Budget Brushes Part 1 - Make Up Show

I’ve always lean towards high end brushes as it’s my principle that cosmetics will only be as good as the tools used to apply them. MAC, Bobbi Brown, and Napoleon (an Australian brand) are the only MU brushes I own, and I own quite a lot of them. All of these brushes have great quality and some have been used everyday for more than 6 years. When I started working full time (back in Melbourne), and I continued to splurge in high end cosmetics and make up brushes (and a zillion other fashion items).

Then reality sets in, I moved back to Indonesia to be with my then bf (and now husband), and started getting paid in Rupiah instead of AUD! The agony!! I was so used to wearing Scanlan & Theodore and DVF dresses, MIDAS and Zomp shoes, CUE suits, Sass n Bide jeans, Simone Perele and Pleasure State lingeries…. and suddenly I can only afford one pair of MIDAS shoes with my entire month basic salary. I nearly went mad! (just browsing for the links even make my eyes all watery....)

Luckily, I quickly learn to adjust my spending pattern (and my bf help funded some of my cravings for high end fashion items every couple of months or so).

So, I’ve searched high and low for good quality brushes with a fraction of high end brushes’ price, and here are my favourites.

• Make Up Show (MUS)
• Masami Shouko
• ELF Studio Brushes
• Sigma brushes

I’m not gonna bore you to death by reviewing all of my ‘budget’ brushes at once. But I’ll try to finish reviewing them all by year end… teehee…

Make Up Show (MUS)

I discovered this brand through an Indonesian community website and forum. The seller said that it’s made from natural hair, but I’m not entirely sure about her definition of natural hair. I’ve bought the duo fiber blush or skunk brush (dupe of MAC 187), buffer brush (not sure of its equivalence in high end brush), blending brush, and angled blush brush.

~My Review~

I just love the stippling brush. It’s not as dense as MAC 187, but it’s a good substitute for its price (Rp 180k or approx US$19). I use it to blend in my foundations (in the rare occasions that I do apply foundations), apply really pigmented blush like NARS mounia, lightly apply my cream blushes so I can layer it with powder blush without looking like I've been badly beaten up, and finishing powder. I know coastal scents is probably cheaper, but decided not to try it (for now) because its mixed review.

Buffer brush (Rp 130k or approx US$14) is another of my favorite to when applying foundation and pigmented blushes. Its small head allows better blending on small areas or to highlight just the apple of my cheek. I can’t really compare it to other brushes as this is my one and only buffer brush.

I bought this blending brush (Rp 90k or approx US$10) so I have an alternative to my MAC 217 blending brush. When it arrived, I realized that it’s not even close to my MAC 217! It’s huge!! When I blend my eye shadow with it, it literally merged all the colors together. So you have to be really really light handed when blending using this brush. I think I’d love it more if it’s slightly smaller..

I've never owned an angled blush brush (MUS for Rp 140k or approx US$15) before, as I wasn’t sure whether using it will make any difference to the end result compared to using a normal blush brush. But I found out a good angled blush brush helps you to disperse the right amount of blush dengan rata across your cheek. It also helps me to do contouring with brownish and peachy toned blushes. But I won’t trade my MAC 116 or MAC 129 with it :)

I’m still adding more brush to my MUS collection. Overall, the brushes are fluffy and soft, but still firm enough for contouring and placing the colors where I want it to be. I’m thinking of stocking up on extra buffing brush and duo I like its fat black handle as it gives an illusion of high end brushes, though it takes up quite a bit of space on my brush holder.

XOXO,