Now I'm no makeup brush connoisseur (more brush-envy addict), but I'm a dab hand in the kitchen, and the patissiere in me thinks this perfect for pastry. It seems plush, it seems lush, it seems skin-friendly but don't be blinkered by its shiny handle - it's a frightful hedgehog. Nothing like the softest, oh my, softer than a baby's bottom Bobbi Brown brushes that I've snapped up in recent years at duty free.
(Poor me only has a few staples, and Bobbi Brown asks a lot, a good limb and a leg in fact for a basic powder brush. My advice for Shu Uemura's, Nars', or By Terry's' brush-watchers: save, go against the beauty editor's screech of 'splurge!'. (No change there). Do as you do with the pension plan. With each monthly saving, think of the individual hairs collected. 'Tis a burst of joy one feels when it comes to entering your pin at the SpackeNK till. You've deserved it!)
Anyway, okay, I concede, it came in a kit (onilne from the US) with the heavenly BE Mineral Veil, a crazily good sheer, no-shimmer (and god forbid, glittery) finishing powder that's great for most skins (save the dry perhaps), but honestly, stuff your ears with cotton, Kabuki-seekers, block out the sales droning on QVC and co. because despite what they say, this ain't The Brush for it ladies. (Although sable and goat ought be perfect hair for buffing, is this a case of bad batch, bad goat?)
So, I'd been eyeing up this powder since that Alison on QVC spoketh, and commandeth. I'm no lightweight, but verily, she unveiled a truth, this powder redeems the nightmare that's the 'Buki.
Using it is like stumbling in the dark, like that bad, forgettable First Time. 'Tis enough for brush virgins to write them off altogether. But hold faith young ones. There is hope and help on the horizon, and often at the cheaper end of the market. Bourjois do neat brushes (I know, I'm shocked too) for less than a fiver (Superdrug), and are great starter brushes for the young 'un first dabbling in makeup, even the late-comer having her first foray in the world of brushdom. You wouldn't want your tweenie or teen looking like a clown now, would you? Nor your best friend using those awful good-for-nought sponge applicators that come with eyeshadows, etc. How mean.
But maybe I'm being a miser. With its compact head, it probably does buff well. But - I never reached that stage. There's only so much scratch-scratch buffing one can endure, unless you're being thrifty and plan to forgo the blush. The Kabuki is recommended for face and body, but save your face ladies, and use it on the decolletage. Or better, the soles of your feet designed to handle life's rough and smooth.
Generally sets are fantastic value, and oft introduces you to more delightful goodies within a range appropriating your loyalty forever. And the Kabuki, I have noticed, often comes in a set (BE are madly hot on sets, have you noticed?) And not to be sniffy since advice is always welcome and nice, but tutorials for an identikit generation? No thanks. I'll leave it. But I digress, and it's no wonder the Kabuki is a staple kit item given how frighteningly rough it is, they probably can't offload them quick enough - I can't even imagine the makeup professionals jumping on these even as freebies. Reminds me of their Flawless brush (and samey-samey Full Flawless), scratchy as hell. Shudders. Also, BE seriously have to control themselves, simply how many 'Radiance's' can they spin out next? I can't fathom the difference between Pure Radiance and Radiance (there's 10 plus, and counting....), All-Over Face-Colour and Warmth, and some more. Come again? Navigating the Narnia that is BE is more perplexing than reading the banking T&C's, you'd need to devote an entire Saturday. How dull. Makeup should be fun, not leave you flummoxed...
And thankfully, it came in a set otherwise I'd be quite peeved to have to shell out its RRP £24. (Thank god for Ebay addicts, otherwise it would join my pastry brushes). If you do decide to shell out good-earned money, it's available with discounts online (lookfantastic.com, feelunique.com, HQHair.com).
My penny: leave it. Actually, there's a fantastic synthetic-natural combo in the shape of Mac's, now infamous, 187 Duo Fibre brush (£29; small, £24.50, maccosmetics.co.uk), pricey but 'tis a goody. (There's now a BE version sold with the Radiance's, not on my wish list you can bet). The 187 looks a fright, but it's jolly good, whispers over and stipples powder dreamily on bare skin. (The dye doesn't wash well though, but then again, I am quite fastidious about brush cleaning.) Also, I've noticed crownbrush.co.uk do amazing value sets, not keen on their P&P charge though, nor 're-stocking fee', huh? I am eyeing up their badger sets, their tales always look mightily soft when I spot them in the wild....
Lastly, I'm nearly finished I promise, the critic in me can't resist mentioning one more booby in relation to Kabuki. Now if you were smart and bought a starter jar of whatever, usually 2g, you'll notice the head of the brush won't fit the pot. (Now don't shake the pot enthusiastically, girls, loose powder has a habit of exploding in your face like gunpowder.) So it follows it won't pick up much, so 'tis a no-no for starter pots. Even with full-sized pots, the process is annoyingly messy. I think they had a stint of temporary amnesia and forgot to consider the BE mantra of 'Dip and Tap' during the design stage because there's no handle as far as I can see. Duh! There's nothing to tap with, BE peeps. A mismatch much? So too, whoever deigned the sifter jars needs to steal Laura Mercier's, even Estee Lauder's prototype. Bad, bad, bad design.
The Kabuki: no value, no quality, no joy. Animal friendly?
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