BK Brushes Review

I Purchased This Affiliate Link

Hi everyone! 

Today I wanted to do a review/ranking of my BK Beauty (affiliate) brushes, especially since they’re having an anniversary sale through August 10, 2025. I have managed to amass six different brushes and wanted to share my thoughts on each one and help guide any decisions you might make.

In the past I have preferred natural hair brushes since most of my collection consisted of powder makeup with only a few cream and liquid products. Over the years I have added more and more cream products, especially check products, which have necessitated good synthetic brushes. I was skeptical of shelling out money for synthetic bristle brushes but BK Beauty is one of the exceptions. I am much more willing to invest in their brushes because of their innovative shapes, brush density, and quality of the bristles and it was hard to overlook the immense number of positive reviews for their 101 and 109 brushes in particular. Like I am not that willing to pay high prices for a shape I could get from Real Techniques or Morphe you know? 

Sonia Kashuk Makeup Brush Solid Bar Soap Cleanser Review

I Purchased This Affiliate Links

Hey everyone!

This is a quickie review on the Sonia Kashuk Makeup Brush Solid Bar Soap Cleanser.

I got this brush soap after Target rebranded Sonia Kashuk, got rid of their makeup products, and refocused on makeup brushes and accessories. Sonia Kashuk left her brand and sold it in October 2015 but it still felt like a big shift to see some of her great makeup products and original brushes go.

In my mind, I figured that a brush focused brand would have a great brush soap. This is a brush soap that contains goat's milk, olive oil, coconut oil and has a rosewater scent. It also contains a small scrubby pad to help you clean your brush. It sounded so good on paper but how did it actually fare in practice?

Details/Where to Purchase: The brush soap contains 1.5 oz for $9.00. You can get these at Target stores and Target.com

Packaging: The soap comes in a black plastic jar with a scrubbing pad included. You can stick the pad in your sink to help clean your brushes.

Review:

Sonia Kashuk says: "This Sonia Kashuk Brush Cleansing Solid Bar Soap is the ultimate brush refresher with mess free results. Maintains the shape and beauty of any type of brush while removing makeup buildup. Leaves brushes clean and freshly scented."

I don't find it very effective in cleaning my makeup brushes. I have to go back and do a second pass with the soap even when it comes to cleaning powder off of my eyeshadow brushes. I can understand it taking two tries to clean creams or liquid foundation from my dense synthetic brushes but not for something like powders off of my small eyeshadow brushes. Even using my hand soap has been more effective on my brushes. I'm not into working harder to get the job done compared to using something like a liquid brush cleaner.

Conclusion:

If you're in your local Target or online, I'd pass when it comes to buying this as a brush cleanser. There are lots of better alternatives out there (might I suggest the Benjabelle Organic Brush Shampoo? I'm not too fond of the scent but it's an effective cleanser).

What are you currently using to clean your makeup brushes?

Disclaimer: I purchased this brush soap myself. All opinions are my own. There are affiliate links in this post which provide me with a commission based off your use of the link when making a purchase.

Real Techniques Instapop Eye Duo Brushes: Review

I Purchased This Affiliate Links 

Hey everyone!

Today I have a review on the Real Techniques Instapop Eye Duo Brushes, a set of eye brushes that were recently launched. I first heard about these brushes when EmilyNoel83 used them as part of a Get Ready with Me video featuring other brushes from the line and thought it was so cool to see her do her eye look with virtually just this brush duo. I'm always into finding eye brushes that work well for my eye shape (small hooded double eyelids) so these looked super interesting.

The brush set is $9.99 and available at Real Techniques and ULTA. The brushes come in a set of two, you won't be able to purchase them individually. 

Click through to see more pictures and read my review!

Review: Smith Cosmetics 212 Tightliner Brush and 230 Quill Crease Brush Small

I Purchased This

Hey everyone! 

Today I have a review of two Smith Cosmetics brushes, the 212 Tightliner Brush (the flat eyeliner-looking brush) and the 230 Quill Crease Brush Small (the white fluffy looking brush). I think everyone in the beauty community on Instagram has heard so much good things about Smith Cosmetics brushes.

