I’m a girl who’s not afraid to admit that I’d much rather buy a new set of brushes rather than wash my old ones. Whether I *should* be afraid to admit that is another story…but here we are. Last month, I found myself perusing the pages of iHerb which is a US-based cosmetics website. I’ve ordered from there a fair bit in the past; they stock RealTechniques and EcoTools brushes for a really decent price. Far cheaper than in the UK! I remember the first time I ordered from iHerb was in around 2013 and my mum intercepted my parcel thinking I’d ordered weed off the internet, but I digress.
I love EcoTools brushes because they’re always cruelty free and 100% vegan. The brushes are made from recycled materials like aluminium and plastic. Their packaging is minimal and made entirely from tree-free paper; 20% cotton and 80% bamboo! Plus all their brush handles are made with renewable bamboo, which is one of the fastest growing plants you can get. We love an environmentally-friendly company YAAAAS!
I’d never seen the EcoTools 360° Ultimate Blend brush set before, and with me being the biggest sucker for baby pink things on planet earth, you can bet they were going straight in my battthhhket. Now normally I’d expect to pay about twenty quid for a set of three buffing brushes. I’ve used EcoTools buffing brushes in the past, so I am fully aware they’re the absolute softest, nicest, most loooovely brushes. But take a guess how much I paid…go on, guess! I picked up this set of three buffing brushes for just £13.98 and paid £1.77 for shipping. It’s a bleddy bargain if I ever saw one!
The brushes in the set are varied in size. It’s very Goldilocks and the three makeup brushes; you’ve got daddy brush, mummy brush and baby brush. The names are etched into each handle; Ultimate Buff, Ultimate Pop and Ultimate Cover. The packaging says ‘best with cream and stick formats, for smooth coverage and seamless blending’. Well, this is a hmmm and a half. I don’t actually use any cream or stick products, but I’ve used buffing brushes for foundation for ever. Plus, I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t completely sold on them already based on the fact they’re the most beautiful pastel pink colour. I think the phrases ‘YOLO’ and ‘Treat Yo’self’ are relevant here…
Ultimate Buff
★★★☆☆
The biggest brush of the bunch is the one I can see myself using the most, however these brushes perform very differently to how I expected! Where they’re so densely packed, they seem to move and spread my liquid foundations around more than I’m used to. My usual buffing brushes have slightly longer hairs so they don’t drag the product around so much. I applied my usual L’Oreal True Match foundation mixed with some Mac Studio Sculpt foundation [to thicken it up!] and found that the coverage was pretty light. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; I’m very very used to full coverage application but with the summer months coming and my freckles being out in full swing, it might be nice to embrace a more natural, sheer finish.
Ultimate Pop
★★★☆☆
Can anyone tell me why this one is called Ultimate Pop? Plz? This one is the medium-sized brush of the set, and I’d say it’s only slightly smaller than my usual foundation buffing brush. It’s again, very dense and thick - the brush bristles almost feel more like the edge of a sponge than a brush with hairs. I’ve been using this for concealers and I’ve been enjoying it. I think where concealers are of a much thicker consistency anyway, they’re better suited to a brush like this. It’s maybe a little too big to get in all my concealer-requiring nooks and crannies although I just about manage, but definitely slightly too small to use as a foundation brush; you’d be there all day.
Ultimate Cover
★★★☆☆
You know when you buy a brush set and you just KNOW you’re never gonna use one of them? Because it seems kinda redundant? But you want all the other brushes so you just accept that the random one is gonna show up and so you’ll just keep it regardless? Hello Ultimate Cover brush! This is the diddiest of the set, and it about the size of a usual concealer brush - not that I use them very often at all - and I’m not sure what I’d use this for. The EcoTools website says it’s for concealer or highlighter application. I usually apply my highlighter with a duo-fibre brush that’s got very sparse hairs, so I can’t see how this very dense little brush would work. But it’s something to give a try.
Is my review maybe a little bit unfair because I didn’t use the recommended products with the brushes? Hmmm. I’m thinking of maybe investing in a couple of cream products to see what the difference really is. I haven’t ever liked the thought of them because they just sound so thick and claggy and sticky, but it may be worth a go!
What I love about these brushes is that they’re all extremely soft and high quality, which is what I expect and love from EcoTools brushes. I think they look so great in my makeup brush pot - the subtle baby pink handles are everything. I also love the shape of the handles because they’re super easy and comfortable to grip and control during use. I’m also all-for supporting a company who are doing the right thing for our environment, so I’ll certainly be working these into my routine and looking out for the next set of [perhaps better-suited] brushes. Here’s hoping the CEO of EcoTools hears my plea and makes everything baby pink from here on out. Is that really too much to ask??
Lots of love,
Jasmine x
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