If you're a sucker for a pretty make up brush then join the club!
I absolutely cannot resist any new make up brush, I love the classic monochrome, marble, metallic accents (who doesn't love a bit of rose gold nowadays??) but the unicorn trend has brought out some corkers too. Spectrum Collections have been the obvious choice here - their range is BEAUTIFUL and I did struggle looking at the website choosing what to get.
The Glam Clam is a personal favourite and I almost chose that, but the Siren brushes caught my eye for being totally different again!
I absolutely cannot resist any new make up brush, I love the classic monochrome, marble, metallic accents (who doesn't love a bit of rose gold nowadays??) but the unicorn trend has brought out some corkers too. Spectrum Collections have been the obvious choice here - their range is BEAUTIFUL and I did struggle looking at the website choosing what to get.
The Glam Clam is a personal favourite and I almost chose that, but the Siren brushes caught my eye for being totally different again!
At the time of purchase there was a sale on, plus as it was my first purchase I got 10% off. I picked up the two sets of Siren brushes - the sculpt and the smoke sets. You can purchase these separately like I did or within the Sassy Sirens sets (I didn't buy them because they were called Sassy honest) which are available in a shell or within a roll for an additional £5 per option.
What I love about the options Spectrum have is that all of the brushes are available in each range so you know exactly what you are getting, i.e. the 7 piece eye brush sets are the same regardless of design. (excluding the massive 30 piece sets which are still in my dreams for now!)
So what does the 8 piece smoke set include? This has 7 eye shadow brushes, each brush has a number printed at the end indicating the type of brush. A is for Application, B is for Blending, C is for Contour, and D is for Duo Fibre - I think that's it!
There are 4 application brushes and 2 blending brushes in this set and each of them are pretty perfect. Having been to the Spectrum event in Cardiff a few months ago with a live demo I remembered exactly which brush was for which task, and hastily got out the blending brushes because I knew I needed to try them first.
My favourite is the B06 for blending in a transition colour and generally blending everything together in circles for the smokiest of eyes. It's the best and what I was missing in my collection. The B03 is another great blender, the B04 has a slight taper and I find this ideal for adding in the shimmer shade in the centre of my eye - I don't know if this is correct but it's now what it is used for every day.
That's my favourite part about using brushes, generally they have a use but if you find your own way of doing things...who cares!
The application brushes also have a great variety of size and shape. The A06 is perfect for throwing on a base shade, and I use it EVERY day without fail for a taupe colour to start off my eye make up.
The A12 is a fluffy pencil brush, and I've not seen many of these apart from one I bought from Urban Decay many many years ago because I hadn't seen any before. This one is PERFECTION for blending along your lower lashes and giving the perfect smoke, everyone needs one even if you wouldn't wear eye make up normally. It's perfect for just blending out some eyeliner pencil so it isn't so harsh. Get it!
The A12 is a fluffy pencil brush, and I've not seen many of these apart from one I bought from Urban Decay many many years ago because I hadn't seen any before. This one is PERFECTION for blending along your lower lashes and giving the perfect smoke, everyone needs one even if you wouldn't wear eye make up normally. It's perfect for just blending out some eyeliner pencil so it isn't so harsh. Get it!
Next up is the sculpt set. This contains 5 brushes and is all you need to sculpt your face out!
The B01 (centre) is great for applying foundation, it's similar to the Real Techniques Buffing Brush that I'm also a fan of, but if I'm honest this one is better and not only because you can buy it on its own in the Pink and Marbleous sets (always the biggest frustration of mine when things only come in sets!). It buffs in liquid foundations with minimal effort and leaves an even finish. Easy peasy.
The application brushes in this are A01 (massive powder brush) and A05 (precision blush). I'm actually quite pleased I use all the sculpt brushes as they're supposed to be, makes me feel like I know what I'm talking about as I didn't actually check!
The A01 is super soft and fluffy and is pictured in more detail below, it's great. The A05 seems to apply the optimum amount of blush to my face for me to look healthy and alive but not like a rosy cheeked cherub which is always something I avoid. I always thought a big blush brush was best but now I've seen the error of my ways and I've been overdoing it for years.
Last but not least we have the contour brushes, C02 (flat top) and C04 (angled powder brush).
I have to be honest and admit I've not used the C02 brush much, mainly because I don't have time to fully contour and haven't had any events to try it out yet - maybe I'll do it for the next wedding at the end of the month and report back! However it feels good and I would expect it to buff any cream contour in nicely and hopefully not leave me looking like a wannabe Kardashian.
Last but not least another surprising favourite, the C04. This I have a LOT of time for, even on a Monday morning. I use this to sweep some bronzing powder in the usual contour areas and it seems to bring my face to life a little and require the smallest amount of effort. It's such a big fluffy brush it seems to diffuse any potential lines before they even get to my face so it's a new favourite!
It seems I've been missing some angled face brushes in my life!
In summary the brushes are really really good, I've not had any issues washing them or using them and have had no hairs falling out of them either. The only thing I can think of that's missing is a brush for adding highlighter, ideally it would be great if they could add in just one more and then I think it would be perfect.
As I said I purchased the sets separately and they cost £44.99 for the Sculpt set and £39.99 for the Smoke set. I did purchase whilst they were on sale but you can get 10% off your first order AND free delivery over £50 so worth getting a few items together. Not to mention, they are 100% registered and all, completely cruelty free and vegan. And they're Welsh which goes a long way in our books! M might not actually be Welsh but she's lived here 10 years now so she's been adopted.
If you wanted to buy the sets they are £89.99 each for either the shell or the roll and I'd get one of those if I were you - they look amazing!! Sadly Spectrum did recently have a fire in their warehouse which must have been an awful experience, a lot of their stock is therefore showing as 'sold out' at the moment but they will be getting new stock soon. Their Mean Girls range is also fabulous, the brushes have individual quotes on and they are brilliant! I can't wait to see what they are bringing out next.
I'm sure I will add to my collection in future as you can never have too many brushes, but these sets are perfect as a starter kit for anyone and we've blabbed about them so much we've enabled at least three separate people to buy them!
Have you tried Spectrum before? What brushes are catching your eye?
In summary the brushes are really really good, I've not had any issues washing them or using them and have had no hairs falling out of them either. The only thing I can think of that's missing is a brush for adding highlighter, ideally it would be great if they could add in just one more and then I think it would be perfect.
As I said I purchased the sets separately and they cost £44.99 for the Sculpt set and £39.99 for the Smoke set. I did purchase whilst they were on sale but you can get 10% off your first order AND free delivery over £50 so worth getting a few items together. Not to mention, they are 100% registered and all, completely cruelty free and vegan. And they're Welsh which goes a long way in our books! M might not actually be Welsh but she's lived here 10 years now so she's been adopted.
If you wanted to buy the sets they are £89.99 each for either the shell or the roll and I'd get one of those if I were you - they look amazing!! Sadly Spectrum did recently have a fire in their warehouse which must have been an awful experience, a lot of their stock is therefore showing as 'sold out' at the moment but they will be getting new stock soon. Their Mean Girls range is also fabulous, the brushes have individual quotes on and they are brilliant! I can't wait to see what they are bringing out next.
I'm sure I will add to my collection in future as you can never have too many brushes, but these sets are perfect as a starter kit for anyone and we've blabbed about them so much we've enabled at least three separate people to buy them!
Have you tried Spectrum before? What brushes are catching your eye?
L xxx