I had the opportunity to see Smith Cosmetics in person at PHAMExpo and I was stoked to be able to buy them in person. I originally only got the 230 Quill Crease Brush but then got talked into the 212 Tightliner Brush.

So the question is, are these brushes worth the brand hype? Check out my review of them below!

REVIEW: Luxie Beauty Precision Face Brushes

Press Sample

Hey everyone!

Today I'm reviewing the Luxie Beauty Precision Face Brushes that just launched on their website. I had the pleasure of checking the brand out at Generation Beauty and receiving a set of the Precision Brushes at the show. 

I remember seeing the line on Instagram and being absolutely entranced by the pink handles and rose gold ferrules. It's a brush line you want to display on your vanity. The brush line is vegan/cruelty free, uses only synthetic bristles, and the brushes are coated in an antibacterial solution.

Feel free to listen to my review or read it below!:

REVIEW, COMPARISON, VIDEO + GIVEAWAY: Real Techniques Collector's Edition Eyelining Set

Press Sample

I'm very pleased and excited to review this Limited Edition Real Techniques Collector's Edition Eyelining Set of brushes. Despite the name, you can use this for other eye makeup related purposes like applying eyeshadow or eyebrow powders. 

Spoiler alert: I really like this set and I like it because it's what I always wanted their Starter Set of eye brushes to be. I'll give a full review below (you can watch the accompanying Youtube video or read the review) but I want to seriously recommend this brush set for anyone who prefers using smaller eye brushes or has a smaller eye shape.

Be sure to read towards the end where I'll be giving away one of these sets!

Meet the New Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection Brushes

Press Sample

Recently I had the opportunity to attend an event held by Real Techniques and in fact I was even able to meet Sam and Nic! At the event, they displayed some of their recent additions to the line (including the Bold Metals Collection brushes) so I thought I'd review them on the blog and in a video.

The Collection consists of seven brushes: two Base brushes, three Eye brushes, and two Finishing brushes. I have four to review today; I was gifted three of them from the brand and received the other as a Klout perk.

The Bold Metals Collection have much more sleek angular handles (that won't roll). These also promise softer bristles compared to the regular line (which I'll tackle in my review of each brush). Unlike the regular line, these actually have a ferrule (instead of the bristles just coming out of the handle), and the ferrules are also specially weighted to hold well in your hand. However, the handles feel like plastic and seem cheap compared to the weighted metal ferrule. 

Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner: Review, Tutorial, & Why It's a Must-Have for Brush Cleaning

I Purchased This Affiliate Link

After purchasing a refill of my beloved Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner, I realized that I never posted a review about it on my blog. It's one of my favorite brush cleaners as it's a quick way of cleaning and sanitizing your brushes without the use of water. I will still deep clean my brushes with soap and water every week or so but in between, I'll use this.

Where to Purchase: Cinema Secrets, Sephora (affiliate link)

Price: $8.00 for 2oz, $24 for 8 oz, $36 for 32 oz. 

Do they test on animals?: The company does not test on animals.

Packaging: The 2oz comes in a spray bottle while the 8 oz and 32 oz come in bottles.

Formula:

It's a magical blue liquid that cleans your brushes but doesn't need rinsing, dries quickly, and helps to clean and condition your brushes. It's also scented with a nice vanilla scent. There's no residue left behind so once dry, it's ready to use. This dries in less than two minutes (I timed it!). I would say if you have white haired brushes, save them for the deep clean since you may notice a slight blue tint from the brush cleaner. You can use this on both natural and synthetic hair brushes too.

A little truly goes a long way. Here's how you use it:

You will need:

Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner, a shallow dish, and a towel.

1. Pour the Brush Cleaner into a shallow dish or bowl. Tip: If you pour against the side of a brush or tube, it'll prevent spills.
2. Dip the brush tip into liquid and remove immediately
3. Wipe clean on a cloth, repeat as necessary.
4. Shape the brushes and allow to air dry before use. 

