As my brush collection is getting larger, washing and drying them is getting a little bit tougher as I only have one pack of The Brush Guard Variety Pack of six to rotate whenever I need to deep clean all my dirty brushes. I bought that one pack when I just started with makeup and I remember I bought it for my ELF brushes. That’s how I was taught to dry my brushes from day one and I still practise the same exercise till this day 🙂
Just recently I went on a hunt again for The Brush Guard and I think I found the same seller who sold me my first The Brush Guard many years ago. I reach out to her through her Facebook page and I ended up with these packs. Mind you there wasn’t many people that is selling this brush guard, even online. Hunting the seller down is tough but I always knew where to find them.
But of course all this doesn’t come with no drama. And because of this drama, my review that was suppose to go up gazillion days ago was put on hold because I need to get some sort of confirmation before I lash out here. This is suppose to be MY BLOG to share with everyone my tips and tricks or even favourite products so that more people would benefit from it. But nooooo. It turned to be business related and I was furious. I had spoken to the seller who sold me hers so that she can contact The Brush Guard but she sort of wanting me to do it instead. I could have just review this without linking to anyone but I was more interested with the core of the problem so I contacted The Brush Guard personally. In conclusion, I will not link the online store here. More of the drama at the end of the review…
I have to start the review by showing you The Brush Guard Variety Pack that I bought many years ago. It is still in superb condition but slightly yellowish. I doubt these will spoilt due to the thick netting quality though. Everyone started with Variety Pack and I did too. Variety Pack consists of six different sizes of sleeves as you can see below. The one on the far left is the smallest of all. It’s for Shadow / Liner brush, two sleeves next to it is for Blush brush, the other two next is for Foundation brush while the largest of all is for Kabuki brush. Although each bears a guide to what brush it should go for, I normally just slot in whatever brush I want. Let’s face it. Brushes nowadays aren’t all the same size.
I have encounter several online seller selling brush guard but those are more like the thin netting used to wrap fruits? I don’t prefer those so I never bought any despite the utter cheap price for a whole bunch. The Brush Guard looks like this. Each criss-cross is compact with a layer of three nylon string. Or at least I believe that’s nylon string 😀 . Each sleeve is stretchable and expandable but to an extend.
The Brush Guard was introduced just a few years ago as a new way to protect bristles of brushes and it is also said to help brushes to dry faster. Basically it’s a multi-purpose brush guard to (1) protect brush bristle, (2) keep brush bristle in shape, (3) makes it easier to travel with makeup brushes and (4) help wet brushes to dries down faster and dries down to original shape.
Unlike those who like to place their brushes flat to dry after washing, I was told from start not to do so but instead slid a sleeve over and place it in a cup for air dry. I’ve posted up Tips: How to Clean Your Dirty Brush two years ago 🙂 . That is exactly how I wash and dry my brushes. By placing the brush with bristle facing down, I’m preventing and forcing excess water from going up to the ferrule and spoilt the glue on the inside. You know how new brushes’ bristle are always the best looking bristle and when you started to use them, they are fluffy thereafter? That’s the best part when it comes to drying wet brushes with The Brush Guard. It brings back the bristle’s original shape to life. I just love how dense my Sigma E25 Blending Brush after using The Brush Guard. And if I have enough brush guard around, I’d slid one over it just to keep the shape.
In total there are five different The Brush Guard pack to choose from. These pack used to be USD5.50 each and I bought it for RM23 per pack. The price now is USD8.95. Not a drastic price change as it’s still cheap after converted to Ringgit Malaysia. As I only have four out of five pack, I’ll show you what’s the inside looks like.
Shadow / Liner Pack – Comes with 10 sleeves
Blush Pack – Comes with 8 sleeves
Powder / Kabuki Pack – Comes with 4 sleeves
Back to the drama. I hate drama. Can my life be more peaceful? I’m just a consumer, not seller, not retailer and not distributor. First of all I shouldn’t be drag into this.
