Does This £150 Set of Makeup Brushes Really Cover All Bases?
Main Image – Courtesy of writer
Makeup brushes. They can be expensive and sometimes, they can be downright confusing. So. Many. Options.
But if you’ve decided that makeup brushes are your preferred application method for makeup, would you ever splurge on a set all in one go? One that should have pretty much every brush you need, for much less money than it would cost to buy each brush separately? Surely, it’s a no-brainer, as long as you’ve got the cash?
Zoeva’s Artists Brush Set (£150/$180) contains 15 makeup brushes and a clutch to keep them all in and I decided to put it all to the test to see whether the price of buying all 15 together was worth it.
I’m a strict tester though. Because for that price, not only do the brushes need to fulfil my daily makeup needs but they need to be good quality brushes too, AND I want to know I’m getting my money’s worth.
Keep scrolling to find out – based on my personal daily makeup needs – whether I think it works out better to buy the set or stick to buying your pick of individual brushes.
The product details
As discussed, this set contains 15 brushes (vegan) and a black zip-up clutch bag for storage. The set includes:
- The Face Heroes – 104 Foundation Buffer, 105 Highlight, 127 Blush & Contour
- The Eye Heroes – 228 Crease Definer, 234 Smoky Shader, 317 Wing Liner
- The Complementary – 106 Powder, 142 Concealer Buffer, 230 Detail Smoky Blender
- The Face Specialists – 110 Prime & Touch-Up, 114 Detail Setting Powder, 129 Fan
- The Eye Specialists – 227 Eyeshadow Blender, 231 Detail Crease Definer, 322 Brow Liner
Image – Courtesy of writer
First impressions
Who doesn’t love a shiny new makeup brush, let alone 15 of them? Anyone who’s ever used a Zoeva brush will know that these are fine quality brushes. They’re weighty and chunky, they don’t moult (a pet hate of mine), and they wash well.
So, whilst I knew this kit would be good quality, opening up the pretty pink box and seeing all 15 brushes together just confirmed it for me – they looked and felt super luxurious, and this made me want to start using them straight away.
The only thing that might give them away if you were to compare them to more expensive brushes on the market is that there is a slight synthetic shine on the bristles that you wouldn’t necessarily find on the big guns (which in some cases you’d need to re-mortgage your house in order to buy. Probably.) Plus, the Zoeva ones aren’t quite as fluffy as some. But now I’m just being picky.
The zip-up clutch included in the set is great. It’s the perfect size for all 15 brushes and there’s no need to squeeze them in. They slot in easily leaving room for more products or brushes if you need it.
Image – Courtesy of writer
My honest results
After a week or so of testing out this kit, I’ve discovered that out of the 15 brushes, I use 11 of them – consistently – every day. There are 4 I have no use for. The Fan brush is lost on me as I don’t use many powders, plus I already use the big powder brush in my top 11 for mattifying and/or setting.
The Detail Crease Liner is the same story – it is very similar to the Crease Definer brush which I do consistently use from the set, so I don’t feel like I need to use this one as well unless I switch crease colours, which for me is unlikely.
The Smoky Shader, again, is similar to the Eyeshadow Blender so I don’t really need to use both, and the Detail Setting Powder brush isn’t used at all as I just prefer to use the big powder brush for any powders that I use.
4 out of 15 isn’t bad though and I have happily and easily incorporated the majority into my daily makeup routine. Highlights include the Foundation Buffer, which I have written about before – it’s super chunky and the bristles are packed closely together so that you can easily buff on your base. It’s super soft and easy to navigate around your face too.
I’m also loving the Concealer Buffer – it’s just the right size to get into all the nooks of my face and feels really gentle on painful breakouts. The Detail Smoky Blender is brilliant at smudging powder liner along the tops of my lashes, and I really love the Brow Liner brush which enables me to draw a clean but soft and gentle line underneath my brows.
My only concern with this kit is that not everyone wears a full face of makeup every day like I do. The combination of my job and needing to test products out regularly, getting dressed up to see clients, going out and about with friends and wanting to boost my confidence with makeup means that I always like to take time out of my morning to apply my makeup.
But I know this isn’t for everyone and that other people’s lifestyles are different. So whilst I might use 11 brushes, give or take, most mornings (which seems excessive when I see it written down), others may only use two or three.
As a result, I’d recommend this set to makeup addicts only. Because £150 is a lot of money to spend on just two or three brushes. You’d need to really think about which brushes you would definitely use before buying the kit.
Before you make a decision, just know that, in my opinion, the brushes are all at expert level. I genuinely enjoy using them – there are some scratchy brushes by other brands out there that have an enjoyment percentage of zero. These are at 100 for me.
They really do feel like premium products and each of them does their job well whilst still looking as good as new months later. But whether you need the entire set or not boils down to two things – how much makeup you apply and how often.
Image – Courtesy of writer
What other users are saying
It seems that most people agree with me about the quality of these brushes.
“This brush set is very beautiful,” says Caroline D. “It is a pleasure to use these brushes every day!” Marija S adds, “the brushes are amazing, high quality. I ordered it for my daughter who is a makeup artist, and she loves them.” Whilst Cecile E writes, “perfect, soft and fancy.”
I came across one review that suggested bringing out a pot to keep them in at home, instead of a zip-up bag. While we all need to be able to transport our brushes around with us if we are travelling, let’s face it: most of the time, we are at home. So storing them in a pot where we can see them, I agree, could potentially be more useful.
Overall value for money
If I were to buy each of my favourite 11 brushes separately, it would cost me £172. The individual brushes in my top 11 range from £12 to £21.50. Despite not using 4 of the 15 brushes in the kit, I’m still saving money here as the kit costs £150, plus I may need the other four in future.
The takeaway
There’s no denying that this makeup brush set is high quality and that each and every brush does a great job. But whether you buy it or not depends on whether you will use it to its full potential.
If you’re someone who just uses a foundation brush, eyeshadow brush and blusher brush (for example) and not much else, buying these brushes separately would be more cost-effective.
However, if like me you love your makeup, you enjoy applying a full face of it every day and you use products that correlate to the majority of the brushes in the set, this is the ideal kit for you. Time to get saving!
Get Glowing!
