Beauty File: Make Up For Ever Artisan Brush Collection

It's no secret that I am a big makeup and product junkie, and I really love Make Up For Ever products.  I recently learned that Make Up For Ever has branched out further into the beauty industry by launching a high quality, professional makeup brush line!  The brush handles are made of beech wood, the brush fibers are synthetic but mimic natural hair, and there are 76 brushes in the entire line, which makes the Artisan Brush Collection the most expansive luxury brush collection on the market.  I am one of the lucky girls that had a chance to preview and test out  five super high grade brushes from their line before it officially launched.

The Artisan Brush Collection is categorized by numbers.

• 100s are all complexion brushes
• 200s are all eye brushes
• 300s are all lip brushes
• 400s are all "artistic" brushes designed to be used by professionals in the makeup industry

I received five brushes; two complexion brushes and three eye brushes.

Brush # 112: Precision Foundation Brush

Brush #126: Medium Powder Brush

Brush #202 Precision Smudger Brush (Small)

Brush #212 Precision Smudger Brush (Medium)

Brush #242 Large Blender Brush 

First up, Brush # 112: Precision Foundation Brush.  A large, easy to handle brush that feels great!  The brush has very compact soft bristles.  It has an unusual shape for a foundation brush.  The rounded end is good for those areas around the nose and mouth.  I found that stippling works well with this brush also.  Honestly, I have been using this most as a powder brush to apply powder directly from a compact and I like the results a lot.  It easily picks up a lot of product and applies it evenly.

Next: Brush #126: Medium Powder Brush
This just feels really good on the face.  It's very soft, and even though it is is dubbed the 'medium' powder brush, it's pretty big!  The bristles are densely packed so you can really get a full coverage look using this brush.

Brush #202 Precision Smudger Brush (smaller)  & Brush #212 Precision Smudger Brush (medium)
I love eye shadow brushes! I have amassed quite a collection and I'm happy to make these part of that collection.  The first thing I noticed about both of these brushes is that they pick up shadow pigment amazingly.  The shadow transfers really well with these brushes.  The 212 brush is perfect for smudging or creating cut creases.  The 202 brush is great for smudging shadow or liner along the lash line, but I found it was not dense enough to use with gel liners.  A little secret about the 212 brush: works great as a lip brush! Shh, don't tell anyone.

Top: medium smudger brush, bottom: smaller smudger brush

Brush #242 Large Blender Brush 
Just a perfect, soft blending brush.  You can use this for applying and blending out crease shadow and highlighter.  This will not work for applying shadow directly onto the lid because it is not packed tightly enough for that, nor can you be as precise with this brush as is needed for that type of application.  Because the purpose of the brush is for blending shadow, it has longer fibers that fan out at the tip.

Thank you so much to Make Up For Ever for providing me with these great brushes for review.  

All brushes are currently available at Sephora.com.

Also, for all of the local Miami readers, Make Up For Ever is going to be at the Sephora at Dadeland Mall on September 28th, from from noon to 6:00 PM.  They'll be there as part of their Foundation Nation campaign, that seeks to help women find the perfect foundation shade and helps them learn the insider tips on how to apply it.  There will be classes held on site to help you out.  No appointment necessary!  Just drop by and say hello!