Love for Brushes

[AMK721]

I'm developing a love for brushes of all kinds.  I bought a few higher end brushes and they are amazing.  They are incredibly soft and my makeup glides on like a dream.  There are so many interesting shapes. I am really interested in creating a beautiful brush collection.  Show your brushes and share any cleaning and storage tips and let us know which ones are your favorites.

[makeitup305]

[aviscardi]

I wanted to comment on this but didn’t know where to post lol. I nearly fainted at the prices ha. The wood is beautiful but way too expensive for the price. I wouldn’t even know what to do with it, the inside is so small

The brush set I’d get more use from but i know part of the price is for the encasement which i have no need for. I hope she makes these shapes in her permanent range because i think even the handles wood be too fragile. 

[WinglessOne]

@aviscardi  Eh, even without the box, these 2 brushes would be pricey for their materials alone. But paulownia wood (what the box is made of) ain't cheap either, so now I wonder how much the box alone is. 😄 

Sonia does have similar pencil shapes (2, I believe, not counting the Crease One) in her permanent lineup, but they're goat, not squirrel. I think the face brush is a new shape for her... I'm more familiar with her eye brushes than face brushes. I'll be curious to hear people's thoughts on that brush, so I'll try to remember to keep an eye out for reviews on the interwebs—and in this thread, if anyone here buys this set. I won't be one of those people. 

About the handles: yakusugi is just a type of Japanese cedar (sugi) that's been used to build many not-fragile things, including furniture and shrines. I don't own any brushes made with yakusugi handles, but I assume they won't be easily damaged if you're not rough with them. They may scuff/nick easier than other types of wood handles, but I doubt good brush care will result in splits, breaks, or gouges. I do agree with Sonia about not tapping these brushes against mirrors/palettes/etc. to remove excess product; that's a bad habit for any type of brush. 

[aviscardi]

As beautiful as these pieces are, they’re just not practical for my personal use. Yes the pencil 2 is possibly similar but ive had her pencil pro & it was a little bit too stiff and small for my liking, I also stopped buying her brushes that have the wide handles for storage they take up too much space. The only one that I have left is the sculpt 2 and I hope she comes out with that revamped with the thinner handle

PS- for the tapping of brushes I’ve always just tapped off on my hand but whenever I’ve seen people do it on the products it kind of hurts me a little bit ha ha

[MCSSavvy]

@aviscardi  - She's phasing out several non-tapered brushes. I believe it will be a slow process but I was a bit annoyed as I picked up 2 face one brushes earlier in the year then the handle changed and now it is part of the pro line.  There is nothing wrong with my brushes I was a bit bemused by it.   Info - from a response to a question on one of Sonia G's insta posts about the new Face Pro brush.

[aviscardi]

Yea i saw her post, I’m glad she’s changing them. I picked up the face one in the summer so when the thinner handle came out i ended up selling the wider one. Whenever the sculpt 2 comes out I’d do the same thing because they feel more comfortable to hold. If it doesn’t bother you then no sense in buying a new one. 

[Mochapj]

@aviscardi I have a number of brushes with yakusugi handles that I’ve collected over the years and they’re not nearly as delicate as she has let on.

I wouldn’t throw them around (but I wouldn’t do that with anything) but they don’t dent just from normal use or falling on the floor.

[aviscardi]

Hmm yea her post put me off. Lol but unless it came without the box i couldn’t justify the cost 

[niki172]

I'm really curious to know what this is going to be. I wasn't thrilled with the Wayne Goss holiday brush so I'm excited to see this and hopefully the Lunar New Year brush as well.

[makeitup305]

Cross posting from the hauls thread, happy to see my Smith Quill Brush set and Spoolie arrive safely from Canada!

[makeitup305]

My Rephr order came in. I got all eyeshadow brushes but might pick up #05 and #22 in the future depending on how these work out. I bought the hooded eye bundle which included #12,13,14,15,16, plus #01 and #21. #29 was a gwp.  Looking forward to seeing how they compare to my Sonia G and Wayne Goss.

[Sunnysmom]

What a beautiful purchase @makeitup305 , enjoy them!  I was gifted some and so far I love em! )

[makeitup305]

@Sunnysmom I like them so far! I haven’t tried all of them yet but most are very similar to Wayne Goss and Sonia G brushes I already own so I look forward to using them and comparing them

[TraceyEB]

Smith Cosmetics Annual Black Friday Sale - code BestEVER2021 for 25% off all Smith products.

- tagging @makeitup305

[makeitup305]

Thanks for the tag @TraceyEB ! I don’t think the code is going to be active til Black Friday. I just tried to check out and no luck just yet.

[TraceyEB]

@makeitup305, Smith's Black Friday sale is a one day only sale.

[teufel]

Rephr Black Friday Sale has started: 50% off everything. I personally have never tried their brushes but am considering trying them because they are pretty inexpensive. Their brushes are made in Kumano, Japan. Any thoughts, recommendations, or experiences to share?

 

[WinglessOne]

@teufel  By now, you've probably looked through this thread for Rephr feedback. But here's an updated version of what I originally wrote in July about most of my Rephrs. All my brushes are comfortably soft unless otherwise noted (not grey squirrel soft, of course, but on par with Sonia G. goat hair softness). 

Spoiler

04 angled face - November update: I hate this one. It's too dense and stiff for its own good. I saw other people's feedback (at Rephr's site) about this brush being too floppy, so I wonder if the one I got has abnormally bundled bristles—because mine's not floppy at all. It's also a bit scratchy in a couple places. I tested this brush before and after washing, with powder, cream, and liquid cheek/face makeup. It's hard for me to control and blend with because it has little to no give. That wouldn't be an issue for me if it wasn't an angled brush shape. Even after a 5th true washing (with brush soap, not a spray), my 04 hasn't loosened up. Weirdly, it does look like it's slightly fluffed out a bit, but that hasn't made it any less stiff. 

