
Retail 45USD
Jane Iredale Handi
This is as described on her website, best used for pressed powder. This is flat-topped and does not buff very well at all so when used with MMU MAY tend to leave a cakier finish. This is also a very top quality brush and great for travelling. This will also be good for finishing powder (preferably pressed) as it also does not move your finished MU at all (I hate brushes that end up blending away your concealer or something). Great for light finishing layer of MMU to set concealer. Doesn't take too long to dry, 2-3 days. When used with loose powder tends to pick up too much but picks up a good amount with pressed. Can also be used for blush but it doesn't do too well with picking up enough powder for my lighter colored blushes (stila). Works well for my very pigmented blushes though and avoids the "clown look".
Retail 53CAD
Alima #25
On first impression I prefer the feel of my natural haired brushes. This is a top of the line quality synthetic and feels just as soft as my MAC 182 (which is softest out of the other natural-haired brushes). Picks up just the right amount of MMU and the powder is adhered well on the brush. On first layer it will give you sheer-medium coverage. Very buildable though and can give you full coverage in 2-3 layers. With this brush I don't even use concealer anymore and that's a first! However with MMU that offers heavier coverage (like Lumiere) you will have to buff and buff with this brush to blend well. I don't suggest using too many layers with this brush unless your MMU powder itself gives sheer coverage. I can see this brush being very durable and lasting for a very long time, have yet to wash it though but I don't foresee a problem with shedding as the brush hairs are quite firmly attached. Brush hairs are generally shorter and firmer (though still as soft) than the traditional kabuki which is part of the reason why it can provide a heavier coverage. Also for the same reason can provide better user control layering only over areas which need more coverage. However this isn't the brush to use with finishers as it MAY buff away some of your existing MMU coverage away.
Retail 25USD + shipping
Basically choosing the right kabuki depends on the level of coverage you're looking for, for example on days where I don't need as much coverage I'd opt for my Smashbox as it gives a nicer finish than the Alima, but on most days where I need to cover stuff I'd go with Alima so I don't need extra concealer.
Blush Brushes
MAC 116
Basic Blush Brush, soft, dome shaped. Minimal shedding, I've had mine for more than 5 years and it's still in pretty much the same shape as I bought it. Works with any blush but would not recommend for very pigmented or bright colored blush as this picks up a good amount of pigment/powder. Also works well with highlighters and can do some contour work. Won't work too well with loose powder blushes though.
Retail 32USD
MAC 129 Powder and Blush Brush
Not a fan of this brush, doesn't do a very good job with EITHER blush OR powder as it's not dense/big enough for powder and not tailored enough for blush. I also find this less soft than 116, not too much of a fan of MAC's powder brushes.
MAC 188 (Duo-Fibre)
This is the same as 187 but a smaller version, better for blush work due to the smaller size. Most versatile blush, has worked with every single blush I've tried and it's the only brush I use with my Stila because if I use the regular 116 too much powder will fly off since Stila powder are so fragile. For very pigmented/bright colored blushes this will make those look super natural on, and not hard to use at all. Swipe and do little circles on your cheeks wherever you want color, perfect everytime. With this brush I get to use blushes I never thought would work on me before, I love it. Also perfect for mineral blush as it picks up the perfect amount. Just dab, tap off excess and use, perfect everytime even for very pigmented mineral blush. Blends perfectly and naturally, can't say enough about this brush. Also cheaper than its bigger sister 187. Although I don't have 187 I can see it as the perfect brush for loose finishing powder even better than the others I've mentioned above. 187 is a definitely purchase for me in the near future, definitely worth the price. No shedding of my 188 at all and shape is easy to keep. After getting this brush my 116 has retired except for use of my Beauty powders.
Retail 34USD
Alima Buff Blush Brush #21
After trialling it for a while I don't like this that much. It's soft and has the same good synthetic brush qualities as the 25 but this does not blend my mineral blush very well. What happens it I dab, tap off excess and I apply BUT wherever the brush touches first always ends up with too much and even if I buff and buff it's the same so this brush DOES NOT blend very well. I tried with some of my pressed blushes and I can see this working well with highly pigmented ones as it does not pick up that much powder BUT I still see the blending problem. Also due to the firmness and shape of this brush I can see it having problems with more fragile blushes (same with Handi and my 116) in having too much powder fly away. Since I have the Handi which works exactly the same way (except hairs aren't as firm) I don't see myself using this much. I also can't see using this for highlighters as it would probably buff away some coverage of your existing makeup. Basically I'm not impressed with this at all.