I adore this, even as a consumer. If you're a makeup artist, this product is so necessary in order to maintain cleanliness with your brushes between clients. It's very much worth the investment, whether you're a makeup artist or not! 

I hope you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it if you find it useful. Get thee some Cinema Secrets when you can!

Hakuhodo G5526 Eye Shadow Brush Review/Comparison to MAC 226

I Purchased This 

For two years now (ever since I first saw them at The Makeup Show LA 2012), I've been hemming and hawing over Hakuhodo brushes. They are the creme de la creme of makeup brushes but each time I went to a show, I would end up chickening out. Well this year at PHAMExpo, I made a decision and got myself one Hakuhodo brush, the G5526BkSL.

The G5526BkSL is part of the G series, which contain brushes that are usually a mix of black blue-squirrel and goat hair (which is why it's denoted with BkSL) though the G5526BkS has horse hair bristles. The G5526BkSL was only $20.00 and in the grand scheme of brushes, it's actually not as expensive as you might think.

I was in between the G5526BkSL and the J242G (which looks similar to the MAC 239), but decided on the G5526BkSL because I couldn't pass up on a brush that looked so close to my beloved MAC 226. While I adore the shape of the MAC 226, it's just not as soft as MAC brushes usually are and I wanted the Hakuhodo version without the scratchiness. I do own both brushes so I'll review the G5526 first then compare it to the MAC 226.

The handle is black and sleek but unfortunately the name or number isn't embossed on the brush, just the brand's name.

The G5526's shape is unique because it's the result of crossing a pencil brush and a fluffy blending brush. The top of the bristles comes to a soft point which allows you to apply eyeshadow in the crease with precision or use the edges to widely blend out a crease color. I prefer using the tip of the brush for drawing out the beginning of a cut crease and using the sides of the brush to blend out the edges. I've also been able to use the sides of the brush to pack on eyeshadow onto my lid.

Here's a comparison to the original MAC 226. I say original because the rereleases of the brush have never quite lived up to the first release. The G5526BkSL has a similar shape but the MAC 226 comes to a sharper point and has a less rounded shape overall but the MAC bristles are much more scratchy. The Hakuhodo brush on the other hand is extremely soft, the bristles feel luxurious on my eyes and it makes for such a wonderful application.

In summation, I'm extremely pleased with the brush. The brand and the brush live up to the hype in my opinion. I've been able to use the brush in my crease and to apply eyeshadow on my eyelid. It's been brilliant for the smokey eyes I've been preferring lately and can be a great pick for anyone seeking the dual purposes of the precision of a pencil brush and the blendability of a fluffy brush.

Do you own any Hakuhodo brushes or any similar brushes? Do you think you might invest in one?

Disclaimer: I purchased this brush myself. All opinions are my own. I'm not being compensated for this post.

5 Must Have Eye Brushes for $5.99 or Less

While I was reorganizing my makeup brushes recently, I wanted to share a few favorites of mine that I particularly love for my eye shape and because of its low impact on my wallet! A few of these are only found online or at a trade show but a few are also available at your local Target. I've attached links to where you can purchase them wherever I can.

e.l.f. Eyelash and Brow Wand ($1.00 on eyeslipsface.com and in Target Stores)

I'm of the opinion that everyone needs a spoolie brush. If you use brow powder or brow pencil, you need a basic spoolie to soften the look. If you applied too much mascara, you need a spoolie to brush out clumps (and it works better than the metal combs). For $1.00 you can't really go wrong.

Coastal Scents Fluff Pro Blending Fluff ($4.95 on Coastalscents.com)

There are a few vendors selling the same eyeshadow brush but I just listed Coastal Scents because that happened to be where I purchased it from. It's touted to be similar to the MAC 217 but I'm not 100% sure since I don't have the 217. Still though, this is actually one of my favorite brushes for applying and blending out cream eyeshadow and also for applying a transition color between the lid and browbone.

