Viva Woman

While I like using mineral makeup, I don’t like washing my kabuki brushes.  I know that I should wash them frequently, like at least twice a month to keep them clean as well as to prevent dead skin and facial oil from building up on the brushes which might make my mineral foundation powder look pasty.   But I’m lazy and all in all, I’ve only washed my kabuki brushes a few times.  

Instead of using a special makeup brush cleaner, I’ve always washed my kabuki brushes with my son’s old Kodomo baby shampoo and once, even with Kiehl’s Brightening Botanical Facial Cream.  While my Lumiere kabuki brush remained soft, I noticed that the bristles on my Erth chrome kabuki brush was getting dry and stiff.  And this was one of the reasons I don’t use this brush that often.

Anyway, over the weekend, I remembered to wash my kabuki brushes and decided to use Sukin Botanical Body Wash that I am currently using.  I thought that since the body wash contained no Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), I might actually get better results from using it. 

And you know what?  I was right!

My Lumiere kabuki brush became incredibly soft, even more than it already is and the bristles on my Erth kabuki brush is no longer hard and stiff.  I believe the lack of SLS contributed to that because when I evaluated the baby shampoo and facial wash I used before, they both contain that drying agent.

Well, I’m not suggesting that everyone with a kabuki brush go out and purchase Sukin Botanical Body Wash, but whatever you use to wash your brushes, it should be as gentle as possible. In addition, after washing off the minerals from the brush, remember to use your clean fingertips to shape the brush bristles back into shape.

Another tip I picked up from reading the forums is that if you want to keep the shape of your brush, you may want to consider using a clean rubberband to hold the brush together loosely after the wash.  And while some have suggested laying it on a towel to dry, I prefer to leave mine standing up to dry to keep the shape from being distorted.

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With an overall rating of 4.9 out of 5 from 34 reviewers on Makeupalley, I just had to give the Lumiere Kabuki Synthetic Brush a try.   And my verdict?  This kabuki brush is the perfect tool for brushing, blending and buffing the face because it’s so baby soft and dense.

Compared to my current kabuki brush, I would say this is really much better.  While some synthetic brushes are made so soft and hence, it’s difficult for them to pick up much powder, the Lumiere Kabuki Synthetic brush has no such problem.  The density of the brush makes it easy to layer my mineral foundation effortlessly and  I simply love how luxurious and silky this kabuki brush feels without irritating my skin at all. 

Now I understand why we’re better off using synthetic kabuki brushes than natural blends of squirrel, badger, goat, pony or sable hair as these can feel a bit scratchy compared to the velvety soft tips of synthetics.

Lumiere Kabuki Brush is 100% synthetic, cruelty free plus vegan friendly and cost only US$14.  I bought it at a cheaper price because it was packaged with the foundation set under their Specials.

If you’re looking for a good synthetic kabuki brush, I would certainly recommend this.

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I’m not an expert when it comes to face brushes for foundation.  In fact, I only started using them recently with the introduction of mineral foundation in my makeup routine. 

Initially I started out purchasing those that are out in the market made of pony hair.   The results are fine but I thought I’ll give kabuki brushes a try since it is said to be the perfect complement to natural mineral cosmetics.  I was interested to see the difference it would make.  So I purchased Erth’s Chrome Kabuki Brush since it is their best seller made from goat and sable.

Ease-of-use
The brush measures 2.35″ high by 1″ in diameter at base, 1.75″ diameter at tip, and is real cute looking.  I was initially skeptical that the short handle made of plain chrome base might make it difficult for application since I’m used to a much longer wooden handle.  But it was nothing like what I thought.  In fact, I would say the short handle makes it easier to control in terms of application.

Soft and delicate
But what I wasn’t quite prepared for was that the kabuki brush is quite luxurious in feel, making it rather delicate for the application of my mineral powder with no irritation on the skin.  The natural bristles of the kabuki brush also provides for better distribution of mineral makeup, giving me an even flawless finishing. 

At the moment, while I can’t say that this is the best kabuki brush out in the market because I have nothing to compare with, I have to say that I’m very happy using it.  As a matter of fact, I have already junked the pony hair brush that I was using before.

Choices
There are various brands of kabuki brushes to choose from.  Even Erth Mineral Makeup provides two choices.  The Chrome Kabuki Brush I bought cost US$14.95.  They also offer an Italian Badger Kabuki Brush at US$17.95 made of 100% imported Italian badger bristle and is extra dense & extra silky in texture. 

And you might also like to know that kabuki brushes are not only for applying mineral makeup.  It can be used with ordinary loose powders as well.   As a matter of fact, some makeup professionals also recommends using a kabuki brush to buff the whole face once you’re done with all your face and eye makeup to have a perfectly blended look. 

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I was looking up information about makeup brushes when I stumbled upon this great site on make-up tips.  Very useful tips they have, and here are some relevant ones I’ve learnt about brushes.

Natural or synthetic brush
Natural bristled brushes are best as they are soft to the touch and are most effective for applying powder blush, face powder, eyeshadow or lipstick.  Synthetic brushes, which are much more affordable and are often more durable and harder to damage are best reserved for eyeshadow base, cream eyeshadows, and concealers.

Brush for natural looking makeup 
Makeup application with brushes looks much more natural than fingers or tiny applicators alone.  Use a large, puffy brush for loose powder application. Use a blush brush for blush and have at least two different sized shadow brushes, preferrably one large for all over color and blending and one smaller for the crease and lower lid.

Eyebrow Brush
Using a hard, stiff, short brush and working with colours instead of pencil is better for getting a natural eyebrow shape. 

Eyeshadow Brush
Using a large, flat eyeshadow brush, apply a light shadow color over your entire eyelid from lash line to brow. Next, using a fluff brush, apply a medium shadow color on your lid from the lash line to the crease. Finally, dampen your eyeliner brush and use your darkest color as a liner along your lash line.

Holding the brush
Don’t hold the brush like a pencil.  Instead, hold it between the thumb and forefinger for effective strokes.

Storage of the brush
Brushes should be stored with their bristles up to prevent them from getting out of shape.

Cleaning the brush
The key to application is maintaining good, clean brushes to get rid of dirt and oil residue. To properly clean your brushes, rinse them under lukewarm water and massage the brushes with a bit of baby shampoo. Rinse, wring out any excess water, then leave to dry on a flat, clean, dry surface. 

For more tips, look up make-up.lifetips.com.

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