Make Up For Ever recently redesigned and relaunched their entire brush line. There are more than 70 brushes and the descriptions and price lists are at the end of this post for your reference. All of these brushes are handmade, with synthetic bristles and a wood handle.
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The brush I received was the 228 Medium Eye Shader Brush, it is about 2/3 of an inch tall and half an inch wide. It feels relatively light in my hands compared to other wood-handled eye brushes (such as the MAC 238), but is still weightier than most other eye brushes I have. The bristles on this brush are very fine and extremely soft, one of the softest brush bristles I’ve used.
The design is interesting, as you can see from the photos, there are notches on both sides of the brush about halfway up, as the brush tapers to a point. I found that this notch was especially helpful at picking up products. Because it is notched inwards, it helps to mold around the shade of your eyelids and creating a more even application.
I normally use natural-haired brushes with my powder eyeshadow, because I find that synthetic bristles don’t hold powder as well. With the unique notched design, I found that it is better than most synthetic brushes for when picking up and applying powder. However, I still prefer my natural-haired brushes for powder eyeshadow. For cream products, such as cream eyeshadow or concealer, it worked wonderfully to apply a smooth, even layer of the on my skin, and also helped in blending for optimal adherence.
Priced at $29, I would recommend this brush if you are looking for an eye brush for cream products. While it applies powder eyeshadow fine, and a lot better than most synthetic brushes I’ve tried, I still felt that a natural-haired brush still performs better. It’s a good multi-purpose brush if you just want just one brush to tackle all of your eye colour needs.
Compared to MAC 239, it is slightly thicker and also a touch longer:
Sometimes translated as 'blue' squirrel (in Japanese 灰リスいliterally means 'ash squirrel'), these are exquisitely soft bristles that provide a sheer, airbrushed, natural-looking finish, and are suitable for very sensitive skin. They’re good for highly pigmented products as they won’t over-apply color; for bolder looks, the product can be built up. Not recommended for liquid and cream products, due to the delicate nature of the fibers.
Kumano makeup brushes are produced by Japanese artisans with a long history of expertise in crafting handmade calligraphy tools, and are ideal for solving any makeup trouble and ensuring the best application possible.
The quality of craftsmanship by Japanese Kumanofude manufacturers is extremely high, and can require up to 10 years of training. Over those years of training, Kumanofude artisans to gain the knowledge required to be able to handle animal hairs for the bristles proficiently, as well as judge quality. Kumano Japanese makeup brushes require around 30 steps to create, and most of these steps are still done by hand. Great attention is paid especially to the most essential part of the brush—the tip—which are always handmade using traditional Kumano artisan techniques. Given the great care and precision used to make Kumano brushes, they are known to be more durable than other makeup brushes.
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Silver fox bristles have a luxurious softness comparable to gray squirrel, but with a little more elasticity and resilience. They’re characterized by ash-brown tips and a base of luminous silver-white. The workshops do not recommend them for cream products due to the delicate nature of the bristles (even though they're not quite as delicate as gray squirrel). However, some customers like to use silver fox for liquid and cream products but it is of the understanding that the bristles may be damaged with the frequent washing.
The end of every bristle gently tapers into its own fine point, unlike synthetic brushes where the end of the bristles is machine-cut, which can irritate the skin due to the prickly exposed cross-section of the bristles.
While synthetic fibers have some benefits in the application, such as being useful for liquid and cream cosmetics, they are less effective at catching powder and can result in wasted makeup or poor blending.
Goat are one of the most commonly used bristles within the natural hair varieties, known for their versatility and resilience, and for more pigmented applications of product. Goat can be found in just about every type of brush, from liquid foundation to highlighter and eyeshadow. Within the category of goat, there are various sub-types, which depend on where the bristles come from on the goat (eg. chest, back, side), the gender of the goat, and the quality of the actual bristles themselves. Goat may also come dyed black, with tea, or even persimmon (known as ‘kakishibuzome’ in Japanese).
Horse is known for its strength and durability and affordability; although not as fine as squirrel, and with less elasticity than fox, horse bristle tips still have very soft tips and good blendability and can be found in all face, cheek and eyeshadow brushes. Horse bristles are ideal when you want more pigmented product, and for shimmer eyeshadows and blending tasks. Horse is often used in combination with goat or squirrel hair for added softness and balance.
It is more flexible, controllable, and durable than weasel or the kolinsky. The downside is that it lacks cohesion. Raccoon bristles are a little thicker than weasel or Kolinsky bristles, both overall and at the tips. Raccoon bristle is often used as an eyebrow brush, but it can also be used to draw a firm line.
A firm, elastic type of bristle with cohesive tips and a moist feeling. These are typically used for eyeshadow and eyeliner and lip brushes, as well as liquid foundation, as they're resilient for cream and liquid products and don't absorb a lot of product. The firmness makes them good for detailed work and drawing fine lines. The non-absorbant hair type also makes it ideal for and packing on product.
Stiff and resilient enough to define and shape, Badger’s hair is typically used for eye brushes. Water badger is more flexible, and excel in defining detailed sharp eye-line. Badger has long history and tradition in various parts of the world. And common material found in other kinds of brushes. Hair is thicker toward the tip and thinner at the bottom; good-quality badger bristles are typically light brown in color.
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