Loew Cornell Maxine's Mop 3/8 inch ($2.19 on Hofcraft.com)

This is a craft store brush and not the softest of the bunch but its shape is very similar to the MAC 239. It's a little fatter than the MAC 239 but the shape makes it good for packing and blending color onto the lid. This does need more conditioning than the rest of the brushes listed but it's still a good brush.

Sonia Kashuk Small Eyeshadow Brush ($4.99 on Target.com and in Target Stores)

It's a flat shader brush that's more slender than the Loew Cornell Maxine's Mop and softer. I prefer this when I'm doing a gradient on the eyelid with a lighter color on the inner third to a darker color on the outer third. It's made out of natural hair so it picks up eyeshadow brilliantly and the flat paddle shade means it doesn't fly all over the place.

Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush ($5.99 on Target.com and in Target Stores)

Another Sonia Kashuk favorite. I prefer gel and liquid liners over pencils (since it's usually easier for me to get a thinner line), so I'm a big fan of pairing them with this brush. I can get a very thin and precise line and the bend in the brush allows for a more natural grip and arm position.

So how about you? What are your must have eye brushes?

The Lip Brush for Spy Wannabes

Press Sample

Maybe I'm easily entertained but there's nothing like an object that makes me feel like I'm living out a secret existence as an intelligence officer like James Bond with all of his fancy gadgets. I got this Morphe Brushes retractable lip brush (the second one) a few weeks ago at PHAMExpo and I'm living out the fantasy world just a little bit with it.

I was a bit confused on how to open it first but then...

It is just so cool and it's a little silly for me to be this excited over something as mundane as a lip brush but a) it's a handy and useful lip brush and b) it's so dang cool to pull it open and click it shut. The brush itself isn't too thick with the sides thin enough to make precise lines. You could definitely load up the brush with some lipstick, retract it, and then touch up later on.

You can get it on Morphe's website (link above and use the coupon code MORPHE2013 for 20% off!) or at one of the many trade shows that they attend! I contemplated getting another one when I attended their recent grand opening but I won't be greedy (even though I want to hoard them all!).

Enkore Makeup 5ekz Ultra Conditioning Brush Soap Review

Washing brushes is probably the worst part of applying makeup and for people who have tons and tons of brushes, it's a tedious task. There's no real way to make washing brushes fun but you can make the process a little less painful by investing in something like this brush soap.

EnkoreMakeup, one of the most innovative DIY Beauty Youtubers I've ever seen, came out with this solid brush soap a little while ago. I had been attracted to the idea of a solid brush soap after seeing one done by BECCA but $15.00 was a bit too steep of a price for me and apparently it's discontinued so seeing this by Enkore for only $6.00 was a steal.

Where to purchase: EnkoreMakeupOnline
Price: $6.00 for a 2.6 oz soap and it's about 2.5" in diameter and 1" tall.
Packaging: The soaps are shrink wrapped then wrapped in paper with a ribbon and sticker. 
Product Description: "Foaming, moisturizing, and formulated with five different conditioners, 5-ekz will render any makeup brush super clean, and super soft. Use on both Natural and Synthetic fibers."

The soaps come in fourteen scents: Unscented, French Lavender, Cantaloupe Melon, Patchouli, English Rose, Fresh Lemon, Apricot Freesia, Ylang Ylang, Gardenia (the scent I purchased), Tangerine, Mango, Jasmine, Pearberry, and Pomegranate. I love Gardenia but damn I got a smell of Apricot Freesia and that's on my list to get a soap of (which I will at The Makeup Show LA. 

(Honestly I'll have seen Enkore at IMATS LA, ISSE Long Beach, and The Makeup Show LA, I think he's going to think I'm weird for showing up in so many places that he's at >>)

The soap is embossed with a very cute and Enkore signature silhouette of him holding a brush. One side is the soap side, the other side has the loofah.