05 cheek - my second favorite Rephr brush, and the only one in my entire brush collection to truly rival my beloved Chikuhodo Z-4. It’s that good. The first couple times I used it, it shed more than I expected but not to an alarming degree. This is the cheek brush I’ll travel with from now on. I might even buy a second one. 

November update: yep, still love the 05. It fluffed out considerably after its first washing, making it even easier to blend with. Note that it's not quite the same shape as the Chikuhodo Z-4, and it's fluffier than the Z-4. Also, the Z-4 is squirrel so naturally it feels softer and silkier than the 05. But I get the same control and blending ease with the 05 as I do with the Z-4, just with a bit more of a color punch because the 05 picks up more powder than the Z-4. 

15 crease blender - I hate it as an eye brush. It’s too tapered for me—even after washing and fluffing out, the tip's still too pointy for someone like me who prefers domed blenders—and something about the density isn’t right. My last test involved blending Viseart mattes, and I struggled to do that with this brush. When a brush can’t handle Viseart mattes, of all shadow, I know it’s not for me. Other folks might have better luck with it; I'm just not big into tapered crease brushes and rarely use the other ones I own. Eh, I’ll end up using the 15 for some non-eye purpose. I'm good at repurposing brushes. 

November update: I thought a couple of washings might help this brush, but nope, it retained its tapered shape too well for me. It's also too large for my particular eye size and shape. Folks who love tapered crease brushes might like this one. 

19 candle face - totally didn’t expect to love this one since I rarely use candle shaped brushes, but wow is this thing great at applying and blending out things like bareMinerals Blonzer to the hyperpigmented sides of my face. It’s the perfect size and shape for that task. I even like to apply highlighter with it. 

21 shader - this one’s a natural + synthetic blend meant for creams and shimmers. It has a long flat paddle shape. It handles creams quite well. It also packs on powders, but I bought it specifically for cream shadows. 

23 detail pencil - my favorite Rephr brush. I love a gilded and/or detailed inner corner, and this little pencil brush is small enough to make that task a breeze. It’s also great for getting a narrow smudge (vs. the wide smudge/smoked out panda eye look which I don’t like on myself because dude, all my lines are under my eyes) on the lower lash line. I also like it for upper lash liner and wing detail. I love this brush so much, I bought 3 of them. Best pencil brush ever. 

November update: forgot to mention this brush retains its pencil shape after washing. Still my favorite Rephr brush, and among the faves of my entire brush collection. 

Core eye trio: 

• 01 blender - similar to Sonia G.’s Worker brushes in terms of shape and performance. The Workers perform better for me, but the 01's no slouch: it can pack and blend color with ease. 
• 02 shader - Rephr calls it a high-density shader and they’re not exaggerating. Packs on shadow like nobody's business. 
• 03 pencil - more of a standard sized pencil that performs well. November update: keeps its shape after washing. (Some pencils don't, unfortunately.) 

New eye bundle: 

• 26 large pencil - I like this one for outer corner work. It’s much too big for my inner corner or lower lash line. 
• 27 blender - November update: this big fluffy blender gets the job done. It has the softness and density of the Sonia G. Blender Pro, but its larger size makes it not ideal (for me) for detailed blending. I do like to smoke out my outer corner with it, and it's good when I need a less controlled blend of a large area. 
  
• 28 shader - November update: very similar in size and shape to the synthetic Rephr 21 shader, with a thicker fluffier side profile. Works very well for my hooded eye shape and size, especially since it's narrower than the typical shader brush. 
  29 liner - November update: this tiny thing has a straight edge instead of an angled edge, so I use it more for stamping liner (eyeshadow or liquid/cream eyeliner) instead of dragging/drawing liner like I would with an angled brush. I haven't tried smoking out the lower lash line with it because I generally prefer a small pencil brush for that. 

Some of my comparison photos: 

Spoiler

Eyeshadow blenders, starting with my all-time favorite (the Blender Pro).Eyeshadow shaders. I figure most folks are familiar with the MAC 239, so it's a good reference point.The 21's the flattest of the bunch.

Since July, I've also gotten the 20 fan brush and the 22 bronzer brush. I haven't used either of them enough to make final judgments yet. 

At 50% off, Rephr brushes are definitely worth trying. I plan to travel with mine (whenever it's safe for me to travel again), and some of them get a good workout here at home. If you do try any of them, let us know what you think of them! 

[Sunnysmom]

Thanks for terrific info as always @WinglessOne ! I’m brush challenged so the more the better! 

[makeitup305]

Thanks so much for the dialed reviews @WinglessOne. I bought an eye set and can’t wait to try it. I was going to pick up the 05 and /or the 24 but held back since I just picked up the Sonia G Sky face set. I might go back for the 05 at some point since you gave it such a glowing recommendation!

[WinglessOne]

@makeitup305  I meant to post this last night but got caught up in something else. For the heck of it, here's the 05 compared to the Z-4. I wish I'd also taken a comparison photo back when I first got the 05, before I ever washed it, so folks could see how much it's unfurled since. Back then, it was nearly the same shape as the Z-4. Eh, I could dry it in a brush guard after its next washing to tame the fluff. 

Front facing photo. Aw, my poor Z-4 has a chipped ferrule.My Z-4's in bedhead mode til I wash it again.

I hope you enjoy the eye brushes coming your way! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on them.