I was recently introduced to the brand Crown Brush by the ever so lovely Zoe Newlove, who isn't just an amazing blogger (I've been a reader of her blog here since the start of my blogging journey & I definitely recommend you check it out) but she is also the social media manager and head of makeup industry for this fantastic brand. I've actually heard of Crown Brush a long time ago but somehow I've never got around to ordering from their extensive collection of makeup brushes. I've even noticed over time that they slowly inntroduced makeup to the brand too, however reviews aren't something I easily come across so again I shied away from trying anything out. Now that I've finally been given my first taste of the brand, I'm ready to share my thoughts with you.
When Zoe asked me if I wanted to try anything in particular, I did mention that I was interested in the eye brushes & products in particular, so she put together this little set for me. First up let me talk about their best selling products (from what I know it seems to be what the brand is known for) and that is their makeup brushes.
I'll focus on the Deluxe Oval Foundation Brush* first which is super soft, nicely packed for this kind of flat foundation brush but it's just not exactly my favourite as I rarely use these kind of face brushes. Speaking of face brushes in general I actually rarely use them anyway, as I'm addicted to my beauty blender & the flawless finish I can achieve with that. So I put the brush to different use by applying my primer with it. Of course it's not necessary to use a brush with a primer but I really liked it as I find that with my fingers I can get carried away with rubbing the product into the skin until it's starts rolling off, so using the brush prevents that from happening. This is also a great brush to use with any kind of cream products such as cream highlighters and bronzers.
Next up is the fantastic Pro Blending Fluff Brush* which is a small white goat haired brush. It is not as fluffy as the much coveted MAC 217 brush which blends out eyeshadow into the crease perfectly, but the tapered shape means you can get into the crease of the eye for exact definition. This can also act as a flat shader brush, so you can tap on eyeshadow all over the lid with it also. I love that it feels really soft and that it's a little bit different from my other blending brushes since it is has a tapered tip.
Now onto to the makeup products which is where I felt a little bit let down by. First up I've got the St. Barth's Eyeshadow Trio*, which comes in a very slim compact including a matte bone ivory, shimmer light taupe and matte neutral shade. I have to be honest here & admit that I found the pigmentation really disappointing. As you can see in the photos on my makeup look below you can't really tell that I'm wearing three different shades on my lids, as it all just kind of blended away into one similar taupe shade. I also experienced quite a lot of fallout when I was trying to pack on the shades to get as much colour payoff from the trio (there was just a super powdery feel overall). The middle shade in particular had a lot of glitter fallout and I much prefer shades that have a shimmer or metallic sheen to them rather than actual glitter particles. I'm not sure if it's just the fact that my skin is warm toned, but the shades just didn't really show up as I had expected them to. Maybe this would work on player complexions, I dunno but if you have any experience with this please let me know...
Last up is the Studio Glitter Glam Liner* in Black Out, which I had a much better experience with compared to the eyeshadow trio. The super thin brush makes it very easy to achieve a thin line along the lash line and the shade is a very dark black with specks of gold glitter throughout, which I really like. The only thing they lets the liner down a bit, is the fact that it took a long time to dry for me... meaning that I transferred the product to the top of my lid when opening my eyes (not ideal when you've just finished a smokey eye). So that's something to bear in my mind when you're thinking of purchasing this.
So overall it hasn't been the most positive review, but sometimes things just don't work for you as you had hoped and that's life. I still think Crown Brush is a great brand and I'm glad to have been given my first introduction to them. I've definitely been more impressed by the makeup brushes rather than the actual makeup itself and I'll definitely have to look into investing in some more brushes in the new year. I'd love to hear if you've tried Crown Brush before? If you have what would you recommend I try next?
*PR samples