My Thoughts on the Product

This brush soap is freaking awesome. It does what it claims to do, it cleans and conditions your brushes. A few of my brushes felt better after using the brush soap on them. I was afraid that the loofah side would be too harsh and rough on my brushes but it's actually not. The first few times you use the loofah side, it'll still be pretty gentle as there's a layer of soap covering it but as you keep using it, the loofah will become exposed and be a more efficient scrub for your brushes. I haven't found that using the loofah frayed my brushes though I do use brush guards to keep them in shape. The nice thing about the brush soap is that I feel like I use much less water when washing my brushes as I only need to rinse the brushes to get the soap off and I can have a bowl of water on the side to wet the brush when needed.

Using the brush soap is easy peasy. Simply wet the brush (the bowl of water on the side for this is perfect), build up the lather on the soap side and if you have brushes that need an extra clean, scrub around a bit on the loofah side, then rinse your brushes clean. You'll be tempted to swish your brush round and round to clean your brushes quickly, but it's all too easy to push the lather up into the ferrule which you don't want to do as it can ruin your brushes in the future.  To combat this, either hold the brush stationary and swirl the soap beneath or swish the brush slowly so you can see how far up the lather builds. 

The soap works well for gel liners though I think they're best to do last when there's already some lather buildup on the soap, it is easier to break down the gel liner that way. For lipstick and similar lip products, I think it's best to use the soap after you've used an oil to breakdown the lipstick first. I didn't think it was as effective at breaking down lipsticks on its own.

As for the scent, I honestly don't think you'll notice it and if you're a makeup artist using the brushes on your makeup clients, they probably won't either. I made the mistake of testing out my Sigma F88 (one of the Sigmax ultra dense synthetic brushes) with my Graftobian foundation (one of the most difficult foundations to wash out of brushes in my experience) so I had to really lather up the brush to get the foundation out of the dense fibers which left it slightly more scented. Even then, I had to literally jam the brush right into my nose to even smell it. Luckily though they do offer an unscented soap so I think to prevent any potential issues with clients and any sensitivity to fragrance, I'd get it unscented.

You do need to keep the soap dry so definitely get some sort of soap dish so it doesn't sit in water. I tried scoping out for tins to store it in but haven't been successful so maybe Enkore will come out with a storage tin for him (slotted in the bottom so the water can drain of course)

I did notice that Enkore will be coming out with a Pro Ultra Brush soap on the 15th with an essential oil blend of lavender, rosemary, lemon, and tea tree oils for "added conditioning, repair, treatment, aromatherapy, and antiseptic/antibacterial" purposes so some people might be interested in that!

Final thoughts

Get this, I mean it. Sometimes the issue of washing brushes falls to the wayside and though you can continue to use other shampoos, I think it's a wonderful addition to a collection. $6.00 is damn dirt cheap and it's extremely convenient to have the loofah on the underside to deep clean your brushes with. There are a nice variety of scents (I personally preferred Gardenia and Apricot Freesia so take that as you will) which I think will please most everyone and an unscented option for those of you who want to play it safe.

Plus I think it's nice to support something not only made in the US, but also someone who I've been watching for eons and eons. It's really nice to see the growth and success in Enkore and his endeavors and I've gained so much knowledge from him that purchasing a $6.00 brush soap of his is the least I could do (that and the Hot Oil Brush Treatment! Review coming soon)

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What do you guys use to wash your brushes? Have you considered the convenience of a solid brush soap?

Disclaimer: I purchased this brush soap myself. I am not being compensated for this review and am not affiliated with Enkore. I'd give these brush soaps out if I could because these are fab. All opinions are my own and honest.

New Brushes and Palettes Set Up

I went to Office Depot yesterday and got something to organize my palettes in addition to my brushes. I saw in EmilyNoel83's youtube organization video that she used a large desktop sorter to organize her palettes which gave me the idea to find one. My palettes mainly consist of the Wet n Wild palettes and some miscellaneous ones so I searched for a smaller letter sorter instead. For $5.99 I got a small damask-style metal letter sorter.

