There are two types of beauty products I rarely buy without trying in person first: foundation and makeup brushes. I’ve read rave reviews on the Luxury Eye Brush ($40) and Face Brush ($56) on The Non-Blonde, Visionary Beauty, Blogdorf Goodman and Makeupalley, but still had to feel and test these in person before buying (even though everything else I have from EB has been purchased sight unseen). When I met Edward last month, I went to the Beverly Hills Neimans with a mental note to try three things: the eye brush, face brush and foundation. Here are my thoughts on his brushes.
Both are beautifully packaged in black boxes. The handles are both metal and the perfect size around to fit easily in the hand for convenient application. The designs are sleek and functional. The brush heads are dense but flexible. According to product info on the web, both are made of natural hairs. I’ve read reviews on other blogs that the brushes they have were made in France. Both of mine indicate that they are handcrafted in China – I know this might be a concern to many of you. I have not tested or seen the France-made brushes so I cannot compare mine. However, the ones I have are of excellent quality (ie, no shedding or color bleeding when I washed them like some brushes do, also the shape is even and well crafted).
The Luxury Eye Brush is something I think is best suited for an all over wash. Many of you probably use brushes this shape for your crease area. I have no crease so I tend to use these as a blender brush or for an all over wash of color. If you’re new to brushes and looking for something in this category, I highly recommend you get the EB over any other brush this shape. The brush is dense enough so it allows control. Some loose brushes simply don’t have enough density (enough hairs) resulting in a loose floppy type of brush that provides no control. Others are either too stiff or too soft preventing you from picking up enough product to get a decent application which may require multiple dips into your shadows and swipes on the lids to get enough to show up. I find Edward Bess’s Luxury Eye Brush to be the perfect density and texture (not too soft but not pokey) to get a good even application. Since my eye lids are smaller and do not have creases, this takes up a big chunk of my eye. It is a versatile brush though. When EB did my makeup, he used 1 brush to apply 2 colors (Mirage all over and Storm just 1/2 way up the lid). For my own personal application, I prefer to use more than 1 brush so I don’t mix colors and get them muddy, but EB’s makeup skills are far superior to mine. I look forward to more brushes from his line!
Shown next to his Dusk and Storm Eyeshadow so you can gauge the size of the head:
Compared next to other eye makeup brushes with similar shapes: L to R Edward Bess, Stila, MAC, Trish McEvoy, Stila (double ended), Laura Mercier (this is the one LM brush I actually don’t love), MAC and Chanel
The Luxury Face Brush by Edward Bess is another winner. I’ve had a number of kabuki brushes from other lines such as Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier and MAC – all of which I liked but are at opposite extremes in texture. The Bobbi Brown is by far the softest and I love to use this for powder application. The Laura Mercier Face brush was too harsh of a texture for my face, it had good application for bronzer, but wasn’t my favorite.
Edward Bess’s falls right in between for softness. The best part is the handle is slightly longer which makes it easier to hold. I have super small fingers to begin with, but find the BB sometimes difficult to grasp easily. I imagine those with normal sized fingers might find it difficult to hold something that short as well. So far, I’ve only used the Luxury Face Brush with bronzer. It picks up just the right amount of product so you don’t need to tap off any excess before applying to the face.
Next to Edward Bess’s Daydream Bronzer:
Next to Bobbi Brown’s Face Brush (yes, it’s not fully cleaned, the lightness is due to powder residue):
Overall love. Spending about $100 on 2 brushes is definitely an ouch to the wallet upfront, but these two brushes are purchases I highly recommend. These are what I would call “no regrets” products.
Finding the right tools is important because good tools make all the difference for application. I have some brushes that are over 10 years old from MAC and Trish McEvoy – all of which I love. For the eye brush, I believe the EB is the best in its category for shape/size. The face brush is great as well – I have not tried kabuki brushes extensively so I can’t compare it to other brands, but I think it’s a great quality brush.
