Makeup brush reviews are not going to be a regular thing for this blog. However, if you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’m a big fan of Angie Hot and Flashy on YouTube. When I heard she had collaborated on makeup brushes with BK Beauty, my interested was piqued.
Once I learned how and why she selected the brushes she made, I thought it was worth a try and a first impression review.
Do Brushes Really Matter?
Let’s start with the basics. Do they matter? Do they really?
I definitely did not think so – until I took a deep dive into the world of brushes.
Good brushes can make the difference between good / bad and easy / hard makeup application. They start to level the playing field for pros and novices. A good brush can be the difference between a flawless blend and a streaky foundation.
Of course you need to know how to use them, which ones to use for what, and a myriad of other things – but I promise you a good brush (quality, density, shape, softness) gives you a substantial leg up.
Convenience Versus Cost
When Angie announced her brush collaboration this past week, one of the biggest comments I saw on her launch video were about cost. The brush set runs $125 for seven (five eyeshadow and two face) brushes.
She does have a discount code to get you 10% off (Angie10) and there is free shipping for US orders.
At the end of it all, before tax, you are looking at $112.50 which makes each brush about $16. If you look at it this way, they are quite affordable – at least in comparison to the brushes I’ve collected over the years!
If you aren’t a professional makeup artist (or aspiring to be one) then the convenience of a well thought out set is key.
Spoiler! This is one of the best overall brush sets I’ve seen – and trust me – I have TRIED brushes!!
I’m embarrassed to tell you all how many brushes I have tried. Hundreds is no exaggeration.
Is it worth the cost for the overall convenience? I say yes.
The Claims
When Angie was talking about her brush launch she ticked off a list of things she wanted to accomplish with her brushes. Did she achieve them?
- Quality/durability
Angie is a big fan of BK Beauty brushes. This is my first foray into this brand so it’s hard to test out of the gate. I did use them and then wash them to test out her claims of no fiber loss. I definitely agree with her on this point. With other brushes (both more expensive and cheaper ones) I can get fiber loss which is annoying and diminishes the integrity of the brush structure over time. So far these brushes stand up to my first impression washing test.
Check. - Fiber Softness
Angie said she focused on was the fiber softness in consideration of a more mature audience. This might sound gimmicky but it’s a real thing. I think these brushes are among the softest I own.
Check. - Shape
Softness matters but size, shape, and density are critical aspects of brush performance. Angie is very specific about all of these factors and I applaud her. After years of investing time and money in putting together my favorite brushes based on personal experience, come to find out we have very similar tastes. You may think I was influenced by Angie but you’ll have to take my word I was not. I’ll show you some comparisons in a minute.
Check. - Easy to use/apply system
Angie said that she routinely gets questions about which brushes to use for what products in what order. If you are a relative makeup novice (I was until the last decade) or you don’t have a lot of time to devote to researching and testing products (including brushes) then having a system can make a big difference. As I mentioned before, I compared my homemade collection with Angie’s set and found an almost one for one match. A lot of where we differed is personal preference. If I had started with her set, the hard work would have been done for me.
Check. - Handle length
Apparently she made the handles a bit longer on her brush set so they stood out and were easier to identify if you had them in a cup with other brushes. This is the only thing I found to be inaccurate – at least to my brush collection. Though, in fairness it may be an unconscious bias on my part towards brushes with longer handles. I find these are long, but they are the same length as the favorite brushes I already own.
Not a check from me.
The Brushes Breakdown
Angie uses a brush labeling system to separate and order the brush use. (A for Angie, 50 for her audience age, 1-7 for use order)
A501 through A505 are eye shadow brushes. A506 and A507 are face brushes. If you follow her system, you will use them in order from A501 to A507. Keep in mind that you can use brushes in any way that works for you. While I generally agree with her approach, I personally finish my face before I do my eyeshadow. I like to live life on the edge – and will often walk around with extra shimmer on my face – which is the down side to doing my face first.
A501 – Lid Shader (Far Right) This brush has a taller head than many but it is thinner in width and thickness than ones I own. This gives a soft application to the eye which prevents tugging and pulling on the eye skin. As our eyelids sag (doesn’t that suck!) we lose real estate on our lids. The smaller shape makes it easier to apply. The fluffier brush picks up product in a more diffuse manner. It’s easy to use but a little bit of a change for me based on how I use my everyday brushes. I do not have one that is shaped like this, but it’s also my least favorite brush in the set. I don’t have the same crease/eyelid real estate as many and it’s still more than I need.
A502 – Crease Brush – (Middle above) This brush has a rounded tapered shape that makes the brush fit into hooded or sagging eyelids better and it helps blend out edges of shadow. I cannot stress enough how important this is. This brush matches my favorite brushes which I only discovered after years of searching. It sounds dramatic but I kid you not. She’s done the work for you on this one. It’s a keeper!
This is hands down my favorite brush shape. It makes blending easy. I’ve always wanted a cross between the Milani and the Marc Jacobs brushes pictured above and this is it. I see this replacing ones I already have. When I looked at cost comparison, Angie’s brush wins hands down. Plus the Milani and Marc Jacobs are discontinued.
A503- Blending Brush – (Left above) This is a bigger version of the A502 brush – and is meant to do the work on blending. Angie says she doesn’t actually apply product with it. She plans on keeping this brush clean and using it only to blend out the shadows she’s applied with A501 and A502. I like this approach, though I’m a bit lazy in my own approach with blending (and it probably shows on most days!)
The Fenty brush (which costs more) is my go-to blending brush. I should say WAS my go-to brush. Angie’s brush is a little more tapered which makes blending more precise and easier. This will replace my current favorite. The Milani (a long time favorite) is discontinued. I use the Milani for very precise application of under eye setting powder so having two similar ones in rotation makes sense to me.
