The Gratis Thread 🛍🎉

[cianni]

A place to say thank you, provide reviews and first impressions, or follow up on gratis received after more use!

Many of us have been very lucky to receive gratis (thanks Sephora!), and I’ve been finding that while it’s easy to initially post about receiving it and initial reviews, it’s not as easy to follow up! 

I thought maybe we could have a dedicated thread to follow-ups and reviews with products we’ve received after we’ve been using them for a while, especially because it’s sometimes hard to find the original thank you and first impressions threads.

[ShortErica]

It's the worst @PrettyPaint! And why didn't anyone tell me there's something on my face?! 😡🤣

[curlychiquita]

Thanks for your review so far, @ShortErica!  Ypu and @WinglessOne are convincing me on brush 96!

[ShortErica]

I'm curious how it compares to the other Sephora Pro blush brushes @curlychiquita. I'm a fan of angled blush brushes but this applied it very nicely this morning that I didn't miss what I'm used to. I'll let you know if anything changes or be an enabler. 😉

[SusanM85]

Congratulations @ShortErica  I also have been using the bare minerals brushes since bare minerals first came out, their brushes were better back then, their recent ones are of a different quality.  I have a ton of brushes of various brands and always find that the synthetic brushes just don't do well with bare minerals powder foundations.

[ShortErica]

That's good to know about what type of brushes have worked for you @SusanM85. I wish they would have kept their quality higher for the brushes.

[missjeanie]

Congrats @ShortErica ! New brushes are always a treat, and the Sephora pro line are some of my favourites! 

[ShortErica]

Thanks @missjeanie!

[Luvstravel]

@ShortErica, Congratulations on this great Gratis! Enjoy testing the rest of the new brushes out. I completely understood your comments 😊

[Luvstravel]

@ShortErica, I'm really liking #19 the crease brush.

[ShortErica]

Thanks so much @Luvstravel and congrats to you too! Do you have some favorites yet or others you are eyeing?

[WinglessOne]

Update: I’ve used 7 of my 10 gratis Sephora PRO brushes so far. I’ll test a couple of these brushes again during a different task or application method. But here’s my initial feedback. I’ll show the products I used with each brush and explain how I used them; note that the way I used a brush might not be as Sephora intended the brush to be used. (Eh, I frequently repurpose brushes.) 

”Brush description & intended use” notes are from @TeamBIC ’s very helpful breakdown of each new brush: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Complexion-Club/NEW-Sephora-Collection-Pro-Brushes-Your-Ultimate-Gu...

57 Concealer 

Brush used with Becca Ultimate Coverage Longwear concealer.

Feedback & notes: 

Spoiler

Brush description & intended use: A concealer brush for buffing and blending concealer around the face. Works best with liquid, cream, and stick formulas. Use in circular buffing motions to blend and cover imperfections. 

How I used it: Used to apply concealer under my eyes. I usually apply concealer only to my sunken tear troughs, but today I blended it all the way to my outer corners. This is a much bigger brush than I normally use for concealer. 😄 I prefer a smaller, more precise brush for undereye concealer and spot-concealing anywhere on my face. But I wanted to try this one for its intended job, so I applied a very small bit of concealer under both eyes (though I normally apply concealer to a brush instead of directly to my face) and used the 57 in a quick tap-drag motion to blend it out. 

Performance: The bristle tips were too pokey-stabby for my skin. It’s a very dense brush but not the softest, if you plan to do any kind of tapping motion with it. Since the brush head is domed, I felt the needly tips whether tapping the brush perpendicular to my skin or at an angle. 😞 It did a very good job blending out my concealer, though I couldn’t quite get all the way into the upper corners of my tear troughs due to the brush size and shape. 

“But you didn’t use this brush the way it was intended (circular buffing motion)!” Yep, because the brush seemed too big and dense to do that under my eyes. And I’m not sure I wouldn’t still get some bristle stabbing during a circular buff. But I’ll try this brush again soon, using its intended method, and see if that matters. 

79 Contour 

Brush used with By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light.

Feedback & notes: 

Spoiler

Brush description & intended use: A sculpting and contouring brush best for powder formula bronzer. Make sweeping motions from temples to hollows of cheeks to sculpt and define. 

How I used it: As mini powder brush to set concealer and apply an Hourglass Ambient Lighting finishing powder to tear troughs. I mean, this brush looks and feels exactly like a mini version of the new 59 powder brush, so... why not try it that way? Also, I don’t sculpt/contour my face, so I needed to find a different use for this brush. For setting powder, I lightly pressed the brush at an angle. For the Hourglass finishing powder, I used a gentle sweeping motion. 

Performance: This worked fine with setting powder, but it excelled at applying the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder. And it didn’t disturb my underlying concealer, at least not enough to be noticeable. I probably could’ve buffed the Hourglass powder with this brush. My next test of the 79 will be powder highlighter on my cheekbones. (Note to self!) 

96 Blush 

Brush used with NARS 413 BLKR blush and Hourglass Brilliant Nude strobe blush.

Feedback & notes: 

Spoiler

Brush description & intended use: For building blush coverage with a liquid, cream, powder, and/or stick formula. Make short sweeping motions to build color on cheek contours. 

How I used it: To apply 2 blushes. I used a sweeping buffing motion with the Hourglass blush all over the center of my face, and my usual stamp & buff method with the NARS blush on my cheeks. 