I wasn't actually planning on it, but I found a small cup on sale and decided to switch back to storing my eye brushes in it. As much as I liked the brush organizer it just took up too much space on the little cart next to my desk. I got the cup on sale for $1.41

Here's a little close up so you can get an idea of how I sorted everything. Wet n Wild in the front, Stila, Inglot and Sugarpill in the middle and Sleek, MAC, and Urban Decay in the back.


I just want to say thank you to the people who took the time to read my last post. Writing something so negative is not something that I found enjoyable or anything like that. You may not have agreed with me or anything like that but that's okay. Thank you to those who have been supportive of me.

Real Techniques Panoramic Brush Case Dupe

I've been searching for a brush holder for some time now. I've been keeping all of my brushes in a cup and it was always very cluttery. I greatly admired the Pixiwoo Real Techniques Panoramic case that came with some of their brush sets because it seemed not only cute but rather innovative.

After research, it turns out that the Panoramic case is nothing more than an artist's brush easel!

There are other brush easels in smaller sizes than this, I personally got a huge one. If you google "brush easel" you can find much smaller ones. My intent is to show that there are alternatives to the Real Techniques Panoramic case and I think this is pretty spot-on!

This is the brush easel that I got off of Amazon and it's by Prestige. I paid $14.73. Many other places sell it online but with Amazon Prime (I love you Amazon Student status :D) it was cheaper to get it from Amazon.

This holds 48 pencils or brushes and it's got elastic pockets to slide them in and to keep them secure. I haven't had any issues with it wobbling or anything like that. The velcro strap keeps it shut if I do want to travel with it.

Here's a better photo!

As you can see, you fold the case in half and pull on the drawstring cord to adjust the angle.

The brush easel is huge, 15' by 17 3/4'. I can fit the NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencils into the pockets and they're about 1/2' wide. The pockets are a little snug but if you lose the cap of a pencil in the pockets they're easy to squish out. You can't fit any face brushes because the handle is usually too thick.

It folds down but the size it folds down to depends on whether you put brushes or pencils on both layers. If you only fill the bottom layer and they don't extend past the middle fold, then you can get fold down to 8' x 9'. If you store brushes or pencils on both layers then it folds down to 7' by 17 3/4's.

I got this to not only organize my brushes but to keep them in sight. I tended to forget about the brushes I had because I could never see each of them individually when they were in the cup. I imagine this won't be handy for a professional makeup artists because of its size. Brush rolls would be so much more convenient.

Personally, I absolutely love the case. I like being able to see every brush and it fits on the little drawer set next to my desk. I can organize the brushes based on the type and I can also organize my pencils.

Comparison:

I don't own anything by Real Techniques so it's a little difficult to compare the two. As far as I can tell, RT has an elastic band to hold the brushes as opposed to the elastic pocket that this specific brush easel has. Other styles of brush easels have the elastic band and can hold face brushes like this style.

How do you store your brushes?

Ecotools Brush Collection

My new obsession seems to be with brushes and since I had an Amazon gift card I decided to round out my Ecotools collection with the Eye Brush set. This is the third set of Ecotools brushes that I own and I'm starting to wonder if this is a bit much.




I just got it today but I'm rather eager to try them out. What I probably like the most about the Ecotools sets is the fact that I can fit all of them into one brush roll. It's kind of awesome how many brushes fit.



From left to right, the Eye brush set, the Minerals brush set, and the 6 piece brush set. On days that I wear makeup I like to do it at school so carrying the brushes like this is extremely handy.
*Edit* Oops forgot to add in a picture of my retractable kabuki but pretend it's there!

The Brush Guard vs The Comparable Dupes

Forgive me for the long post, but I thought that I should be as comprehensive as possible especially since there is a lot of interest in the Brush Guard. I first heard about The Brush Guard from Youtube gurus praising its merits and how much easier it made drying brushes.

After that, I got the inspiration to try an alternative after seeing a comment saying that it looked the same as braided sleeving for cable organizers. I did a post earlier about the braided sleeving but I didn't have the real Brush Guard to compare to. I received a couple of samples from the company and so I thought I'd to do a comparison post.

