You heard me right. 75 Artisan brushes. Just last week I was over at MAKE UP FOR EVER Pro Boutique at Level 2 of Sephora Starhill to get a sneak peek of the whole new Artisan brush collection and boy the collection was so massive that I didn’t know where to start! This introduction is going to be long (I bet you already know that) so as usual, brew a pot of tea or coffee, sit back, relax and enjoy. I promise I will keep things short and sweet 😀

Why 75 Brushes?

According to Dany Sanz (Creator and Artistic Director of MAKE UP FOR EVER), she created 75 new brushes combining aestheticism with usefulness to help consumers paint new stories in life. For every step in the makeup process, there is a brush for it. Whether it is using the tip or the edge of the brush with liquid or powder consistency, the extreme diversity of brushes comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes, that is able to provide endless supply of possibilities. Basically this means for every small makeup step you do, there is a brush for it!

Premium Craftsmanship

Artisan Brush Collection’s extensive set ranges from simple everyday ‘must-haves’ brushes to highly customized artistic tools to create the most intricate artistic effects. The brand uses the most advanced technology to ensure the tools met professional standards with consumer appeal, which is why MAKE UP FOR EVER Artisan Brush range is known for its high performance and quality products. Dany Sanz perfected each and every brush throughout a seven years process that includes various testing for varieties of synthetic fibers that mimic the silky softness of natural hair. She didn’t just do it blindly without consulting renowned brush manufacturer Raphaël on the island of Mauritius, in order to create specialized brushes that require unparalleled craftsmanship. The construction of each brush involved 25 different production stages, hand-crafted manufacturing process by a total of 30 people from start to finish and submitted to 50 quality checks before they are released to be sold internationally.

100% Engineered Fibers, 0% Natural Hair

Consumers nowadays are more and more concerned about whether the product or tool they used are cruelty-free. MAKE UP FOR EVER Artisan Brushes are 100% cruelty-free. This is because the bristles are made from ultra-soft engineered fibers, not natural hair and not synthetic. The choice of engineered fibers for the collection is the result of modern advancements in technology to improve performance, as well as to meet the global needs of a society concerned with animal welfare. These highly durable engineered fibers are able to deliver more precise and consistent makeup results for the PROS and for amateur like us!

Brass Ferrule

MAKE UP FOR EVER uses brass-made ferrule to hold all the fibers in place. This brass base is coated with 3 top-coating consisting of nickel with gun metal lacquer and sealed with transparent protection varnish. The ferrule is highly resistant to collision and able to withstand humidity.

Beech Wood Holder

The holder on the other hand is made from beech wood. It is the most resistant and finest wood available. No trees were harmed in the process as MAKE UP FOR EVER only uses woods that are already available in the market. Beech wood is environmental friendly wood that are Eco-Certified by the Forest Scholarship Council. Dark brown beech wood contain natural qualitative grain aspects that preserve the longevity of the brush and ensure natural reproducibility.

Ms. Erica Saenz, Regional Education Manager was present at the workshop to introduce, explain and to demonstrate to us “Why Brushes, Not Fingers?” when it comes to makeup application. However do bear in mind that I am by no mean saying you cannot apply makeup with your fingers. This demonstration is only to show you the finishing effect with using makeup brushes against fingers 😀

The Artisan Brush Collection doesn’t comes with a specific name but it is categorized in numbers that is more practical and easy to remember. Each numeric system stands for a usage category:

• 100‘s – Complexion
• 200‘s – Eyes
• 300‘s – Lips
• 400‘s – Artistic, specially designed for industry pro’s

Artisan Brushes comes in 3-different types of bristles – Straight, Wavy, Straight and Wavy.

• Straight – generous, precise application
• Wavy – more splayed for a lighter application
• Straight and Wavy – a blend or combination of both fibers gives infinite creative possibilities

Beveled End

If you haven’t notice yet, Artisan Brushes do have one significant uniqueness to it that no other brushes has. All the beech wood brush handles were created with a beveled end to allow for easier product retrieval and can be used to assist in faux lash application. This beveled end is especially useful to mix two or more products together on a flat steel palette i.e. two foundation shade, concealer or even lipstick.

The demonstration was done on the model’s face with application by using fingers on half face and the other half by using MAKE UP FOR EVER Artisan Brushes.

Why Brushes, Not Fingers?

#1 Precision – Fingers are not able to deliver product evenly onto the whole face but brushes can. It can also go into small corners of the face without any problem at all.

#2 Coverage – With brushes, you can control the amount of product used and build for more coverage.

#3 Buff & Blend – Application using brushes can guarantee smoother and even natural-look finishing. You can also buff the product in without using more products.

#4 Save Time & Money – As you cannot control the amount of product used with fingers, you are actually wasting product because you are wiping the product away instead of applying on the face. Fingers are not able to blend product in properly so you are wasting time applying and applying. With brushes, you save lots of time on the  application steps and uses lesser product to achieve a natural-looking complexion.

Let’s take a look with the outcome from the fingers vs brushes demonstration. On the right (our right) is application with the use of Artisan brushes. The finishing is more natural as lesser product is used on the face especially. With the use of brush, eyeshadow is also able to blend in properly and smoked out on the crease, creating a diffused gradient eye-do. Ms. Erica uses a duo-fiber blending blush brush for the blush application therefore the finishing is more even and natural, as opposed to the side using fingers whereas it is clumpy on apples of the cheeks and unnatural looking.

Instant Brush Cleanser

Some of you know that I’m absolutely obsessed with cleaning my brushes after each application. I used to go to work with a bottle of brush cleanser lol. You might think this step is unnecessary as you can always deep clean your brushes on weekend but I don’t have the time to deep wash all my brushes each weekend. So it is important for me to ensure that all my brushes are clean and ready for the next use. You can also use Instant Brush Cleanser to clean away eyeshadow and reuse the same brush for other shades. This is especially useful if you are travelling or if you don’t invest on a few brushes. It also help to prevent bacterias growth.

Now that we’ve come to the end of the introduction post, here is all 75 MAKE UP FOR EVER Artisan Brush range for your reference.

SPECIAL GWP TRAVEL SET PROMOTION!

Some of you emailed me and ask if MAKE UP FOR EVER offer tier GWP like every other brand. The answer is sadly a no. However, this time round MUFE is kind enough to come out with a special travel set just for you!

All you have to do to get the travel set is to make a purchase of any two Make Up For Ever HD products (foundation, Microfinish Pressed Powder or cream blush), mention “Street Love” to the wonderful BA and voila! Promotion starts from 26th June – 31st July 2014. Only available at Pro Boutique only.