L.A.B Stroke Of Genius Brush Set

L.A.B Brushes were created by the US makeup artist, Brett Freedman who has worked with celebrities such as Sienna Miller and Taylor Swift. L.A.B brushes are created using fibre-luxe technology which is cruelty free; it means that the brushes are very durable and provide less product waste as the texture of the bristles enables great powder pick up and the bristles mimic the finest natural hair. The bristles are also extremely durable because the fibre technology doesn't lose it's shape or degrade like natural bristle brushes. 

I have the *L.A.B Brushes Strokes Of Genius Brush Kit (£18.99) which contains five eye and brow brushes which are all cruelty free, hypoallergenic and have a rubberised handle. Also the ferrel is supposed to be very durable, non-corrosive and resistant to damage which I am dubious about but hopefully it will mean that the brushes will withstand a thorough cleaning.

*L.A.B Crease Brush

Firstly, I love the design of these brushes and the crease brush is definitely one of my favourites from the set. The bristles are soft and smooth although they aren't the softest brushes I own by far! The bristles for this brush are quite dense but it is still flexible so it is great for placing a good amount of eyeshadow in a specific place and blending quickly and easily. I've only experienced a tiny amount of shedding with this brush. It washes well although it takes a while to dry - even when only spot cleaning. Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5. 

*L.A.B Eyeshadow Brush

This brush is a fantastic shape for placing eyeshadow onto the skin, not so much for blending but just for placing the colour it's fantastic. Again as with the previous brush, the bristles are soft and smooth although not as soft as all the others I use. It is great for blending shadows under the eyes though and as a concealer brush, if like me you have a tendency to reach for new brushes to use instead of washing others...oops. Overall rating: ★★★★☆, 4/5. 

*L.A.B Brow + Lash Groomer 

A spoolie or brow groomer is an essential for me as I am so conscious of my brows when filling them in - I do not want them to look really dark or drawn on so a brow groomer is great for blending product through the brows. This double ended brush is perfect and great for travelling. Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5. 

*L.A.B Brow + Eyeliner Brush

If I'm not wearing any liner or eyeshadow, just mascara, then I always apply a small amount of dark brown eyeshadow very closely along the upper and lower lash lines as it provides instant but natural definition and makes the lashes look fuller and thicker. The angled brush is great for this as it is so thin and precise. It is also great for black winged liner with powder or gel liner. Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5. 

*L.A.B Pointed Eyeliner Brush

Winged liner is one of my go to looks and recently I've been loving the gel liner again, especially the Clinique Brush On Liner; this brush is great with cream/gel liner! It is a little thicker than the other liner brushes I have but it is great for getting a good even line however it isn't so amazing for a precise point, in my opinion. However it is great overall and it doesn't pick up too much product. Overall rating: ★★★★☆, 4/5.

Overall, I think it is a great set and the brushes are obviously really well made and I think they will be really durable. I love the crease, angled and brow groomer brushes and I will definitely get a lot of use out of this set. The price is fantastic too for effective cruelty free brushes. 

Have you tried any brushes from L.A.B 2? What do you think of this brush set? 

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Uspicy 32 Piece Brush Set

I am a bit of a makeup and makeup brush hoarder, I always need more! I have already reviewed a brush set from Uspicy (here) and I really liked it although the quality wasn't amazing; however this new set is amazing! I have the massive *Uspicy Complete 32 Piece Essential Makeup Brush Set With Travel Pouch (£39.99) and I've been loving it. 

Lets get the negatives out of the way, I personally don't like the faux crocodile effect on the pouch and the brush set contains sponge tip applicators which I am not interested in using at all and I don't find them to be useful. Also there seem to be a lot of the same types of brushes and there is only one brush that I could use for foundation in the whole set. 

In the set there are severn face brushes, three of which would be great for powder including two fan brushes - I have wanted to try a fan brush for a while and the massive fan brush in this set is fantastic for powder and contouring as it is quite thin and fits into the hollow of my cheeks well. The fan brushes are also great for removing fall down. The other three would be great for blush, powder, contouring and bronzer as they are all quite similar. The last face brush is a small, fairly dense brush which is great applying foundation to give light coverage. All of the face brushes are incredibly smooth, soft and they don't pull the skin. Unlike the previous set I have reviewed, there is no gap between the ferrel and bristles so the quality of this new set has definitely improved!

Now onto the eye brushes...there are ten brushes that I would describe as flat shadow brushes, at least four that could be eyeshadow smudging brushes, four lip brushes, two 'nose contouring' brushes and a thin liner brush. There are also two sponge applicators, a lash/brow brush and a spoolie. Yes, thats a lot of brushes and there are no fluffy blending brushes. I feel as though I will get so much use out of all the brushes, they are really smooth/soft and the quality is fantastic but there are so many brushes that are similar; I wish there were fluffy blending brushes or more liner brushes. 

Overall, I have been using the face and some of the eye brushes a lot since I received this set. The quality is so much better than the previous set I reviewed. The brushes are SO soft/smooth, easy to use, effective and so far they haven't shed but I am yet to wash them. My overall rating so far: ★★★★☆ 4/5 - one star off as a lot of the brushes are repeats/similar. 

Have you tried any brushes from Uspicy? What are your favourite brush brands?

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