Performance: Picked up a good amount of powder from the pan with this brush.
Side profile of Sephora PRO 96 Blush brush.
The tapered paddle shape makes application very easy, even for those of us who typically stamp blush onto our cheeks before buffing and blending it out. The bristles are soft: no scratching or stabbing with this brush. On one cheek, I was able to apply a sheer layer of blush and build it up with no trouble. On the other cheek, I went for an opaque single layer and easily blended it out. I’ll try the 96 again with a blush known to be very easy to overapply, to see how truly easy it is to get a sheer layer. I’m thinking either NARS Exhibit A or the cream blush in the Natasha Denona Bloom palette. 

Eye brushes 

Aw, now I kinda wish the bristles were dyed purple. 🙂 Brushes were used with PMG La Vie en Rose and Viseart Soleil palettes.

19 Crease feedback: 

Spoiler

Brush description & intended use: A brush that builds and diffuses pigment along the crease. Use by sweeping in back and forth motions to diffuse pigment along the crease. 

How I used it: To apply a matte shadow to my crease via sweeping and circular motions. Also used it to pack color on the outer corner via tapping, and then smoking it out via circular blending. Also tried to use it to smoke out my lower lash line a bit. 

Performance: This might be the best synthetic crease brush I’ve ever used. It’s soft enough to be very comfy to use, but also dense enough that it’s not as floppy as some other crease brushes I’ve tried. It’s a great shape and size for my hooded eyes. It didn’t do so well along my lower lash line, but I didn’t expect it to; for that task, I generally have better luck with pencil, smudger, and even very small flat shader brushes. Still, I’ll probably use the 19 often. 

14 Shadow feedback: 

Spoiler

Brush description & intended use: This brush works best for applying shadow to the lid. Use by pressing and tapping motions to pack and blend eyeshadow on the eyelid. 

How I used it: To pack a metallic shadow on my lid. Used it dry and with MAC Fix+.

Performance: I’m more used to flat shaders, but this brush gets the job done. Like the smaller 15 brush, the 14 can blend and diffuse shadows. I need to play with this one a bit more—perhaps with Viseart Editorial Brights, to see if it can easily create a new color from 2 layered shades. For now, I can say the 14 is soft and easy to handle. 

15 Shadow feedback: 

Spoiler

Brush description & intended use: This brush works best for a more precise shadow application. Use by pressing and tapping motions to pack and blend eyeshadow on the eyelid. 

How I used it: To apply a sparkly duochrome to the inner third of my lid. Used it dry and with MAC Fix+. 

Performance: This brush isn’t the smallest shader I own, but it’s good at packing color on the corners and then buff-blending it. Since it lacks the narrow dome tip of a typical small flat shader, it’s not as precise as I’d like. But I love being able to diffuse and blend whatever I lay down with this brush. This is one I’ll probably reach for often. 

20 Brow feedback: 

Spoiler

Brush description & intended use: This brush works best for defining and filling brows. Use the spoolie to brush hair upward. Fill in any sparse areas with short feathery strokes to help shape and define. 

How I used it: To apply shadow to my lower lash line and wing. I wanted to use it with a gel pot eyeliner but wound up not using one. 

Performance: As expected, this is a very stiff brush. It also has a very thin edge, which is why I thought it’d be good for gel pot liners; I might still test that. It’s too thin for stamping powders along my lash line and too stiff/scratchy to drag powders. I do think it’d be a good brow brush (for non-sensitive skin), but I didn’t use it that way because I always use a brow pencil instead. All my other angled brow brushes get repurposed, mostly for eyeliner duty. 

[fatimamummy]

Congratulations @WinglessOne! Your reviews are always very thorough and super helpful.

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @fatimamummy ! 

[RebeccaBT]

Hi @WinglessOne,

I need to try that concealer brush! It looks amazing! Thanks for sharing! 

Best,
Rebecca

[WinglessOne]

@RebeccaBT  I hope you have better luck with that concealer brush than I did! 

[PrettyPaint]

@WinglessOne  Thanks for the great reviews! I have also been using them as multi-purpose brushes. I've been using the contour brush with highlighter as I very rarely contour. Out of all the brushes, I'd have to say the crease brush is my favorite so far. 

[WinglessOne]

@PrettyPaint  I agree: the crease brush is the best of the bunch. Well, the bunch I’ve tested so far; I still haven’t used either of the foundation brushes or the powder brush. But I like the crease brush so much, I’m buying a second one when they’re released. 🙂 

[Samtian]

@WinglessOne Thanks for the review! I'll have to get that crease brush.

[WinglessOne]

@Samtian I hope it works well for you! It’s a great little brush. 🙂 

[curlychiquita]

Thanks, @WinglessOne! I need a new blush brush like the 96. I have a Marc Jacobs that sheds and a Chikohodo that is too soft in applying the blushes I have.

[WinglessOne]

@curlychiquita  Is your Chikuhodo one of the squirrel blush brushes? For folks whose skin doesn’t need something that soft, I usually recommend the Chikuhodo Passion Series cheek brush (PS-2) made of goat hair. Mine is much denser than my Z-4 and even more of a pom pom shape. I love using it with cream blushes, but it also works well with powders—though it’s very easy to go overboard with a powder blush because the bristles are much denser than the Z-4’s. 

The Sephora 96 is almost as dense as the PS-2, though not the same shape. And it feels softer on my cheek than the PS-2. If the 96’s handle was shorter, I’d be more inclined to travel with it than the PS-2. I think you’ll like the 96.