Hi Girls,

Whilst in my local Hobbycraft sourcing a new palette for my cream and stick foundations (my old one disintegrated spectacularly, see my post on that disaster  here) I found myself wandering down the brush aisle.

For anyone who hasn’t discovered Hobbycraft yet, you must find one! It was an invaluable source of goodies for me in the planning of my wedding and every visit there makes me want to take up a new craft. I’m currently obsessed with Dolls Houses and ribbons.

I have approximately 50-60 brushes in my kit which sounds a lot but is relatively small for a make-up artist. This is purely because, after so many years, I really know the style of brush that I work best with. I also give brushes away quite regularly if it goes a while without being used. I fall out of love with them as quickly as I fall in love with them. Fickle? Moi?

So when I spotted these 3 brushes in the massive display I knew I had to give them a go.

Apologies for the poor quality photo. The clear handle really played havoc with my already struggling skills.

The company is Royal and Langnickel and they do both Art Brushes and Make-up Brushes.

I love the feel of them in my hand. I will stand and hold a brush in my hand for ages before deciding whether I like it or not, weighing up how it balances, whether it’s a good fit for me. I appreciate how pretentious this can sound but it is the tool of my trade. Also, I’m a terrible one for holding a brush really lightly, as in, I barely grip it, therefore, if it isn’t a well balanced brush, I tend to drop them. Not good when in a shoot or at a wedding! So this is why I snapped these up! These are from the ‘Soft Grip’ range and it’s pretty clear to see why. The soft plastic padding makes them a pleasure to use and allows great grip for more intricate work.

The first brush I want to take show you is the SG160 1/8″. A small synthetic angle brush, ideal for super delicate lining or brow work. I’ve enlarged the photo to give you the best view of the brush head. It is in fact only 1/8” wide (the name is a bit of a giveaway…).

The second brush is a flat topped, square brush, the SG155 – 4. I’ll be using this for delicate tightlining along the inner corner of the lashes and under bottom lashes. I’ll reveal prices in a bit but as a comparison,  a slightly wider version from Laura Mercier costs £22.

The 3rd and final brush I bought home with me is the SG 393 1/8″. They call this a ‘deerfoot’ brush and I like the fact that I don’t have a brush head similar to this in my kit.

I think I’m going to find use for this with gel liner. It doesn’t show it in the photo but the end of the brush is perfectly round so I think I’ll be able to get a nice soft yet precise line with it.

At the end of the day however, if it turns out I don’t love these brushes, it won’t be a great bother, because they cost a mere £2.55 each. Yes, I said £2.55!!

I also love that these have slim, delicate handles. When you carry around multiple brushes, big chunky thick handles can be cumbersome for storage and take up too much bulk space in brush sets/rolls.

I’ll let you know how I get on with them. I’m doing the make up on a big Wella Hair Show tomorrow so no doubt, I’ll get the chance to play.

I hope this has been helpful

Yours,