SNOÉ BEAUTY 22-Piece Brush Set: First Impressions.

Oh I’ve been waiting for this shipment!:) I was actually expecting this to come on Monday. God must’ve willed that I’d receive something cute today. Shopinas+Air21 is awesome.. but definitely not more awesome than God.:)

I’m so excited to be blogging about this, that I don’t really know where to start! The first thing that caught my attention was the color, of course. Most of my brushes are black, with the exception of my bamboo brushes. Most of the time, we can excpect our brushes to be black, brown or white, but purple is just cool.

I’ve nicknamed the first two brushes, the Powder Brush and the Round Buffer as “The Twins” because they’re so alike. Careful inspection would make the difference noticeable. Well, of course, that’s just me. I’m still breaking away from my “brushes look alike” thing.

The bristles are tapered– these are excellent for color pick-up. Unfortunately, color pick-up wasn’t the first thing that came to mind with that. I was actually reminded of Colgate Slimsoft. Haha! Seriously though, I feel that tapered bristles are a lot more gentle on the skin. Soft soft soft bristles. GOOD.

By the way, there are two fan brushes. This is the Large Fan.
Yes, I’m a fan.:)

THE WHOLE FAMILY. I don’t think I’m going to be needing new brushes for quite some time! I kind of wish though that Snoé would come up with a tapered dome eye brush (similar to that of Nars), a stippling brush (like that of Etude House), and kabuki brushes (similar to those from The Body Shop), it’ll be then that the set will reach brush set nirvana status.

Okay, now let me tell you about the brand.

Snoé is a Filipino beauty brand. They do more than just brushes. They have makeup and skincare too. I’m not that chummy with the brand yet, since I’ve only seen their products in-store twice, and it was in the same store -___-. I like the way Filipino-made cosmetics are slowly booming, somehow inspired by Korean cosmetics. It’s truly something I’m proud to be part of, as a customer. I’ve yet to explore more from Snoé,  but if this is an indication of anything, you can bet that I’m gonna be looking to Snoé more often for beauty wants,

Oh, by the way.. Snoe was nice enough to give me some freebies along with the brushes. GOOD VIBES ALL THE WAY! :”>

The Search.

I’m trying to exert more effort into investing on quality beauty and skincare products. I guess I’ve finally snapped out of my kinda-teenage mentality of quantity over quality. Now, I’m learning to invest. I no longer want to settle on cheap things that would cause more harm than good in the long run. Of course, that not only involves the products I put on my face, but it involves the products I use to apply the stuff as well.
So yes, the search is still on. I’m still searching for my perfect brushes, or as put in beauty community terms, my HG brushes.

My first ever brush haul was in South Korea in January (2013). I bought a few brushes from a general merchandise specialty store in downtown Daegu. I can’t remember the name of the store, but they sold brushes at a fraction of the cost of those from the beauty shops such as Etude House. These brushes had no name brand of course. The brushes initially performed well, but over time, they started to actually hurt, somewhat feeling like broom sticks on my cheeks. They pick up color well, but they’ve just gotten uncomfortable over time.

The Korean Brushes That I Do Like.
I really hate to sound like a brand-conscious brat, but I really felt the difference between the unbranded brushes, and the bramded brushes. My favorite would most definitely be my stippling brush from Etude House, but my mini blush brushes from Missha and Tony Moly are awesome too. They’re SO soft, and they’ve retained that softness even after regular use and washing.

Ladies and gentlemen, that’s when I first realized the value of investment.

Something Unexpectedly AAA-mazing.
Not too long ago, I raved about ordering an Ecotools Brush Set from an Instagram-based shop owned by someone I know. The transaction was smooth, however, I neglegted to ask about the brushes’ authenticity. It was only when I recieved my order when I learned that my new brushes were Class AAA, and not original. I felt kind of stupid for forgetting to ask, but thenn again, I had to admit that I didn’t ask. It’s not the seller’s fault in that case.:) Lo and behold. My fake Ecotools were actually good.. Good color pick-up, good texture, good application. The only thing wrong with them was that they were imitations, but since the brushes delivered well, and weren’t ugly or anything, I didn’t feel so bad anymore about my Class AAA mispurchase.

Still, I don’t want to gamble with fake brushes again.

My New Philosophy.
So does this mean that I’m gonna be looking to Inglot, Japonesque, and Nars for my make-up brush needs? No, not yet. I believe in investments, but I’m most certainly not ready for brushes costing four digits each. Right now, I’m looking at Snoe 22-Piece Brush Set, costing Php1,399 as Shopinas.com. I’m optimistic about its quality, being that the company’s established by a Filipina entrepreneur.

The search for my perfect brushes is long from being over, but, being that I’m now guided by smarter shopping, I think I’m close to finding what I want.

ECOTOOLS BAMBOO BRUSH SET.

It took me some time to actually decide to place an order for the Ecotools Bamboo Brush Set. It’s not that I didn’t want the brushes, after all, they’re eco-friendly, and I’m in constant search of quality brushes. 

I did a thorough inspection of my brushes, and truly enough, I have no shader brush, no kabuki brush, a blush brush that can barely pass off as a proper powder brush. I’ve also noticed that my current brushes are long, and definitely not suitable for handy travel.

I’ve read excellent reviews about Ecotools brushes, and unfortunately, I’ve also read that many fakes our out there in circulation. I’m getting mine from an online retailer that I trust, but of course, fakes get out there, and it’s not always just the retailer’s fault, but the supplier’s as well.

I truly am excited to get this. Finally, I get to take part in the eco-frienly movement to make beautifying less stressful on the environment. I really am new to all this beauty stuff, or more appropriately, I’m at a constant newness at all things beauty-related. I just like to think that if I’m going to be experimenting with make-up, I might as well start doing things right.:)