During the Christmas season, many cosmetics companies launch gift sets which give you a big bumper value for the price you pay. Which means, buying a set of stuff would be much cheaper than buying them individually.
I always recommend buying brushes at Christmas or in a set, because when purchased individually at stores, they usually tend to wipe out a small fortune.
When I was just starting out as a make up artist, I would trawl sales and counters at Christmas to pick up brush sets to add to my kit. While buying good quality makeup is a good investment, an even better investment is to brushes. Use the right brushes and you’ll get a far better application than using the mini applicators that come in the case. That’s why professional makeup products usually don’t have any applicators included in their packaging, as all makeup artists use an extensive set of brushes of their own.
Here are some of the best buys of the season, and some splurge-worthy brushes I have my eyes on.
#1: Sigma Beauty Mrs Bunny Travel Kit, S$95
Probably what made my heart yearn for this the most was the fact that it comes with the pretty blue brush holder – something that I had previously bought for S$37 on Luxola. Each brush is sold individually from S$19.50 to S$32, but the kit is only S$95!
#2. Sephora 4 Makeup Brush Set, S$36
Four basic brushes for face and eyes in a cool holographic pouch makes a great gift for anyone who’s new to makeup or who needs an upgrade from any old brushes they may be using.
#3: Laura Mercier Luxe Travel Brush Collection, US$125
Double ended brushes on four of these brushes effectively make for nine brushes while carrying around only five! The pouch is shaped like a clutch and is sophisticated and slim enough to pack for your luxury vacation or business trip.
#4: Stila Tools Of The Trade US$28
For those in the US, this set is such a steal and I highly recommend it. I’ve been using Stila (eyeshadow) brushes in my kit for years and love them!
This kit includes:
brush #5 – all over shadow brush
brush #33b – concealer brush
brush #24 – powder brush
brush #9 – all over blend brush
brush #4 – precision eye liner brush
For those in Singapore – sorry.. I’ve no idea why Stila doesn’t bring in their brushes anymore here.
#Almost-made-the-list-but-didn’t: MAC Stroke Of Midnight Essentials Brush Set US$49.50 / S$115
Firstly, WHAT’S with the crazy mark up in price from the US site to the Singapore retail price?!?!
Anyhow,years ago as a new makeup artist, I would stalk the MAC Counters and purchase their brushes in sets like this (they used to go slightly cheaper at S$100 per set). Buying MAC Brushes at $38 a pop at that time was too expensive for me, so I would save my money till Christmas.
Although the brushes are supposed to be the same quality as the full sized brushes, sadly this is not the case with the MAC brush sets. I recently had to throw a MAC (travel sized) foundation brush away after the bristles dislodged themselves from the handle. I have kept (and am still using) some which held up over the years.
If you’re not using them in the heavy duty professional artist way, and like the design of the pouch and brush handles, then they are good to go for personal use.
