Brush it off (Makeup Brush Match-Up)

Did I really just pay $20 for a sponge? I thought to myself while spreading a $54 foundation of my face. I did. I really did. Don't tell my mother. Then I saw some insta ad for Artis brushes that made it look like they magically painted your face far better than a BB or other brush. When the end of year sale rolled around I pulled the trigger and did this comparison so you didn't have to.

Match up 1:

Beauty Blender vs Beakey

I saw the Beakey on the instagram of @somewherelately. They are $8.99 for 5. As we all know, Beauty Blenders at $20 for 1. Unless you get a rouge coupon for 20% off at Sephora. Is this highway robbery? Or the only way to apply makeup?

Initial thought when opening the package: the Beakey is larger than the BB and feels suspiciously like a stress relief ball when you squeeze the water out. I'm not mad about it, but I am intrigued as to why it's so....substantial. I already feel like I got my money's worth. Alas, I wish I could choose the colors. Now I'm stuck with 4 random primary colors that I don't like looking at.

To test, I cleaned off a couple vases and took equal swipes of foundation and spread them over equal areas of the glass. I repeated this a few times, and with two different price point foundation comparisons. I then tried it with a dark foundation on my skin. While you can head over to my insta to view this shaky Blair Witch video in real time, I implore you just to look at the kindergarten quality captioning below. The end result: the Beakey appeared to be more airbrushed, but the Beauty Blender deposited more product. You can always blend more, but you should balance your purchase decision between losing $$ product on your sponge and losing $$ on your sponge.

Brush #2: Artis vs Sephora

Next up were the Artis brushes vs. the Sephora "airbrush" foundation brush. Artis makes those fancy brushes that look like old-timey hair brushes. They also claim that for the brush I purchased the "handles are produced using a proprietary metal alloy similar to what is used in the manufacture of luxury car engines". guess that explains why I like holding it so much. In an opposite turn of brand names from the above, the Sephora brush actually deposited more product, while the Artis looked more airbrushed:

I repeated this a few times, the results of which are saved under "Face Face-offs"on Insta, with the same result. The key differences are that the Artis looks more airbrushed, it also is SO MUCH EASIER to use. So much easier that I bought a larger face brush and it is MAGIC. I was a bit concerned it would pull on my eyes, but it's no more than I do when washing my face. Additionally, you could always use a sponge to dab foundation/concealer around the eye area. It's also so much more convenient than remembering the wet the sponge, hope it dries, hope it doesn't smear while traveling, blah blah blah. It's been almost three weeks and I don't even look at my Beauty Blender any more.

but what about powders, you ask?

I did try one swipe each of an Artis brush, and a Sephora professionals eyeshadow brush and it.was. AMAZING the difference:

I will have to say the brushes are not as easy to use for powder as the foundations, and I am still figuring out how to blend with them; however, I now get a ton of color deposit on my eyelid with fewer strokes with the Artis and then blend with my regular sephora brush. I cannot rave about how much product actually makes it to my lid enough. RAVE.

I will note, that you must pack them carefully for travel. I also have cleaned them with the Cinema Secrets and the Artis foam cleaners, and while I am sure you should use the Artis foam, you can also get away with the Cinema Secrets for the first few times without ruining them.

Overall, I would purchase based on the following:

Are you using a sponge on inexpensive cream or liquid products? Buy Beakeys

Are you using a sponge on expensive creams or products? Weigh loss of product to sponge with loss of $$ to fancy sponge maker.

Are you using powders? Save up for the Artis or wait for a sale. They're just so good at getting that product to your face and minimizing pulling on your eyelid.

Want your morning to go that much faster, and not have to buy hard-to recycle sponges quarterly? Save your BB money and get and Artis set at their sale. I will never go back.

Any other brushes you've seen and wanted to try? Comment below!

xo, WHWA

#Artis #Makeup #MUA #tools