Gah, I have to stop listening to Sounds of the Universe or else I won't be able to write a single coherent sentence... ;-) I can't wait until the 20th April to buy the album!!!
Anyway, who wants to see my Everyday Minerals brushes? I know at least one person who does, so here they are in all their glory (or at least looking as good as my photography skills could make them) with commentary from yours truly. :)
(All pictures in this post are copyright of me, unless stated otherwise.)--- oOo ---
Let me start by saying that until I ordered these brushes last summer, I had not owned any good quality brushes, only a few scratchy mops of fur bought in drugstores. I still don't have anything else (no MAC or Trish McAvoy, sorry...), but I think I would be fine with these and just these even if I could never buy another brush for the rest of my life. That, of course, is the practical side of my brain speaking, the one I repeatedly silence with a well-aimed mental kick every time I see a new little beauty-toy to be had. I can never fight my curiosity long enough to refrain from buying more stuff than I need; in fact, I'm already planning to order EDM's new "Skunkless Foptic Brush", and maybe even buy some stuff in a very nice local store specializing in art and makeup brushes. I just feel my life wouldn't be complete without having my very own fiber optic brush. :)
Back to the brushes now: it was a really good move on my part to get these brushes because if you want to use mineral makeup, the quality of the tools you apply it with is extremely important. You won't get anywhere with brushes made of animal fur and anything that was bought in you average drugstore on the corner. You need the density, the softness, and the reliability that only good quality brushes can provide, and these definitely fulfill all the above requirements. Ever since I bought them about a year ago, they haven't shed more than 4-5 hairs (per bundle, not per brush!), they're incredibly soft even after dozens (probably hundreds) of washings, and they're thick and compact, allowing for smooth and even application of all my minerals.
And I don't go easy on my bushes, believe me: I wash them with antibacterial washing liquid every week (I won't stand for any more germs on my skin than what is unavoidable with a cat living in the same household as you), and cleanse them with my Bioderma Sensibio H2O micellar cleanser on a cotton pad in between (thanks for the tip, Bagaela). I do use conditioner though, so they're still as soft as they were a year ago.
All in all, if you've just hopped onto the mineral makeup bandwagon and have yet to see what the big deal is about, you should probably invest into some EDM brushes and just be amazed at the difference they make in MMU application. They're relatively cheap too, especially if you order them in a kit.
Now let's take a look at them one-by-one.
Back to the brushes now: it was a really good move on my part to get these brushes because if you want to use mineral makeup, the quality of the tools you apply it with is extremely important. You won't get anywhere with brushes made of animal fur and anything that was bought in you average drugstore on the corner. You need the density, the softness, and the reliability that only good quality brushes can provide, and these definitely fulfill all the above requirements. Ever since I bought them about a year ago, they haven't shed more than 4-5 hairs (per bundle, not per brush!), they're incredibly soft even after dozens (probably hundreds) of washings, and they're thick and compact, allowing for smooth and even application of all my minerals.
And I don't go easy on my bushes, believe me: I wash them with antibacterial washing liquid every week (I won't stand for any more germs on my skin than what is unavoidable with a cat living in the same household as you), and cleanse them with my Bioderma Sensibio H2O micellar cleanser on a cotton pad in between (thanks for the tip, Bagaela). I do use conditioner though, so they're still as soft as they were a year ago.
All in all, if you've just hopped onto the mineral makeup bandwagon and have yet to see what the big deal is about, you should probably invest into some EDM brushes and just be amazed at the difference they make in MMU application. They're relatively cheap too, especially if you order them in a kit.
Now let's take a look at them one-by-one.
Long Handled Kabuki
From the two brushes that are meant for applying mineral foundation, I like this one much less. Yes, it's a wonderfully dense and soft brush (just like all of EDM's brushes), but I can't shake the feeling that this one is better suited for applying some sort of finishing powder or maybe even bronzer. I don't like the way its head is slightly dome-shaped, resulting in uneven distribution of any kind of powder on my skin which leaves my face it splotchy and the brush downright useless in this department. I think, however, that that's just me. Other might have much better luck with it, but I have already gathered from trial and error that EDM's Flat Top Brush is the only one for me.
Length: ~10.5 cm
Diameter of head: ~4cm
Flat Top Brush
Exactly because of its flatness it fits to every nook and curve on my face, and enables me to reach even the area next to and around my nose. It follows the angles of my face quite nicely and distributes an even amount of powder everywhere which makes it much more suited for applying foundation (in my book at least). Imagine stenciling a pretty motif on your wall with the Kabuki and then this one: as someone who knows her way around art and different kinds of brushes I can safely say that while this one would leave behind a nice, even layer of paint, the Kabuki would definitely smear and color with varying intensity.
Length: ~10 cm
Diameter of head: ~3.5 cm
Angled Blush Brush
I bought two of these as I had thought it would be practical and less time-consuming to have one for shimmery blushes and one for mattes. (You know, not having to wash my brush every time I want to apply a matte blush after a shimmery one.) Now I think maybe I should have bought one for cool-toned blushes, and one for warm-toned ones, and another for bronzers, and a further one for highlighters, and so on... Although for really intensive colors such as Wake-Up Call and Sunday Brunch I will probably use a fiber optic brush, this brush is still a great little tool to work with. I like that it's relatively flat and angled: this way I can cover a rather big portion of my cheek at the same time and distribute the blush evenly. Nice work, EDM!