The company that makes the Brush Guard also sells them as Brush Defenders to cater to those who paint and do art work. There is no difference in the product. Brush Guard sells packs of each size or a variety pack but the Brush Defender site only sells a variety pack.

The sizing is the same but the naming is just different. The Brush Guard goes from Extra Small to Large and the Brush Defenders go from Small to Extra Large.

How To:

Before I compare them I thought I'd do a quick tutorial on how to make your own brush guards from braided sleeving. You can purchase the braided sleeving from Cable Organizer but the shipping increases per item you buy so keep that in mind. Another seller is CableTiesandMore but their shipping seems more expensive and I have not bought from them before!

The trick to the braided sleeving is making sure that you must cut them long enough to ensure that they do not fray as you're using them. I found a length of 4 inches to be good for all sizes of the braided sleeving.

See how similar these two look? The top black sleeving is my DIY version and the bottom one is the Brush Guard

After you cut them with scissors, you'll want to seal the ends of the sleeving to help prevent fraying. I use a lighter to slightly run over the edges of the braided sleeving (a trick I picked up from ballet that we used to prevent our toe shoe ribbons from fraying) to help bond the braids together.

I'll talk about the Pros and Cons of the Brush Guard vs my DIY Brush Guard and my prior Toilet Paper Wrap a la DustyoHunter. I do it slightly different in that I just roll the paper tightly around the brush head versus pushing it up from the handle. I find this method to work better for eyeshadow brushes.

The Brush Guard

NOTE: When you're drying your face brushes, make sure you thoroughly squeeze the water out of your brushes otherwise you will be waiting days (literally for me) before they dry

Pros:

• You can dry your brushes upside down in a cup if you use the brush guard (I normally leave my brushes laying sideways to dry.


• Compresses the brush head to create a really nice shape


• They're reusable and while it is normal to have fraying at the ends it did not disintegrate with repeated use

Cons:

• It can be costly to get enough for your collection, but you can easily just wash your brushes in batches


• Only comes in Clear (which some may not like)


• You need to make sure to thoroughly squeeze the water out of your brushes (in between a paper towel) before you dry them otherwise you'll be waiting ages.

Pricing: The Brush Guard sells various packs for $5.50. You can get sets of single sizes for the same price but the number of brush guards in the pack vary by the size that you're getting. This is a one-time investment. You can also purchase them on Coastal Scents for $4.95 + shipping but it's on sale for $3.71 (until 4/18)

DIY Brush Guard

In my experiments, I found the DIY version to work EXACTLY like The Brush Guard. To make it easier for you to find compariable sizes, the widths of the Brush Guard Small is 1/4 inch, for the Medium ~3/8s inch, the Large is 3/4s inch and the Extra Large is 1 inch.

Pros:

• You can customize colors for your brush sleeves depending on where you buy them


• Works exactly like the brush guard


• Allows you to dry your brushes upside down


• Compresses your brush head to the original or better shape


• They are reusable

Cons:

• Depending on which length you buy and where you buy it from, it can cost MORE than buying a pack of brush guards.


• You have to make them yourself and not everyone wants to deal with melting plastic


• Because of how you seal them it can fray more than the Brush Guard


• Same problem as above, you need to make sure to thoroughly squeeze the water out of your brushes (in between a paper towel) before you dry them otherwise you'll be waiting ages.

Pricing: Like I said above, it can be costlier than the original Brush Guard. For example, 4 feet of 1/4" sleeving from Cable Organizer which would make 12 of the comparable Small eyeshadow sleeve would cost $6.54 including shipping and handling whereas you can get 10 of the Small eyeshadow sleeves in a pack for $5.50 including shipping and handling. It would still be a one-time investment.

There are spools of braided sleeving

The Toilet Paper Wrap method

I do it slightly different than DustyOHunter's method in that I just roll the paper tightly around the brush head versus rolling it around the handle pushing it up to the brush head. It is an excellent way to dry your brushes. I usually use 1/2 square folded in half for eyeshadow brushes and usually 3-4 on face brushes.