Retail 16USD + shipping
Eye Brushes
I'm only going to cover the basics most people will need for eye brushes:
MAC 213 Fluff Brush
Your basic e/s brush, can get this with any brand such as Bobbi Brown, JI and Stila. Apart from price I don't see a big difference between them, most of them are similar in density and softness. Also works great for large areas when concealing with loose mineral concealers.
You can also use 217 as a basic e/s brush, difference is 217 is more oval shaped (elongated version I guess), seems to be a bit more dense while the 213 is your usual dome shaped one. You can also opt for 239 which is a firmer version of 213 (like a hybrid of 242 and 213) which will pick up more pigment so perfect for those super light pigmented e/s.
MAC 219 Pencil Brush
I'm not sure if any other brand offers a similar brush, super soft, the most perfect brush for a smoky eye. Blends like a dream, great for crease work, outer V and inner V highlights and contour. Not essential to the basic MU user. 224 also works well for crease work, depending on your eye shape as 224 is MAC's tapered e/s brush (comes in various sizes 225, etc). I have both and 219 is more for blending and doing more smoky type of crease work while I like to use 224 for a very simple line in the crease.
MAC 263
Their synthetic angle liner, my HG for gel liners and fluidlines. However depending on preference you can use 209, 208, 266, or 211 (I'm probably missing some more though). 266 is the natural hair version - I'd probably choose this for powder brow work and shadow lines as gel liners tend to harden on the natural hair so it would be harsher to use on the eye when that happens - thus you'd have to wash it every other use or so. 263 does not have this problem and I only wash this once every 2 weeks or so with daily use of gel liners.
MAC 242 Shader
My HG concealer brush - works for ANY type of concealer and I've used it with liquid, cream AND powder. Super durable, bristles are firm yet soft. I've had mine for more than 5 years with almost daily usage and is still in pristine condition, I don't see an end to it. However I find the ones made now are not as good as mine, the hairs seem to be slightly longer so you get less control and doesn't seem to be as durable, so definitely if you plan to get one pick the nicest out of the jar. I don't use this with e/s much but I've used it with cream e/s and I think I would prefer the mini shader 228. You may also opt for the synthetic version 249 or the larger version 252.
Alima Large Eyeshadow 11
I quite like this even though it's definitely much flatter than your average fluff brush. Bristles are also firmer because it's synthetic so does a good job of picking up pigment. Soft on the eye and blends well. Does simple line in the crease very well and blends very naturally. Also works for concealer, I may get another one of these. If you're not a big eye mu person getting this would suffice for a basic all over lid + crease combined.
Alima Medium Eyeshadow 9
This is a pretty useless brush. It's as soft and firm as any of the other Alima brushes but this is SOOOO flimsy! I can't blend e/s with this, too flimsy and flat for nice creasework and not enough control and blendability for concealer. I am going to purchase the eyeliner later and see how that works for precision concealer and it seems as it would make another good crease brush. I will probably end up putting this up for swap and getting another 11.
A small note on lip brushes, I'm not too familiar in this area as I hardly ever use l/s or l/g but I really like MAC 316 for softer textured stuff like tinted balms or gloss (Stila's 6 is EXACTLY THE SAME but more expensive - I have both). Cargo's Covered lip brush is also a good choice for lip balms/gloss and is a bit longer for better area coverage. For l/s I'd recommend a firmer brush like MAC's retractable lip brush 318. There are probably other brands with good lip brushes, I'm just not familiar with them.
I think I've covered most bases, LMK if there is anything else you think I should add. As you can see I use almost exclusively MAC brushes, this is due to the fact that Bobbi Brown and Stila were not available 5+ years ago in Vancouver, and obviously I've never heard of JI either. However even now that they are available I can't justify the high prices for BB or Stila when I don't see a big difference in quality, not to mention that they are made in China which sort of turns me off. Oh and you probably already know this but do NOT buy MAC SE sets, they are absolute CR*P and this has always been the case when I bought way back in 2002. MAC brushes are always made in US, Japan or France (though not much of France anymore). And I have not mentioned other brands such as Chanel, Nars, etc because they are definitely not up to par with the above brands like BB, JI, Stila, MAC. Their quality is horrid for the prices they charge.
Other good brands include Japonesque and A'Squirrel which are quite reasonable in their prices for superb quality.
HTH |
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Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:01 am |
| Ok I forgot to add that both MAC 187 and 188 works on cream/liquid products as well (although I've never tried) as I tend to stay away from cream blushes. I heard 188 is PERFECT for emollient blushes. 187 is apparently perfect for liquid foundation too. |
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Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:59 am |
Wow, this is great, sormuimui!  Definitely useful. I will keep a copy of your comparison handy for reference!