There’s this online store that was asking for feedback from anyone who had bought or knew prices for The Brush Guard. And of course I said RM23, which is cheaper than what the rest is saying (RM34++? can’t remember). Then I get a long reply to my “feedback” chip-in that that’s not the market price and that she can report to The Brush Guard for further action and stuff. I cannot remember all the replies but I remember telling her I don’t care who sell cheaper because that’s not my problem. A few replies from the store owner thereafter is pretty long and lecturing. She told me to stop telling people I bought it for RM23 and if I have to say the price, I need to tell people I bought it in 2012 because that’s 2012 price. I get furious on this and I replied back saying I’m not going to lie to other people telling them I bought it in 2012 whereas I just bought it a few days ago! She defended herself by telling me that’s not lying. That’s just to get the right info across to other people and that she have just gotten the authorized reseller rights for Malaysia. Okay. Which part of this makes sense? Which part of all this is about getting the right info across? As far as I can see I’m twisting the fact so that her business can grow. So I contacted the seller of mine and told her about this. I told her very frankly that I bought The Brush Guard to blog about it and these kind of drama happens and if she want me to keep her store anonymous, I would. She was furious and told me as far as she know there’s no such thing as authorized reseller. She then told me to contact The Brush Guard directly and get an answer although this should be done by the seller, not me the consumer. So I did. Just to clear the air on “The Brush Guard Authorized Reseller for Malaysia” so that I can get this review up peacefully. The official email reply only came in two weeks after that and here it the snippet of the email.
I have to stress this again to all related business owner. I am just a consumer aka buyer. The price war is not my problem or it is my issue. Do not drag me into all this. Go settle your own problem yourself! And please don’t use my review for your business testimonial to get more sales. I AM STILL VERY MUCH ANGRY WITH THE DRAMA.
– end of rant –
There you go. I’ve been wanting to tell you how awesome The Brush Guard is and how useful it has been to me with all my brushes but because of some drama over certain online store, this review was delayed. You don’t need to be a traveller to use The Brush Guard. You can use it on brushes even if they are just sitting in a brush holder. I personally prefer to slip in the sleeve to help retain the brush bristle’s original shape and it does help the brushes to dry down faster than usual.
Since I won’t be telling you which online store I bought from, however I have a good news. The Brush Guard is delivering to Malaysia directly! Postage is about USD3 for 1-3 packs 😀 . I like how precise the info that was needed to calculate for shipping, from state to postcode. Okay who’s ordering?
Where to Buy: http://thebrushguard.com/
Price: USD8.95 each pack
+ Variety Pack – One Large, Two Medium, Two Small and Two Extra Small Sleeves
+ Shadow / Liner Pack – 10 Extra Small Sleeves
+ Blush Pack – Eight Small Sleeves
+ Foundation Pack – Five Medium Sleeves
+ Powder / Kabuki Pack – Four Large Sleeves
Shipping: USPS International USD3 (1-3 packs), USD6 (4-7 packs), USD21 (more than 6 oz)
Website: http://thebrushguard.com/
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored review. I bought the product on my own.
Comments (21)
Hahaha the drama part made me laughed so hard!! You always encounter this kind of weird problem eh Fiona? LOL!
I didn’t realized it was funny. Lots of weird people nowadays I guess.
Thank you so, so much for going through the full song and dance so that we can avoid it. I’m really grateful for this post, Fiona.
As for the Brush Guard – I need it, want it, love it. It sounds perfect for my growing brush collection.
Once you’ve used it you would want to get more. That’s what happen to me lol. It’s really a good news that The Brush Guard ship directly to Malaysia for a small fee.
Thanks for this Fiona. Been looking for how to get this since last year and I am glad you managed to blog about it. Sorry to hear about your drama but I find your ranting quite funny. Hahaha. Never thought of using a brush guard to dry my brushes faster as I always lay them flat on a clean towel to dry but will give it a try once I get my hands on this.
By the way, thanks for posting about Cleo magazine having a special eye palette from The Body Shop on your Instagram. I managed to get mine from Times Bookstore at Bangsar Shopping Centre during lunch today. I did not realise that the eye palette actually cost RM99. So getting the whole package for RM30 is really worth it 🙂
Sadly not many people brought this in to sell. Bummer for us 🙁 Laying brushes flat on a clean towel is also an alternative but water might still able to seep back to the ferrules. Brushes is still able to breath even with The Brush Guard sleeve on and believe it or not…my RM6 ELF brushes are all in superb condition. I would have thought everything would have broken into two by now 😀 . The most important is cool and airy place for the brushes, not hot and sunny 😉
You’re welcome on Cleo magazine. Have fun with the eyeshadow palette!
Could you tell me how does using a brush guard prevent water from seeping back into the ferrules? I was actually under the impression that you still need to lay the brushes flat with the brush guard.
Victoria, by placing the brush with bristle facing down in a cup. I’ve mentioned in paragraph 7 in the review 🙂 . Or you can watch this video by Michelle Phan
. However you can still place the brushes flat. No issue with that.
