Most of us started out putting on our eye make-up with those sponge tip applicators that come with drugstore brand make-up and using the powder puffs that come with powder compacts on our faces. Over time, we eventually learn that the better—-best, even—-way to put on make-up is to apply them using brushes. They are essential tools in achieving a flawless (or close to it) application. Finding the right brush can be complicated. You want one that has good quality, but at the same time, you want to be sure it’s decently priced. There are so many brushes out there and you find yourself asking, “How do I know that I won’t waste my money on this?” I’ve had my fair share of brush shopping. I’ve brushes from Sonia Kashuk (from Target), Costco/Kirkland/Borghese, and I slowly made my way up to Sephora and M·A·C. [I also have one from Essence of Beauty found at CVS Pharmacy.] I’ve acquired what I feel to be a great set of brushes, as well as some not so good ones.

Now, I have my favorite brushes from the aforementioned brands, but I have to admit the ones that get the most use are my M·A·C and Sephora brushes (as well as my EoB angled blusher brush). Sometimes you have to spend more in order to get the best quality. [People need to know that if the brush is scratchy and hurts your face, it's not worth keeping, so trash it and find a better one.] It’s not that easy, though, because it’s just not realistic for most of us to drop hundreds and thousands of dollars on M·A·C. We need to be able to eat and pay the bills too.

Enter Coastal Scents. I was intrigued by how inexpensive their brushes were (I’m not going to use cheap because it has a negative connotation). Seriously, $1-something for a brush? It has to be good to be true, right? I’m sure a bunch of people who saw that were as skeptical as me, but I figured, it couldn’t hurt to try. If the brushes suck, at least I know I didn’t spend $20 or more for just one of them. So…I kind of went crazy. I ended up buying 11 brushes and a brush roll. The total? $57.03 (subtotal of $49.38 + $7.65 for shipping). Yes, you read that right. That’s pretty much equivalent to one M·A·C 138 brush ($52), plus tax.

Before you read my review, I have to mention a couple of things: 1) I was not asked to review these brushes nor did I get them for free. I bought them with money from my own pocket, 2) These brushes are not equivalent to the ones found at M·A·C. They are not intended to be. If you’re expecting M·A·C, then go to a store and get a brush from them. It’s not fair to both companies to put them on the same level, and 3) I have not gotten a chance to use them yet. I ordered them at night on April 10, got the shipping confirmation on the 11th, and got them yesterday (they are fast, I just chose the regular parcel post option; I’m all the way in California, while they’re in Florida). I’ve touched them and compared them to my M·A·C brushes, but I haven’t actually used them on my face in conjunction with make-up since I washed them right after examining them. At the moment they’re still drying already dry (took about four hours, wow!).

I’ll just tell you my overall verdict, in case you prefer not to read my long review, as I am prone to write a lot. I really like these brushes. Not only are they affordable, the quality is up there! For the prices that they’re selling, these are worth buying. I would recommend them to anyone, at least the ones that I bought, and I would use them on clients (honestly, I bought these as a back-up for when I do make-up on people and I’m so glad that I like them and that I didn’t waste my money) and give them as gifts. Who can resist pink?! The handles of the Italian badger brushes are pretty nifty too, I think. I already have a few more I’m eyeing. Pretty much my only gripe throughout this whole review will be that I wish the bristles were more densely packed in some of them (namely the Pink Duo Fiber Powder Stippler, angled liner side of the duo brush, and the crease brushes, but mostly the duo fiber stippler one) and perhaps their names. Having numbers next to them might be a little easier than solely having four words for one brush’s name, but that’s just me.

Coastal Scents (CS) vs. M·A·C brushes, for reference:

• LENGTH: Not much difference
• THICKNESS of HANDLES: Not much difference
• SHEDDING: washed once, the total hairs shed between all 11 brushes was maybe 5 (I know!)
• BRISTLE QUALITY: super soft!

