Makeup brushes are much more important than most people realize, especially beginners. The right tools can make the difference between a beautiful makeup and a clumsy attempt that looks like it was perpetrated by a 5-year old. With a good brush even a mediocre eyeshadow or blush can end up looking pretty as it helps blend and diffuse the color seamlessly into the skin.

One thing I've learned is that you don't need to break the bank to get great brushes. Sure you could splurge on brands like Chikuhodo or Wayne Goss if you have a few hundred dollars to spare, I'm sure their quality is amazing. But if you're just looking for a variety of excellent brushes that will help you enhance your makeup skills, affordable brands have you covered. I have tons of "cheap" brushes from Ecotools, Real Techniques, and more, but today I want to show you my first purchase from BH Cosmetics, the Crystal Quartz brush set. Is it worth the $24 price tag? Let's find out!


The Crystal Quartz set includes 12 brushes for the face and eyes that come in a zippered pouch. Can we take a moment to marvel at the holographic faux crocodile skin of this pouch? It's absolutely stunning and you'd love it if you enjoy shiny holo everything. It's also sturdy and just the right size to take brushes and a few makeup products with you on a short trip. It smells like plastic but I'm sure that will go away with time.



All 12 brushes are made with synthetic bristles and BH Cosmetics is a cruelty-free brand certified by the Leaping Bunny. They have white wooden handles, pink ferrules and black and white hair. Overall they look great quality with regular shapes, refined details and perfect finishes. They also all feel extremely soft to the touch - on that aspect they're a world away from my scratchy Morphe brushes. The one thing that may reveal their price is their weight: they feel very light, unlike brushes from more expensive brands. Personally I don't think it's a problem but it's the kind of small detail that makes the difference between affordable and luxury brushes.

Now let's take a closer look at each brush in the Crystal Quartz set. The numbers are on the handles and the names on the back of the box the set came in:


CRYSTAL QUARTZ FACE BRUSHES


1- Deluxe Powder Brush: this is a dense but flexible round, medium-sized domed brush that feels very soft on the skin. I tend to use big brushes for powder, but I actually enjoyed replacing them with this one. It allows me to apply my powder a little more precisely to different areas of the face. I could also see myself using this one for bronzer.


2- Large Rounded Bronzing Brush: this one is pinched at the base for an oval shape. It is medium in size, fluffy, dense and again very soft (I won't repeat it each time: they're all super soft). I also tend to use giant brushes to apply bronzer, but I fell in love with this brush for blush. Despite its incredible softness it picks up any blush super easily, even the ones that are a little too firm, and the fluffiness gives a very diffused, blended look with a great color payoff. As soon as I tried it it became my favorite blush brush!

3- Rounded Buffing Brush: a small dense brush that has a barely rounded, almost flat top. I'm not one to buff much but I've used this brush successfully to apply liquid foundation. It distributes the color evenly for a medium coverage when used in a circular motion.

4- Flat Contour Brush: this brush is pinched narrowly at the base but tapered for a wider oval shape at the top. The top is completely flat with a sharp edge. This is a more unusual shape for a contour brush for me. I have flat-top contour brushes but they're much thinner. Being tapered this one is much wider and more oval rather than rectangular. I don't contour much but to me it gives a more blended result rather than a sharp line. It may be a good thing or not depending on the look you're aiming for!


CRYSTAL QUARTZ EYE BRUSHES


5- Large Blending Brush: a medium-sized round crease brush with long tapered, flexible hair. I don't agree with the "large" name, I have crease brushes from other brands that are about triple the size of this one! It's one of my favorites in the set, as the soft, bendable bristles blend eyeshadow in and above the crease to absolute perfection. It's become an everyday essential brush for me. The color is just so much better diffused with this one than with my other crease brushes.

6- Tapered Blending Brush: a very thin round blending brush with long tapered hair. Together with #5 they form the ultimate crease blending duo. I wasn't sure that such a small brush would do much for me and my deep crease, but it's perfect to apply and blend a darker color in my outer V. The small size allows me to place shadow precisely where I want it while the soft tapered bristles diffuse the color seamlessly for a blended look.

7- Domed Blending Brush: a small brush with a rounded top. This is a good multitasker to blend or apply color more heavily to the crease. Like the others it's super soft and a pleasure to use.

8- Buffing Blender Brush: this is a fluffy flat brush is slightly tapered and has a rounded top. Another multitasker, I've used it to apply shadow to the lid and to blend the edge of dark colors. It performed both tasks very well.

9- Eye Shader Brush: a flat, square-shaped brush with dense hair and a slightly rounded top. This one has really impressed me for the application of shimmer eyeshadow. It picks up the color in the pan really well, even with the latest generation thick and silicone-y shadows, and delivers it to the lid for great payoff with minimized fallout. The size of it is great too, not too big that it's awkward to use on the lid but not so small that you have to go back and forth too much.

10- Pencil Brush: a very small rounded brush with short, pointed, dense hair. This one is smaller than other pencil brushes in my collection and I think its size makes it more versatile. It's great to blend pencil eyeliner, to apply shadow to the lash line, or to add a small touch of highlighter to the inner corner.

11- Flat Concealer Brush: a flat and narrow square shaped brush with dense hair and a sharp edge. This one has me scratching my head. How am I supposed to use it for concealer?? I have no clue, but I used it to apply shadow to my lower lash line. It worked, but it felt a little pokey - that's the only brush that felt this way.

12- Angled Brow Brush: this is a small and thin angled brush. It's a little smaller than most brow brushes in width, but not the thinnest I've seen. It works well to apply brow powder or to blend pencil.



I'm truly impressed with BH Cosmetics brushes. My first experience has been excellent with quick delivery, well packaged shipment, and very high quality products. The Crystal Quartz brush set is an amazing value for $23.99, and it's a steal if you can catch it on sale like I did. At less than $2 a piece you get 12 top quality brushes that are all incredibly soft and cleverly designed to serve their purpose perfectly, plus you get the mesmerizing holographic pouch. I selected this particular set for the variety of eye brushes it contains, and I wasn't disappointed. They're far better than eye brushes from any other similarly priced brand I've tried. This is by far the best makeup brush set I have ever bought and I totally recommend it! I'll certainly buy more brush sets from BH Cosmetics in the future.





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