Pros:

• You don't have to go out and buy it, it's already in your house (keep a separate roll for this purpose please)


• Works excellently for face brushes (because the paper will draw out the water much faster)


• If you roll it right you can have to standing up in a cup
• I didn't have to worry about thoroughly squeezing out all of the water before I wrap it up in the toilet paper. I do make a point to shape the brush head and let all of the water run out of it as much as it can

Cons:

• I like to reuse them but I imagine some people might throw it away


• Not the most fanciest method


• Sometimes it can be hard to wrap around small brush heads (like eyeshadow brushes)

Pricing: It is cheap and a roll will last you ages but it isn't really a one time investment

CONCLUSION

So after all this, which one would I invest in? I would actually buy the brush guards strictly for eyeshadow brushes (the pack of 10 Small brush guards is $5.50) and use the toilet paper roll method for my face brushes. If I find a cheaper source for the 1/4 inch braided sleeving I'll buy that.

Most of my collection is comprised of eye brushes so I'm glad that the Brush Guard sells each size individually. If you want a variety pack that contains Brush Guards for the same price, buy them from Brush Defender. Their variety pack contains 3 of the eyeshadow Brush Guards and 1 Medium, Large and Extra Large size.

Disclaimer: The Brush Guard sent me samples of the product for consideration. I'm not getting paid for writing the review/comparison and none of the links are affiliate links (just so you know I've never had affiliate links) My opinions have not been influenced by the fact that they sent me samples and my opinions are my own!

Eco Tools Brush Haul

I'm blaming Tiffany for this purchase because she reminded me of the Eco Tools BOGO deal on brushes at Rite Aid. I already owned their retractable kabuki and eyeliner brush so I didn't need much convincing to try the rest of the line out.

I bought the 6 piece brush set ($10.99) and for the 5 piece minerals set ($9.99) for free. I went back and forth about whether I should get the 5 piece minerals set or the 6 piece eye brush set ($7.99), but since the 5 piece minerals set is a better deal I can get the 6 piece eye brush set later.

For $10.99 this is one of the best brush investments I've ever made. The 6 piece brush set has a lash/brow groomer, eyeliner brush (I could always use a backup), eye shading brush, concealer brush, and a blush brush (which I contemplated getting by itself anyways and it's worth $7.99 on its own anyways).

The 5 piece minerals set has a baby kabuki (it's a little too floppy for my taste so that's why there's a black hair band wrapped around it to make it denser), mineral powder brush, an eye shading brush (it's got the same name as the one of the 6 piece set but it's more a blending brush like the MAC 222), and a concealer brush (which I can use for cream eyeshadows).

There's basically every type of brush you need to start your own brush collection plus for the price they're cheap as hell. I also like the bag that came with the 6 piece brush set because it has slots for the 5 brushes with a pouch for the 4 mineral brushes.

Have you tried out Eco Tools?

MAC 239 dupe+mini version

This isn't all that new, I actually heard about this from Temptalia years ago (this post actually) and have not been able to find them in stores! I got these from Woodcrafter.com but you can get it off of Hofcraft.com

I ordered it on the 2nd, it shipped the next day and came the 7th.

I do not own the MAC 239 but I have seen other photos and reviews about it and it looks to be extremely similar. It is goat's hair and soft, not scratchy in the leastest.

I will say though, there is a slight difference even between the same brush. I ordered two of the 3/8" one and 2 of the 1/4" ones. The two pictured are the 3/8" ones; the ones on the right is a little more rounded at the top whereas the one on the left doesn't have as much of a rounded edge.

It's nitpicky but the more rounded one looks more like MAC's 239 so if you wanted to really get it, I'd advise getting it in person to pick out the one you want.
Here's the comparison between the 1/4" and the 3/8". I love the 1/4" one because it perfectly fits my lid due to the way my eye is shaped. I think since it fits my eye more, I like the 1/4" more but they're both good!
Maybe I need several more of these brushes. Since they're white they might get stained from your eyeshadows so if you use really bright green and red ones, you should clean them after you use them.