Thanks Fiona. Missed out on that paragraph. Will try this method once I get the brush guard 🙂
No problem. Remember to watch the video by Michelle Phan (link provided earlier comment). You’ll have a better understanding 😉
I’ve been planning to get these brush guards ever since I got my first makeup brush, but I dont know how to get it in Malaysia. Luckily you mentioned about the direct posting from them, I think it’s better for me to buy directly and save myself from local seller dramas XD thanks for posting this up Fiona, it is very informative!
Too bad the seller of which I bought from no longer selling as she’s selling other products mainly, brush guard is something she brought in a few years back and she don’t have much stock left. She even want to send me all her remaining stock to pissed the other online store off lol. I was quite happy to find out that The Brush Guard do ship to Malaysia directly. The price after conversion is soooo much cheaper too.
An engaging review infused with some drama is good! I have read about these brush guards a few years back and was intrigued by its features and functionalities. Pricing wise, it is mediocre because its specialty product to protect the brushes and there aren’t many other (reliable and good quality) manufacturers around anyway. I recall there was a Singaporean based online store that helps to purchase these brush guards as middle party. Because it was not easily accessible back then, I have only use my hanger and tie rubber bands on it to secure my wet brushes face down. Initially I let my kabuki brush stand on the handle to dry only to send it to RIP because the glue around the ferrule came loose. Thanks for these tips. I will be sure to get some to try!
My life is so full of drama. I don’t care who get the “authorized selling rights”. I source for something I want and I buy. What do I care about who sell cheaper right LOL.
It is still not easy to access now unless you buy directly from The Brush Guard, which very rarely people will do or Google for any online store that has the stock. I still didn’t see this for sale in the drama store.
Oh no, RIP to the kabuki. Previously I’m out of brush guard so I laid my Guerlain brush flat to dry and now the ferrule is a bit loose, with lots of shedding. Heartache to the max.
Loved the clicks and review! Brush guards are surely a great way to keep our beloved brushes safe. 🙂
I don’t feel like the drama that you have been through has anything to do with you. I feel like it is that online seller’s fault who stocked up on these when the retail price was lower and then she sold them for lower and when no one else was able to get it for that price, even from The Brush Guard’s website itself, people started talking. That also put me in doubt as well.
As far as I know, The Brush Guard does not give any exclusive retail rights to anyone but they have official retailers here in Malaysia and various other countries, just like Sigma Beauty.
I am getting these for myself for my face brushes now. 🙂 xx
Thanks Sahrish 😀
Nope, it’s not the online seller’s fault. You see, I bought from her many years ago. I rediscovered her again recently when I wanted to get more Brush Guard. The problem is, she stop selling Brush Guard and I was lucky because she still have the stocks on hand. She sold all of them to me with the old price I bought from her. Now, bear in mind she is the only one I know selling these and since I bought from her before, it make more sense for me to go back to her as I knew hers are authentic. It’s actually cheaper to get directly from The Brush Guard website itself. People started talking because they didn’t know the history on how Brush Guard entered Malaysia. I guess I was lucky to know all this because I bought before during the old days 😀
Yes, I’ve confirmed with The Brush Guard. They don’t give exclusive rights to anyone at all 🙂 You won’t regret getting it 😉
Oh then she could just mention that she is giving you these on “sale price” :p haha!
Anyways, Mesmerize is selling them for RM 30 per pack and authorized reseller of The Brush Guard as well. Not advertising :p but felt like that I should share since it might be useful for many people. 🙂
That’s cheaper than buying online directly from Brush Guard 😀
As I said, the seller no longer sell this and we chatted on a personal platform so I’m not hard up if it’s sale price or not. Furthermore as a consumer that is not a big issue.
Ah now I know where you’re getting. Good for you. I won’t buy from them since they are the one who was giving me a hard time. If I have to repurchase I’d buy from TBG directly as it’s cheaper.
Oh well! I ain’t getting no where. Being a blogger I feel like it is my responsibility to let people know about whats beneficial from them; let that be my readers or other bloggers. As far as Mesmerize goes; they have good reviews from their customers plus inquiring someone why they are mentioning lower price isn’t a big deal. You yourself checked that price your previous blogpost had wasn’t the current price on the brush guard’s website itself. That also made you check everything by yourself and now even you know that it was making some confusions. 🙂 I hope you will get my point!
I’m sorry if this is so confusing Adeel. It’s a very straight forward situation. I do know you are the owner of Mesmerize. I don’t mind anyone promoting TBG sold at Mesmerize. Thank you for mentioning about your selling price. I’m glad my little review is able to help spread the news for you to my dedicated readers.