Length: ~11.5 cm
Diameter of head (width): ~3.5 cm
Diameter of head (length): ~2.5 cm
Everyday Eyeshadow Brush
This one should have been included in my 10 piece eyeshadow kit, but alas, it wasn't. As far as I remember it was out of stock at the time, so I reconciled myself to the thought that I just managed to miss out on it and would perhaps buy one some other time. (So I'm a loser, so what's new? :)) Then one day, the postman turned up with an envelope, and as I wasn't expecting anything at the time, I was a bit surprised. Upon opening the envelope it was my missing eyeshadow brush that fell out, which only built up my trust in EDM's ways of doing business a bit further.
Anyway, EDM's eyeshadow brush is nice, but it's a bit too inflexible and tough for my liking. It's very easy to have a lot of sparkly eyeshadow end up on your cheeks using this one as it just springs back whenever I try to bend it and make it follow the contours of my eyelid. I used to apply concealer with it, but when I got my Eye Kabuki I tossed this one altogether and never looked back. (Okay, maybe I did use this brush for contouring once or twice, but that's it.) I say you'd do much better with a softer, easier to bend brush.
Length: ~16.5 cm
Head (width): ~1 cm
Head (length): ~1 cm
Eye Kabuki
Lovely, only I use it as a concealer brush.
Just like EDM's other brushes this one is also very dense and soft, making it perfect for applying any sort of powder, especially concealer, as the size of the brush head allows for buffing and perfect blending. Unlike the previous brushes, this one already has a bamboo handle (I got this for myself for Christmas), just like all brushes EDM will sell in the future.
Applying eyeshadow with this one is not entirely impossible, but I just wish it were a bit smaller as working with it in its current state is a bit awkward to say the least. It comes in handy though when you want to apply a base color quickly or just blend two colors, but you have to be careful while doing the latter one: the size of the brush doesn't allow for much precision unfortunately.
Length: ~13 cm
Diameter of head: ~1.5 cm
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on Saturday, March 28, 2009
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Hi!
Finally a new post! :-) I missed reading your reviews. ;)
And thank you very much for this one - even through my budget isn't so grateful for it because now I really-really wouild like to try the flat top brush, despite ordering the angled blush brush as well. What can I say - I'm hooked. :-)
I already have the kabuki, for me it works well - but I don't have another brush for foundation so i cannot know, if it could be even better. Well, we will see, if we manage to order from EDM! ;)
Nice review! Thank you so much for this information. I have been thinking about the angled brush so now I know what to do!
Hope you had a great weekend,
Grayburn
Hi Izar! Great review! These brushes look absolutely beautiful.
Hi there Ladybird!
And I missed your kind comments. ^_^ I'm so curious as to whether you'll like the Flat Top or not. I do hope you will, it's a great brush, though the Kabuki is great too, I just had better luck with the Flat Top.
This group order really came in handy for me: I've been dying to get my hands on that new Foptic brush and maybe even buy another Eye Kabuki (one I will actually use to apply eye makeup), and now I can. Yay! :-D
Let me know how you like your Flat Top when you get it. :)
xoxo
Izar
Grayburn, hi!
Haha, it seems I'm very good at tempting people to buy more beauty tools. :-D Thanks a bunch for your comment, dear. I feel so bad for not being here very often, but right now my attention is divided between so many things that I just don't know where to look first. *shakes head in confusion*
Anyway, I have a meeting with some girls this evening, but when I get home, I think I'll spend some quality time browsing through my favorite blogs (yours included, of course).
Hope you had a great weekend too (mine was cool), have a nice week,
Izar
Hey B!
Thanks a bunch girl, they are indeed real pieces of art. :)
xoxo
Izar
Gosh, it's been weeks since I decided to comment, I don't know how I just skipped it anytime I visited Your blog (nearly every day, btw :) )..
I have the Kabuki, the Flat top and the eyeshadow brush too. I Use the eyeshadow brush with liquid concealer undereyes, it's perfect for that! I also have the EM concealer brush, it's gerat with powder concealer, but not with liquid. :)
God, I crave for the angeled blush brush :) And the eye kabuki (eye-buki:D )looks great too, highlighting ang concealing my lids and undereye...yummi. :)
Btw, I just find a very great brush in the local Rossmann drugstore, from the 'Essence', a synthetic blush brush, I think it was part of the 50's fever (or sometióhing like that) collection. It's just as soft as an EM brush for 600huf.
Hi Bagaela!
It's sooooooo good to hear from you! :-D I haven't updated this thing for more than a month now (I'm laziness incarnate...), but I really have to start posting again, I've been collecting new things like a hamster. :)
I'm definitely going to check that Essence brush out, one of my friends is in desperate need of some brushes, but I really wouldn't want her to spend a fortune on them. Btw: have you ever checked out the brushes at H&M? If you have, what's your opinion on them?
And I still owe you a review on the ArtDeco e/s base... *holds head in shame* Wait! That's it! That's what I'm going to write about next!!! I've been using it every day for a long while (I've since bought my own), and there's no way I could live without it now, so thanks for the sample you sent me way back in the summer. ^_^
Yay, it was great hearing from you; come back soon, I'll have a nice, juicy review written especially for you. :-D
Actually - I used to think the LHK is too flimsy but now i have changed my application technique and it is perfect - perfect for patting on the powder. I do not use the sweeping motions any more. Now the FTK sits forsaken in the cupboard. :)