Kelley Quan Vegan Beauty Brushes: 5, 14, 8, 3, 9, 1
In my pre-vegan days, I purchased a set of makeup brushes (most of them made with animal fur). Since I took good care of them (washing them weekly, etc.), they held up for almost four years. When it was time to replace them, I knew I wanted to invest in a high quality set of vegan brushes.
Aside from being cruelty-free, Vegan beauty brushes have their perks over their animal hair counterparts–especially now that synthetic fur is no longer synonymous with cheap and junkie. (Thank goodness the beauty industry is evolving!)
Because synthetic fur isn’t porous like natural hair, it won’t continuously trap old makeup, dead skin cells, and bacteria. This means keeping them truly clean is actually doable. Furthermore, synthetic bristles will retain their quality longer; real fur breaks down and become more porous over time, increasing the chance of nasties resting in your blusher brush. In short, vegan makeup brushes are more sanitary.
After receiving a sample Kelley Quan brush, I knew where I’d be doing my brush shopping. These brushes do run a little spendy–at least compared to the last set of brushes I bought. Since I was looking to replace multiple animal hair brushes, I decided the best deal would be to shell out for the Vegan Beauty Brush Travel Set, which contains six staple brushes. The only difference between these brushes and their full-size counterparts is the length of the handle–not a huge loss in my book.
Kelley Quan selects various synthetic furs for their similar texture to certain animal furs–and as a result, her brushes are cashmere-soft. These brushes are also handmade and shaped, meaning that each brush is hand-trimmed rather than run through a machine.
The effect? Ultra luxe vegan glamour.
The travel set includes:
Brush 1 & 3: designed for a variety of uses from concealer and foundation to loose and pressed powders. Brush 3 (the larger of the two) applies liquid mineral foundation like a dream.
Brush 5: super soft faux mink works well with several powder formulas including loose mineral powder and shimmer dust. I was actually a little skeptical about its ability to easily blend blush and bronzer because it’s mostly flat–rather than fluffy and dome-shaped–but I was surprised how much more natural my blush and bronzer looked when applied with this brush.
Brush 8: may be used with either powder of cream formula. It’s perfect for applying pressed powder eyeshadow.
Brush 9: faux mink brush designed for blending powder. I use it to apply eyeshadow on the crease and outer third of my eyelid. A smoky eye staple.
Brush 14: thin and angled, this brush can apply eyeliner (liquid, powder, or cream)–hello, cat eyes! I also use it to to fill in my eyebrows.
Have you tried vegan makeup brushes?
Also see: Zoya Topcoat and Basecoat Review
Editor’s Picks: 7 Summer Beauty Essentials
Photos: Mary Hood
