Makeup Brushes Part II (Picture Heavy!)

Since my last post on makeup brushes last May, I have added a new kabuki brush, The Body Shop Nature's Minerals Foundation Brush to my daily translucent powder application (instead of a foundation with coverage). With my brief home visit in late last September/early last October, I also remembered to bring back with me the Bobbi Brown Face Brush I posted about in that first makeup brush post. I have been using both since, switching off every few days.

The Body Shop Nature's Minerals Foundation Brush VS. Bobbi Brown Face Brush

The Body Shop Foundation Brush is incredibly soft! It's so densely packed it's velvety to the touch and I couldn't stop playing with it when I first opened it up ^.^ It's so nice I feel like I'm fluffing my face with a bunny wabbit xD which is all the more amazing considering it's synthetic hairs! 

The thing is that when I visited a Body Shop store back in September and saw it on display, I realized mine is still very new and has yet to poof out its full potential. If you don't know what I mean by "poof," just scroll down and see the comparison picture of the Body Shop and Bobbi Brown. See how much poofier the Bobbi Brown brush is? I'm pretty sure it was the same Nature's Minerals Foundation Brush that I saw too and not its newer version ala the Extra Virgin Minerals Foundation Brush, which is a tad smaller.

So despite its velvety softness, I tend to reach for the Bobbi Brown brush more often, because the poofiness just distributes powder a bit better in my experience. I will continue to switch off with this Body Shop brush though. Hopefully it will get poofed out soon after a few more washes ^.^

Here's my Bobbi Brown Face Brush that I've been using since 2006. As you can see, after years of use and wash, it's very extremely poofy ^.^

While it's not as soft and velvety as the Body Shop brush, it distributes and blends powder rather well.

And as much as the years of use made it poofier and a better brush, the repeated washings it has been shedding a hair or two with in the recent washes. Not terrible, but definitely a sign it's getting old as it used to not shed at all!

The Body Shop Nature's Minerals Foundation Brush versus Bobbi Brown Kabuki Face Brush

On this holiday visit with my family, I also bought 2 more brushes, both from The Body Shop, the Kabuki Bronzing Brush and the Face & Body Brush. Unfortunately, I didn't like these as much so after washing and a short trip's worth of use, I left both behind at home. It wasn't the brushes' fault. They did exactly what they were made for, and rather it was my bad for using them with other expectations.

The Body Shop Kabuki Bronzing Brush and Face & Body Brush

The Kabuki Bronzing Brush was just as soft as the Foundation Brush, but the hairs are not as densely packed in addition in being longer. As a bronzing brush, it's meant to deposit a dusting and then still be fluffy enough to provide a decent blending.

It is not rounded at the base but is rather oval, so it is wider from the front and narrow from the side. The crown also fan out a bit wider and is more rounded at the top.

The Kabuki Bronzing Brush from the front (left) and side (right).

As for the Face & Body Brush, first off it's, erh, huge. I mean, the handle is quite large and is therefore inconvenient to travel with. Space is rather precious in Japan and I literally don't have room for such a large-handled brush!

Other than being large, the brush is even less dense than the Kabuki Bronzing Brush above. Its soft hairs are longer as well and as a result, the brush flops back and forth when I wave it around ^.^ It really is just for dusting highlighter or shimmer powder onto the face, decolletage, shoulders, arms, legs, what have you, and not really meant for blending face powder. I tried blending with it, but it felt like I was slapping myself with a bunny instead LOL!!! 

Like the Kabuki Bronzing Brush, this brush is also not rounded at the base but is oval, making it wider from the front and narrower from the side. The crown fans out as well, though not as much as the Kabuki Bronzing Brush. It is also flatter at the top and not as rounded.

The Face & Body Brush from the front (left) and side (right). 

So yeah, I didn't take either of these new brushes with me. I took several others though, as these weren't the only new brushes I bought. Christmas sale is a great time to buy makeup brushes, no? xD I will use them for a few months first to see how they fare before posting, but know more brushes are coming ^.^

See my previous Makeup Brushes post.