A504 – Smudge/Smoky Brush – (Right above) This brush is a super small version of the A502 brush meant for deep crease and outer V work. If these terms confuse you, they will all make more sense if you watch one of Angie’s videos. This one shows her using the actual brushes with detailed explanations. This is a unique brush in my collection. I have pencil brushes which are more pointed and stiffer. I have pencil brushes which are round, flat and dense. This is the only pointed, small, fluffy rounded one and it really does work well. I’m sold on this one and I probably won’t even use it like she does. I like it it for inner corner work and outer corner blending.
The Milani I use (also discontinued) doesn’t have the taper. In fact I combed through my brush set and I don’t have any like this one – so tapered and so small!
A505 – Shimmer Shadow / Lip Brush – This is the stiff brush in her collection. She uses it to lay down and pat shimmer shades on the eyelid. It’s designed to lay down shadows in a way that does not spread the product all over your face. I love the idea of this but I find the length of the brush is less ideal for me. I prefer a brush with a shorter bristle length for this. As for patting on shimmer shades to avoid fall out – I heartily endorse that!
I had a M.A.C. brush that was very similar but I can’t locate it. It may be in brush heaven. Instead I pulled out my go to shimmer shadow brushes. The Marc Jacobs and Makeup Geek brushes are discontinued but all three of mine differ from Angie’s in their length. I like them stiff and densely packed but since I have less eyelid real estate, I prefer the shorter bristles. I’m not personally sold on Angie’s shimmer shadow brush, but I would use it for a liquid concealer application and I think it works well for lip product application.
A506 – Concealer Brush – Angie says this is her FAVORITE brush in the set. It is a mini version of Angie’s favorite foundation brush (the BK101 which is NOT included in this set). It’s designed to fit into the hollows under your eye to blend out concealer.
When I looked at my collection, I only found one that is similar. Angie’s price point is better but they have similar shapes. I like my Sephora Pro Concealer for blending and it fits nicely everywhere I need it to fit. If you look at the close up side by side, you can see the substantial difference in brush thickness. The thicker size on the BK Beauty brush means you need less pressure to use it and the stipling motion I use to blend works better and more quickly i.e. less tugging. I’m sold on the merit’s of Angie’s version.
A507 – Blush Brush – This super soft angled brush is perfect for blush. I like it with both powder and liquid blush application Angie mentioned. When I first saw this brush I was skeptical. I have a number of angled brushes and I haven’t generally been wowed by them.
However, the density and softness of Angie’s A507 sets it apart from most of my other similar brushes. I like the Morphe and Crown brushes but they are both just a little looser than Angie’s and this means they can spread the product a little more widely than I like. This one is definitely making it into the rotation.
I apologize, all of my brushes are a little dirty. I decided to photograph them used instead of pristine in the interest of time.
What’s Missing For Me
I think this is a great brush set for anyone. I am going to take the seven brush set on a weekend adventure I have coming up – without any of the following brushes I’ll mention, just to really test my theory if I need/want any other brushes in addition.
Brushes are an extremely personal thing because our faces, our makeup needs/wants, and so many other factors differ person by person. I routinely use three or four brushes for my daily routine (I can do that one day if anyone is interested) but I find I get a little panicky if I don’t have a few staple brushes at the ready. I think a lot of Angie’s brushes can be used in various ways – but if I had to add a few in to round the set out, these would be my picks.
- Bronzer Brush – I like a large, domed, fairly dense but soft brush for bronzer. This ridiculous expensive one from Marc Jacobs (discontinue) is a favorite. Morphe has one like this – and I would wager that BK Beauty does as well. This size and shape makes quick and easy work of bronzing up my face. I don’t use it daily but I won’t apply bronzer with anything else.
- Angled Liner Brush – I need to have an angled liner brush in my kit for those days I use eyeshadow as eyeliner, I apply eyeliner from a gel pot, or I need to thicken up my eyebrows. I find this an essential starting point for a good smokey eye as well. I do NOT use this nearly as much as I used to but I will not consider a set complete without a fine, thin liner brush.
- Powder Brush – This big, wide, dense but fluffy powder brush is still available. I use this one EVERY DAY! It makes quick work of powdering my face on those days where my sunscreen is really shiny. I love how effortlessly this creates an even matte finish on my skin. I use it more like a powder puff with a handle. I have purchased this brush for a lot of the women in my life. Totally worth it!
- Highlighting Brush – This brush from Real Techniques is also a long standing favorite of mine. I have five backups so I’m never without it at home, at the gym, or when I travel. Oddly, I don’t wear that much highlighter but for me it is the PERFECT balance of size, shape, softness and density. I can apply a lovely wash of powder highlight without overdoing it or ending up with harsh lines. I use it rarely these days but it will always be part of my brush kit.
- Honorable Mention – Foundation Brush – I chose not to picture one because I rarely wear foundation these days. I find that tinted CC cream or moisturizer blended out with fingers or a low pile puff works perfectly fine. On may days I forgo even the tint and end my routine in just sunscreen. However, when you want a brush, it’s good to have one you love. Angie loves the BK Beauty one so much I keep fighting the urge to check it out. However, I have several that I like in the event that I need it. The key to the foundation brush is density. This should be the most dense brush you own. I do a combination of a stiple and a swirl when I use one of these. However in the world of “less is more” with mature beauty, This is one of the first things to go by the wayside for me.
Phew! Who would have ever though I amassed so much information and opinions about makeup brushes?! Mind blown. But if sharing my perspective can save you some time and energy, then I think it’s all worth it.
Hi, Mom. I know you’re not surprised since you’ve had to listen to me blather on about brush shapes for years now, but thanks for humoring me. If you want to try a set, let me know – my treat!