My questions:
What are MAC SE sets?
To clarify, does the 188 work well with pressed blush? (I wear Lancome.)
Asked you this on another thread but I'll put it here: do you think the 187 would work to apply MMU foundation? Would coverage be sheer? Buildable?
Thanks,sormuimui! You are my brush guru!
montrealgal  |
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Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:15 am |
| I've got a BE kabuki which I find gives great coverage in sheer layers and buffs MMU really well. I use JI eye brushes. Cheap and good quality! Both the kabuki and the JI brushes have been washed regularly for the last two years and they are still as good as new! |
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my new jewellery website:www.gentle-medusa.com |
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Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:27 am |
| montrealgal wrote: |
Wow, this is great, sormuimui! Definitely useful. I will keep a copy of your comparison handy for reference!
My questions:
What are MAC SE sets?
To clarify, does the 188 work well with pressed blush? (I wear Lancome.)
Asked you this on another thread but I'll put it here: do you think the 187 would work to apply MMU foundation? Would coverage be sheer? Buildable?
Thanks,sormuimui! You are my brush guru!
montrealgal |
MAC SE sets are those holiday brush sets they offer every year during Xmas.
188 can work with pressed blushes as well but will be sheerer than with your 129. However as I just replied in the other thread you can do layers with 188 and it's versatile enough if you ever want to try different blushes (some brands are more pigmented than others, this works with cream/gel blushes and loose powder blushes like MMU).
I absolutely DO NOT think that 187 would work for MMU foundation, 187 is not really dense at all if you take a close look at it and I find that it's mainly used for light application of powders/highlighters/bronzers and to obtain the airbrushed effect with liquid foundations (thus the feather lite white tips). I cannot imagine this could in anyway buff MMU but if you want to use your MMU like any loose powder (usually meant for setting makeup) then by all means give it a whirl. But I can't imagine it giving you any coverage at all - you'd probably get the same effect with a tinted moisturizer. Just my 2 cents on it though.
Hope that clears things up for you
I also agree very much with guapagirl, if you don't already have an array of eye brushes and just starting off brands like JI and Japonesque offers high quality brushes at very affordable prices! |
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Sun Mar 04, 2007 12:49 pm |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to compare all of these brushes. I have enough good brushes to last me forever, I think, but I just know somehow that I'll find myself ordering more. It's so helpful to get a sense of what the strong and weak points of a brush are before hitting the "send" button. |
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Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:08 pm |
| sormuimui wrote: |
MAC SE sets are those holiday brush sets they offer every year during Xmas.
188 can work with pressed blushes as well but will be sheerer than with your 129. However as I just replied in the other thread you can do layers with 188 and it's versatile enough if you ever want to try different blushes (some brands are more pigmented than others, this works with cream/gel blushes and loose powder blushes like MMU).
I absolutely DO NOT think that 187 would work for MMU foundation, 187 is not really dense at all if you take a close look at it and I find that it's mainly used for light application of powders/highlighters/bronzers and to obtain the airbrushed effect with liquid foundations (thus the feather lite white tips). I cannot imagine this could in anyway buff MMU but if you want to use your MMU like any loose powder (usually meant for setting makeup) then by all means give it a whirl. But I can't imagine it giving you any coverage at all - you'd probably get the same effect with a tinted moisturizer. Just my 2 cents on it though.
Hope that clears things up for you
I also agree very much with guapagirl, if you don't already have an array of eye brushes and just starting off brands like JI and Japonesque offers high quality brushes at very affordable prices! |
sormuimui, thanks for clearing things up for me. I have a hard time imagining how the 188 would work with cream and liquid blushes but I think when I go into MAC I will ask for a demonstration. I did read on MUA that it is quite dense. I have seen the 187 but didn't try it out.
I do have the Handi foundation brush, which I adore. If I recall, you said you were eyeing the JL kabuki. If you try it I would love to know what you think.
My 129 doesn't pick up color well (not my new Lancome press blush anyway). I have to apply about 3 times before I get decent color  and as I mentioned elsewhere, I did trim it to make it more angled. I got this as an unexpected gift so I'm not really complaining
I almost bought a Japonesque kabuki, but the shop I saw it at had it priced at something like $22 - $25. And quite a few reviews on MUA mentioned a problem with shedding. I figured I would rather pay more for a better quality brush. And I also didn't find it all that soft (I have pretty sensitive, thin, skin )
All this talk of brushes has me antsy! I want, I want, I want! 
montrealgal  |
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Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:31 pm |
| sormuimui, this is an excellent resource for those of us still adding to our brush collections and not knowing the differences. Thank you for taking the time to post this! |
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