CarmenClaire Cosmetics Top 10 Brush Collection

It's been a quiet July, but hopefully August will be making some noise in this blog. And brushes will kick off this month. I'm a sale sucker and I just could not resist 20% off from Carmen Claire with a P1000+ purchase. So from P1200 to a  price drop of P960! And for a complete brush set? Count me in.  

It comes in a classy leatherette container. Perfect for travel! And doesn't it just scream professional?

Price: P1200 but I got it for P960 since they're having a discount with a P1000 peso purchase

Availability: www.carmenclaire.com

Description:

Tuxedo black-and-white, luxurious leatherette, and ultra-soft natural and synthetic hair. 

Designed with love and engineered with precision, it's the CarmenClaire TOP 10 Brush Collection.

Each set includes:

Powder Brush (white goat hair)

Round Blush Brush (white goat hair)

Angled Blush Brush (white goat hair)

Blending Brush (white goat hair)

Large Eyeshadow Brush (ox tail hair)

Medium Eyeshadow Brush (ox tail hair)

Angled Liner Brush (synthetic hair)

Lip Brush (synthetic hair)

Lash and Brow Comb (plastic)

Foundation/Concealer Brush (synthetic hair)

The whole set in its entirety looks beautiful. The combination of black ferrules and white hairs just make me swoon. These brushes are my first experience with natural brushes and I'm quite impressed. Apparently natural brushes pick up powder products better while synthetic brushes (i.e. Real techniques) pick up cream and liquid products better.

From (L-R) Blending brush, Angled blush brush, Round blush brush, Powder brush

These brushes were made from white goat hair, but are exceptionally soft, with the slight exception of the blending brush which can be a tad scratchy but workable. They pick up pigment well and apply it subtly and beautifully especially when its a notoriously pigmented, oops-you-might-look-ridiculous-if-you-apply-too-much product. The face brushes just do a great job. But the blending brush does well too but not as great as the face brushes.

From (L-R) Foundation and concealer brush, Eyeliner brush, Brow comb, Medium eye shadow brush, Large eye shadow brush, Lip brush 

The foundation/concealer, lip and eyeliner brush are made of dense synthetic bristles, and the liner means business as it is sturdy and does not bend, perfect for gel liner. the lip brush is also precise, like making your lipstick look like liner when it applies. The brow brush is an ok but very common addition to these kinds of sets and I really can't find anything particularly bad about them but I don't use them as much as I'd like.

The Ox tail hair shadow brushes are also sturdy as well, almost synthetic to a point, I personally don't like these flat shapes for shadow application other than a light wash of pigment on lids, everything else I'd depend on a blending brush with a more domed or solid thickness or shape.

Overall these brushes are worth the money, especially for beginners who have always been curious of what natural hair brushes deliver without breaking the bank as some can go for a small fortune for one brush. However there will be shedding (for the goat hair brushes at least) which is perfectly normal for natural hair and a distinct odor which is also pretty common, so be wary of these two things, I'm pretty fine with the shedding since I don't use them roughly. Only for final finishes or powder. But if you tend to go with a heavy hand, small hairs will shed, this also goes for washing them. I also find that they dry slower than my synthetic brushes since they absorb more moisture. 

The scent can be controlled to a point, since my brush cleaner is quite fragrant. However I find that if I wash them with a foaming cleanser, the scent comes back with a vengeance, so as much as possible I would wash them with a proper brush cleaner.

Thanks for reading!