Italian Badger Buffer Brush Large ($11.95), Italian Badger Round Crease Brush ($2.49), Angle Liner/Spoolie Brush ($2.99), Chisel Angle Fluff Shadow Brush ($2.00)

Italian Badger Buffer Brush (Large): I was debating between this and the kabuki. I kind of like the fact that this has a long handle, despite it being a buffer brush, and since I don’t have a buffer brush with a long handle, I decided to get this instead. I already have, like, three kabukis. This is really nice and soft, with the right amount of bristle density. I think it would be good for applying powder because it could really buff it out.
Italian Badger Round Crease Brush: This reminds me of my Sephora smudger brush, which I love. While the intended use is for the crease area, I know I would use it to blend my eye shadows together. It’s soft, but I wish the bristles were more tightly packed in order to get a more precise application.
Angle Liner/Spoolie Brush: This is perfect for lining the eyes (it’s thin enough, which is great) and grooming eye brows. The angle liner part isn’t hard at all. Again, I wish the bristles were more tightly packed since they’re a little softer than what I’m used to.
Chisel Angle Fluff Shadow Brush: Based on appearance, I’d compare this to the M·A·C 275. I don’t really need an angle eye shadow brush, so I’d use this to contour my nose.

Pink Duo Fiber Powder Stippler ($7.95), Pink Oval Fluff Shadow Brush ($1.69), Pink Deluxe Oval Shadow Brush ($1.99), Pink Round Crease Eye Brush ($1.49)

Pink Duo Fiber Powder Stippler: This looks like the M·A·C 187, but it is not exactly like it. I wish the bristles were more dense and firm. I’m a little concerned about how it will hold up to my liquid foundation (which I use with stippling brushes to get that airbrushed look), but I guess we’ll see since it does say powder stippler. It’s very soft and it only shed one hair or something like that.
Pink Oval Fluff Shadow Brush: This will be great for eye shadow application. I’d say it’s about medium size and it could easily be used to apply a wash of color to the entire lid area, especially if you haven’t got much lid space.
Pink Deluxe Oval Shadow Brush: This reminds me of the M·A·C 227 brush, which I don’t have, but have been coveting. It’d be great for applying a highlight to the brow bone and then blending the highlight with the lid colors. I like this a lot.
Pink Round Crease Eye Brush: Similar to the Italian badger one above. There isn’t really a difference between them other than the length (the Italian badger is about half an inch shorter) and color of the handles and the bristles. A girl can never have too many blending brushes, in my opinion.

Pink Oval Taklon Lip Brush ($1.60), Pink Kolinsky Lip Brush ($2.79), Pink Oval Synthetic Concealer Brush ($2.49)

Pink Oval Taklon Lip Brush: This is a lip brush, but I’m planning to use it for either concealer application (in small areas) or as an eye shadow brush for the inner tear duct or the lower lashline due to its small size. I don’t like lip brushes that don’t retract or have a cover because I don’t want the lip stuff to smear everywhere.
Pink Kolinsky Lip Brush: I don’t know why it’s called a Kolinsky brush, but I do know that it was hard to type that word! :P I kept misspelling it. Anyway, I got another lip brush even though I have three because I hate how the ones I have shed [on my lips] and/or are too stiff they scratch me (I’m talking to you, Sephora lip brush!). This one seems soft enough and didn’t shed when I washed it, so I’m really hoping it doesn’t shed on my lips because I hate that. It’s quite long when you attach the cover to the bottom of the brush, but it’s no problem, since you can just choose not to attach it.
Pink Oval Synthetic Concealer Brush: Pretty self-explanatory. The bristle colors are reverse of the duo fiber powder stippler (say that 10 times!). I’ll use it for concealing, but it can also be used as an eye shadow brush.

Leatherine Rollup 10 Slot Case ($9.95)

This can hold 15 brushes, which is good. Everything I just bought can fit in it. There’s not too much to say about this since a brush roll is a brush roll, but I like it.

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So that’s that for my review of the brushes found at Coastal Scents. I hope that helps some of you out there who are wondering what the quality of these brushes are, as well as those of you who may be looking into purchasing your first set. Whether you’re a novice to or an expert in make-up, I think you’ll be surprisingly impressed with these. I’ll let you know additional info on how they performed when subjected to actual usage, as well as any more of them that I buy. ‘Til next time!