Unsung Makeup Heroes: The Too Faced Shadow Brushes Essential 3-Piece Set

“Made with luxurious teddy bear hair!”

Every time I see that phrase on my Too Faced Shadow Brush Set tube, I see a sad teddy bear with long, luscious ’80s rocker hair, like Bret Michaels had back in his hair heyday before he stormed the reality TV show circuit with a weave.

(No judgement, Bret! It’s all good!)

When I mentioned these brushes last week, I got some requests to review the set, so here goes… 🙂

First, it’s darling, isn’t it? $39, comes with three eye brushes, a cute carrying tube, and it’s in the permanent line.

I like this set, a lot, mostly because of the epic Crease/Blender brush. I mean, none of the brushes are slouches, but that one takes the cake.

The bristles are made from synthetic fibers, otherwise known as “luxurious teddy bear hair,” and yup — there’s Bret Michaels again in my mind’s eye…

It includes:

• One Crease/Blender Brush — This one’s like a thinner MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush, and it’s fab for applying shadow in the crease (more on this in a sec).
• One Lid/Smoker Brush — This dense, flat eyeshadow brush is all about quickness and precisely packing tons of color on lids.
• One Liner/Smudger Brush — Like a hobbit-sized version of the Lid/Smoker Brush. I use it to line my lash lines with eyeshadow or soften the edges of pencil eyeliner. In a pinch, I’ll also use it to fill in my brows.

For me, the Crease/Blender Brush headlines this show. That brush — I kid you not — I use practically every day.

It’s shaped like the MAC 224, only thinner, and that makes it perfect for placing eyeshadow right where I want it.

Very handy, particularly in smokey eye looks, or any looks with precise placement in the upper and/or lower crease.

Of course, it’s also OK for blending, but I think its forte is placing product, and not buffing. For blending, I like fluffier brushes, like the MAC 224, with bristles that fan out to spread product over a wider area.

Oh! So, the crease brush — really, all of the brushes in the set — are great for little lids. I mean, the brush heads are on the small side, so they fit small eyes/lids (like mine) well.

And if you use a lot of cream or liquid eye products, these are great for both. Synthetic fibers are generally less porous than natural ones and consequently soak up less product, and that’s the case here. Because of that, you get less product stuck in your bristles and more product applied to your skin.

But being great for liquids and creams doesn’t mean you can’t also use these with powder products, too. It’s like a best of all worlds.

Only thing is, synthetic bristles tend to stiffen over time (I’m not sure why), and these do, too. A little. Not as much as the synthetic brushes from most brands. I mean, not to single out Urban Decay, but those bristles go straight-up crunchy after like a month or two, whereas I’ve been using these for almost two years, and the bristles still have lots of give and feel very soft.

The long-running Makeup and Beauty Blog Unsung Heroes series features permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

If you’re looking for a great starter eye brush kit, you could do a lot worse than this, and it’s not a bad deal. The price works out to $13 per brush.

Since it’s part of the permanent collection, the Too Faced Shadow Brushes Essential 3-Piece Set is available now at Too Faced counters and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen