Affordable Makeup Brushes, Reviewed

Today I thought I'd talk makeup brushes... because why not! And because I've recently acquired quite a few new brushes in the last month or so that I feel are worth highlighting/talking about! 

Firstly I should point out that I'm no makeup brush snob, in fact I don't own a single MAC brush. Shocking I know! The reason for this is because I truly believe amazing brushes can be found both online and on the high street for some pretty bargianous (yes, that is a word) prices. I'm talking under £5 here and if you take to eBay it's more like £1.50 per brush! You can actually read about some of my favourite bargain eBay brushes here, but for now here are a few brushes I'm currently enjoying!

Lottie London Best of Brushes Collection

£19.99 - Superdrug here (can be purchased individually) 

First up I have a lovely looking set from the brand, Lottie London. This is a brand I'm totally new to and if I'm right in thinking is exclusive to Superdrug and offers a range of nail products including nail polishes and quite a few makeup brushes. The pretty affordable set, though it is of a similar price to a Real Techniques Brush Kit, includes 5 brushes all of which are 100% nylon. The set includes - a powder brush, foundation brush, eyeshadow brush, eyeshadow blending brush and an angled liner brush.

 So I think I need to touch on the coloured tips first! I mean they certainly stand out don't they? Along with the super pretty pastel hue handles I think it works... though the red tipped brush doesn't fit in with the pastel theme (I'm picky, I know!). They also thankfully don't lose their dye when being washed which was something I was half expecting. The unique look gets a thumbs up from me! 

As for the quality of the brushes they are all soft with the powder brush feeling amazing brushed over the skin and as for shedding I haven't seen a single fibre leave them as of yet! Individually the powder brush, large foundation brush and long eyeshadow blending brush are all my favourites as they are great quality and soft and almost seem like an over-exaggerated version of themselves... which I know sounds strange but the powder brush is fuller and larger than you'd expect, the foundation brush is certainly wider than a normal flat foundation brush and the eyeshadow blending brush is longer in length than any other eyeshadow brush I own which makes it more flexible and easier to use. As for the other two brushes, the eyeshadow brush is possibly the let down of the set as I find it doesn't really pick up enough product to lay it down on the eyelid and when using it I've actually given up and used my fingers instead! Then there's the angled brush which I was hoping could be used both under the eyes and on the eyebrows but it's a little too stiff to be soften eyeshadow/eyeliner under the eyes but it works well for filling in the brows and I'm thinking it would work well with a gel liner.

Is the set worth it? Well it's definitely introduced me to Lottie London brushes and how lovely some of them are, but when you are purchasing a set you are hoping to get use out of all of them... which sadly wasn't the case for me with the eyeshadow brush. So truthfully if you are looking for a new set of brushes I wouldn't recommend these and suggest you opt for a brush kit from Real Techniques. However some of these brushes I'd say are worth buying individually, such as the powder brush (£7.99 here), foundation brush (£7.99 here) and eyeshadow blending brush (£4.99 here)... all very affordable and of great quality!

 

Crown Duo Fibre Shadow/Crease Brush  C491
£6.99 - Crown Brush here
On to Crown brushes now with a few double ended brushes that I find great value for money (you are essentially getting two brushes for the price of one) and ideal for travelling with. The Shadow/Crease Brush is the lovely medium sized brush you can see above, with one end ideal for applying eyeshadow over the lid and the other end for some serious blending out of either eyeshadow or even concealer. I personally love to use both ends on the eye area and find the blended end to work amazing well at softening the edges of a smokey eye without over blending shades together. This is a simple brush yet it does what it's intended for really well. It's also super soft! 

Crown Duo Fibre Blush/Blender Brush C490 
£11.99 - Crown Brush here  
Onto a slightly more expensive brush for the face, if you can call £12 for essentially two brushes expensive. With this brush one end is for liquid or cream foundation application and the other cream blush. Due to the duo fibre nature of both I find them to give such a flawless finish as they lightly buff over the skin, in fact the foundation application with this brush is just as good at giving an airbrushed finish as when I use my favourite Real Techniques Sponge slightly dampened. If you are after a brush that will give a flawless finish then this is it! Totally love it!

Syntho Brow Duo SS025
£3.99 - Crown Brush here
Lastly I had to include this not so interesting looking brush as it's really become an essential over the past month or so. I already own many angled brushes for applying eye liner and smudge out eyeshadow on my lower lash line but when it comes to an angled brush for the brows it has to be precise and stiff, which is why the Syntho Brow Duo brush just works. The small angled brush is perfect to use with a brow powder to give a precise application and the spoolie end even though it's nothing special means I will never lose it like so many other random spoolies that seem to have disappeared over the years... I suspect they go to the same place that socks go. So having it on the end of the brush means I always have it to hand and brushing through your brows surprisingly neatens everything up! 

I love talking makeup brushes so I'd love to know what your favourite affordable brushes are (aside from Real Techniques!). 

Fee xo.