Image from Smashbox.com

The $134 value Smashbox 5-piece brush kit is now only $49! It contains 5 exclusive travel-size brushes, protected in a shiny raspberry case. The Perfect Tools Set is just one of the WISH Holiday 2009 collections. With every purchase of the WISH kit, Smashbox donates $1 to the Children’s Miracle Network for sick and injured kids.

The set includes:
TRAVEL ANGLED BLUSH BRUSH
TRAVEL BLENDING BRUSH
TRAVEL CREASE BRUSH
TRAVEL SHADOW LINER BRUSH
TRAVEL ANGLED PRECISION LINER BRUSH

Among the 5, what grabs my attention is the blending brush. I’ve always wanted to have one because the ELF blending brush I got is a little too abrasive for the sensitive eye area. I hope this one’s different. The Smashbox website doesn’t say what the handles are made of, which is an important factor when deciding to purchase makeup brushes.

The size may not be for professional use but it serves the same purpose and it makes a handy yet elegant companion for your purse. My ultimate WISH for Smashbox, however,  is that they start shipping to the Philippines so I wouldn’t have to wait for a relative or friend to come home before I could purchase their products.

Makeup Brushes are either made of:

1. Natural Bristles- animal hair. Usually goat, sable or squirrel hair.  The scales in the natural fibers allow efficient transfer of powder to the skin.
2. Synthetic Bristles- these are best for liquid or cream forms of makeup, for easy gliding of cosmetics to the skin.

This post will be all about face brushes. Those that you use to apply foundation, powder, highlighting, contouring and blushing.  There are more kinds of brushes in the market but these are the ones that I personally use. You don’t have to own all of them.

I. Natural Bristles

1- Large Powder Brush

• big fluffy brush used in applying loose powder for a smooth, sheer and even application
• the fuller the brush, the more powder will be spread out

2- Small Powder Brush

• a smaller version of the large powder brush. You can do away with it if you already have the large one. Sometimes I use this for applying powder to the neck area because I don’t want to put back on the face what I have used on the neck or body.

3- Powder/ Blush Brush

• For contouring/sculpting your cheekbones

4- Angled Blush Brush

• A blush brush that is tapered at the sides for controlled blending application

5- Fan Brush

• For sweeping off excess powder, applying sheer coverage, highlighting cheekbones and the list goes on. The use of this brush varies.

II. Combination of Natural and Synthetic Bristles

Stippling Brush-

The latest innovation for quicker and even application of liquid foundation. Make circular motion to distribute the fluid. This can also be used for applying powder forms for an air-brushed finish.

Made of a combination of natural and synthetic fibers, hence the term dual-fiber.

III. Synthetic Bristles

1-Foundation Brush-

To apply, distribute, and blend  liquid foundation into the face. Made of synthetic fiber.

2-Concealer Brush-

A smaller version of the foundation brush used to apply concealer on problem areas.

The eyeshadow brushes will be up in the next installment of this series on makeup brushes.

This is an introduction to a series of discussions on makeup brushes. Let us get to know the parts of a brush. They are divided into 3 components, namely:

1. Hair Bundle
- this can be made of natural hair, natural bristle or synthetic materials. It is further divided into the a.) flower tip and the b.)length-out. The former is the one coming in touch with the skin while the latter is the visible part between the flower tip and the ferrule. The bottom of the hair bundle is dipped into a glue and inserted to the ferrule.

2. Ferrule
- this is the metal tube securing the hair bundle to the handle. They should be double crimped and seamless to avoid unsteady handles. They are often made out of brass, copper or aluminum. Brass is the strongest one. Aluminum mixed with other metal can just be as strong. Brushes like those from Mac are nickel plated for corrosion resistance and aesthetic value.

3. Handle
- a good brush is securely placed in the handle socket and doesn’t shed. Handles can be made out of acrylics, woods or metals. Caution during washing your brushes with especially those with wooden handles: do not leave your brushes soaked up to the handle or the coating would come off. If you do have to have your brushes stand in water overnight (an old school method), make sure it is only until the level of the hair bundle and don’t leave it for too long or else some brushes’ color tend to bleed, contaminating brushes nearby.

The first time I heard about Suesh was through the August edition of Preview magazine last year (the same issue where Makeup Artist in Scrubs was featured in the Nokia N76 promo winners). The price of P2,500 for a 16 piece set was reasonable enough. It looked very professional. It was tempting but I brushed it aside ( pun intended) because I wasn’t sure about the quality based on the magazine feature alone. When I enrolled in a make up school, my classmate Sharon showed me her suesh 28 piece brushes and I made a mental note to buy one for myself soon.

It took a while to get my hands on my very own suesh brush set because the 28 piece set was always out of stock. It was selling like hotcakes.

These are 5 top reasons why I instantly fell in love with it:

1. They are luxuriously sooffft! I have encountered brushes that were very affordable yet double as face exfoliants. The abrasive nature of these cheap brushes irritates the skin and causes blemishes. Suesh brushes are soft enough to be therapeutic to the skin. When I first got it, I couldn’t stop sweeping it on my palm.
2. Effective delivery of pigments. The difference of natural fibers like those of suesh’s from soft synthetic brushes is the presence of scales. These hold the pigments and transfer it to your skin when applied.
3. No shedding. Even for some expensive brushes, they leave fibers on your face, sometimes ample enough to mistake you as garfield’s girlfriend. Suesh does not give you this problem.
4. Sturdy. These brushes will last you for a long, long time due to the quality craftmanship.
5. Reasonable price. For good quality brushes, Suesh is the real deal! Branded brushes could cost as much as P3,000 per brush, yet with P4,500, you can already have Suesh full 28 piece professional set. It’s a very wise investment.

Prior to purchasing these brushes, I bought their tool belt for P1,000.00. It affords me the convenience of having my brushes around all the time during photo shoots.

For make up junkies who want the basics, they also have 5 piece brush set for only P900. This would make a nice present for your kikay friends or your mom. I wish somebody gave me a gift like this but it never happened. By the way, watch out for the Cosmopolitan Philippines August 2008 Edition. The 5 piece suesh set landed on their cosmo beauty awards.
Other items that Suesh has are:

• Kabuki brush- P700
• Retractable blush brush- P600
• Foundation Brush- P700
• Stippling brush- P900

Their website is at: http://suesh.multiply.com or you could contact them at 09178942625 or 09226038087. Don’t worry, the ladies behind Suesh are absolutely nice, they don’t bite.

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