INVESTMENT BUYS: ECOTOOLS BAMBO SIX PIECE EYE BRUSH SET

Price: £14.99
Included: Travel carry case with mirror and 5 brushes (blend, crease, highlight, shade, smudge)

I have to admit, before a few years ago, the only brushes I owned were the ones you find in eyeshadow palettes. You know the type, sponge applicators that are too small for any human hand to hold. Once I was introduced to the cyber makeup community, I realised that I could create very few makeup looks without proper tools. Besides, I was losing hope for my latest sponge applicator (there are only so many times you can hold that tiny handle without getting cramp in your hand). I took myself down to Boots and these were the brushes I came back with and, my, aren’t I glad I chose them.

My overall verdict? I LOVE these brushes. They have lasted me so well. I must’ve had them for three or four years now and they still work perfectly well and, believe me, I was not always the best when it came to taking care of them. They are also such good value for money. Five brushes for just under fifteen pounds. Only three pounds a brush, and that’s not even including the handy, little case with mirror. If you need another pro to get you out that front door and running towards your local high street, they are made of sustainable bamboo and the bristles are 100% cruelty free.

The brushes are perfect for anyone but I found them especially useful as a beginner. It can be quite frightening when you’re faced with a battle line of different brushes, each with seemingly mysterious purposes (217 or 239? Can these all seriously be for my eyes?!) Each of the brushes in the set are labelled with their individual uses and the five together make up a good, all-round starter pack.

In this next section, I thought I’d describe my impressions of each individual brush, just because I’m cool like that.

BLEND- relatively big, fluffy brush. It’s stiff enough to give you good control, but still soft. I find it blends really well and fits perfectly in the crease. However, for those with less lid space it may be a little too large. It does also make a really good highlighter brush. For more precision blending I use the ‘smudge’ brush.

CREASE- brilliant shape, really designed to fit into the contour of the crease with minimum effort. However, if you don’t want too dramatic a look, be sure to use a light hand because it’s fairly large surface area means it picks up a lot of product.

HIGHLIGHT- tapered so it can fit well into small areas and gives a very light dusting of product. I also find this shape lends it to blending out any excess dark shadow when I’m applying a brow highlight. This could definitely double as a softer blending brush if you find the ‘blend’ too harsh/too large.

SHADOW- perhaps the most versatile brush in the collection. I use it for everything from eyebrows to shadow on the lids. Quite small, so if you’re looking for quicker application to a large area this is not ideal. I prefer that it’s small because I feel that it allows me to be more precise.

SMUDGE- pretty much just a pencil brush. Great for blending along the lash line. Used with a dark shadow it can give the eye a smokey and sultry look.

I hope this review has been useful and I hope that any of you with these brushes have got as much use out of them as I have!

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