Sonia Kashuk 15th Anniversary Sets are on sale now at Target, for approximately 40-50% off, depending on the location. I picked up the Sonia Kashuk 15th Anniversary Brush Set and this is my first impression of the product as well as a review of how these brushes perform after having used them for about a week. This set normally retails for $39.99 but I picked mine up for $27 during the clearance sale.
The brush set comes with 15 brushes and features a wide array of brushes, I can't even think of any others which you may need to complete your beauty routine, this is an all-inclusive set. The purple bristles, golden ferrules, aubergine weighted handles, and golden cap bottoms make them look very elegant and high end.
Let's start by reviewing everybody's favorites: the eye brushes. From right to left, the set contains: a large blending brush, a medium crease blending brush, a small crease brush and a flat eyeshadow brush. The flat eyeshadow brush is ideal for packing color onto the lid. The medium crease blending brush is great for applying a crease transition shade and the small crease brush is wonderful for targeted application of a crease shade.The large blending brush is for feathering out your shadows after application to achieve a seamless look. All of these brushes perform as well as any higher end brushes I own.
You also receive, from left to right, an eyebrow spoolie, a flat lipliner/eyebrow/small shadow brush, an angled liner/eyebrow brush, and a pointed shadow liner brush. I like to use the flat lipliner/eyebrow/small shadow brush (not its technical name) to apply powder to my eyebrows, and the angled brush is ideal for applying gel eyeliner. The pointed shadow liner brush is great for getting color just under the lower lashline, this has been my primary use for it.
These are two very conventional brushes, one is a larger powder brush and the other is a blush brush, I use them as the names suggest and am very pleased with the results. The blush brush is the ideal size to cover the apples of my cheeks and up to my temples.
The dense brushes in this set are a an angled foundation/powder brush and a buffing brush. I use the angled brush to apply my foundation, but it does not provide the smoothest of finishes, so I go back over my liquid foundation with the buffing brush to make it seamlessly blend into my skin. Both of these brushes also perform very well with powders.
This contour brush is worth the purchase of this whole set, it is a dupe of the NARS Ita brush (which is a single brush that costs $55!) - I can tell you that it is varied from it in the sense that it is more densely packed, has a larger thickness and has slightly shorter bristles. I use this brush to deepen my contour after using a larger brush to apply a contour transition shade.
These are the liquid/cream brushes which are best used as a foundation brush and small concealer brush. I like using these with thick products because they provide a very precise application while not letting product drip all over my face. Ideally I find that these apply concealer well under my eyes and on spots.
Overall, I think this purchase is a great buy, the brushes don't bleed when you wash them although I do suspect that they will start to fade a little bit after multiple washes. There is also no hair fall-out from these brushes, they are dense and stay that way through continued usage - so they are nice quality overall, especially for their value (they were less than $2 each for what I paid!).
