This style of brushes have enjoyed the spotlight and while I’m a bit late on the bandwagon, curiosity got the better of me when I saw them during my travels in America.

I bought a single small oval brush, and then a set of three with a liner brush, an eyeshadow brush and a lip brush. They come in plastic box, the top and the bottom sturdy cardboard. I threw away the packaging unfortunately (There was no way I was waiting until I came home to use them!)

Medium Oval Brush

I wasn’t sure about how effective this would be with mineral makeup, but I must say I prefer it to the bdellium tools 957 I was using. Mineral makeup works when you buff it into your skin and this brush is not meant for buffing. You’re supposed to smooth it over you skin in longer strokes but this action still works really well for applying my makeup. You can buff it if needed. It feels so soft and dense, almost like a velour puff. It’s also a good size for me and my face shape as it doesn’t feel too big, even for the little crevices like the inner corners of my eyes, or around my nose.

I’ve read many reviews complaining that the handle is quite flimsy and I agree that it is thin, bends with some pressure and doesn’t feel as secure as it could. That said, I think that those who have broken the handle either had a dodgy product or I seriously question how hard they are pushing the brush on their face! I have not once ever felt that I’m going to break it when I’m using it.

*Update*

I’ve since broken the brush head off the handle. I wasn’t even pushing hard and it bent backwards and completely snapped off. It did feel secure up until that, but because of that I am seriously considering buying the Artis brush set. I love the brushes themselves but if you’re going to invest, you might as well do it once.

Small Oval Brush

This is the perfect size if I’m being really particular with foundation application and I want to get right into the sides of my nose or under eyes. I would like this better if the bristles had been cut properly. There were some sticking out too far and this ruined the overall feeling on my skin. The few that stick out are quite scratchy compared to the rest of the brush. I’ve since trimmed the long ones but it hasn’t really helped. It’s a good size for all over the lid eye shadow but it’s too big for my eyelid crease

Liner Brush

For applying a softer, smudged eyeliner, this works perfectly on the eyelid and along the lower lash line. The angle of the bristles combined with the way that you hold it is very easy and much more comfortable than you’d expect. It doesn’t apply the colour as strongly as the bdellium 762 and the line is a lot thicker, so it’s not great for detailed work.

What surprised me more is how nicely it applies eyebrow powder too. My eyebrows are quite full so I don’t need a thin brush to apply detailed strokes. I still figured it would be a bit cumbersome and the bristles would apply powder too thickly. Instead it disperses the powder very nicely so then they don’t look too overdone. I just have to be careful at the ends because I like a sharp taper but with a little extra patience and care I can still make it work.

Lip Brush

I say lip brush but I mostly use this for putting a touch of highlight on the middle of my eyelid and in the very corner of my eyes. I really like it for that because the handle is out of the way and you can see exactly what you’re doing, while the brush head is very precise.

When I tried it with a Lip2Cheek from RMS Beauty, the colour bled down through the bristles a lot more than the other brushes because it’s not as densely packed. It still applies it nicely, not as precisely as a pointed lip brush. It also makes it annoying to clean. Rubbing it over a microfibre cloth is not enough.

Cleaning and Maintenance

I have washed these the normal way, with soap and running water and no bristles shed. They also dried fine, maybe taking longer than my Bdellium brushes because there are more bristles. I have read though that cleaning them as you go is a much better method and you can do this by rubbing the brush over a micro fibre cloth. This method actually works a lot better than I expected and if anything it will cut down on your need to wash them at the sink.

Final Word

I can’t say definitively whether these are good dupes for the Artis brush because I can’t compare them side to side. I did, however, touch and see Artis brushes in the ‘Elite Smoke’ finish at the Anthropologie store in San Francisco and if I had the money I would have bought them.

As you should expect for the price they charge, they are much better made and look so good. The handle is thicker, and feels sturdier. Without touching both versions together, I can’t be sure but I felt that the ibeauty oval brush was denser than it’s counterpart. It’s definitely an investment and I’m not annoyed that I didn’t buy them because the conversion to Australian dollars makes them even more expensive. However now that I know they perform better than the brushes I already have I would consider saving up for them.

Another benefit of purchasing these is that I can pretty much narrow it down to the specific brushes that I would like to purchase from Artis. My absolute must have, would be the corresponding brush to the medium oval brush, which looks to be the Oval 6. From there I would consider buying the Oval 3 if I wanted more precise application to every part of my face. As much as I like the other two, I really don’t think they’re necessary, especially since I already have versions which I don’t see how they could be improved upon.

I found them both at Marshalls and TJ MAXX while I was on holiday and I was so close to buying the full set and the only reason I didn’t was because the one that was available had bent bristles. If I’d had more time I probably would have searched for another full set at other stores.

The only thing I would caution though is that you need to look at the bristles very carefully before you buy them as some have strays sticking out, some are squished out of shape to begin with and some are perfect. There are also other finishes to the handles, I saw white ones, holographic ones and pink ones. If you can find them, then I suggest buying them, especially if you’re curious about Artis brushes.

 

You can buy some different variations of the brush here: http://www.ibeauty.us/facial-brush/

I’m pretty sure they are also available on Amazon and eBay, manufactured by the same warehouse, just with other companies labels.