Friday, November 5, 2010

Ecotools~ Introduction and Review

Brushes & Applicators Sets at Walgreens at ShopStyle
If you haven't heard of Ecotools brushes, you're about to! This entire lengthy post is all about Ecotools brushes and how much I like them. Because honestly that's what I feel like posting. :D

These are my Ecotools brushes. I use most of them daily. Up top is a mini Kabuki brush I use for my loose Mac Prep and Prime powder. Then from left to right is my blush brush, concealer brush (which I use for eyeshadow), foundation brush, eyeshadow brush and fluffy crease brush. What's so great about these brushes? There are so many I'm going to list them :D
  • These are super super soft. Softer than any other brushes I've felt.
  • All synthetic. This is great because they are 100% cruelty free but synthetic fibers don't harbour bacteria as easily fur fibers and they clean easier. They won't split or deteriorate as quickly either.
  • The handles are bamboo and the ferrels are recycled aluminum
  • They pick up a decent amount of pigment when in use
  • They're densely packed with bristles (not sparse like some other brushes)
  • They're widely available (Zellars, Walmart, Target, Ulta, online)
  • They're inexpensive!
  • Ecotools gives 1% of all their profits all the time to For The Planet a charity working for the earth  through 2271 different environmentally focused organizations. Yay!
  • There are a large selection of inexpensive sets too that are just as good as the singles. (And most of them come with cute little hemp carry bags)
  • The plastic and fabric packaging they come in is resealable so you can use it for travelling.
  • The bristles DO NOT FALL OUT! Hallelujah!


Brushes & Applicators at Walgreens at ShopStyle
Ecotools also sells bath items like scrub brushes and Body Wash which is 98% natural, sulfate free and cruelty-free. However, I've never tried them so I can't really include them in my review.
Let's start with my Foundation Brush. This is one of the better foundation paddle brushes I've used. It's soft on my face which is quite sensitive to prickly things and it's not streaky as the brush is dense with hair. Because it's so dense though I do find it hard to clean but it's sturdy and durable to my less than gentle treatment of my brushes. I like the way the handle is shaped as it's easy to hold and I actually like the way the bristles are dyed to look like real hair (even though they aren't!) If I can just find a easy way to deep clean this it would be my top foundation brush. It costs about $5.99 USD but that varies between store.
Rating: 9/10

Gifts & Sets at Walgreens at ShopStyle
This 5 piece set (with four brushes and a hemp bag) was my first Ecotool purchase. It includes a mini kabuki, a blush brush, a concealer brush and the fluffy crease brush. All are lovely, though the blush brush is a little flat. I like the blush brush for paler blushes as it picks up quite a bit of powder easily because it's so dense. The fluffy crease brush is perfect for blending or lightly applying a highlight colour , and the conealer brush is one of my favourite brushes for applying eyeshadow to my lids. The concealer brush also makes it easy to apply a line of eyeshadow along my lower lash line as it has a long thin tip.
The mini kabuki is great for my small hands and picks up powder well. I can get a good buffing motion going when I use it, and it helps blend too much blush a bit more too!
To be honest I've never used the hemp bag, though my mom uses it all the time and it seems to be well constructed. Costs approximately $11.99 USD.
Rating: 8/10- because I don't use the hemp bag and the blush brush needs to be fluffed up to work well.


Eyes Brushes & Applicators at Walgreens at ShopStyle

The eyeshadow brush is just as good as the others. Soft, picks up pigment well, cleans well (in fact I can usually just brush it against a tissue to rid of all the pigment it's picked up) and it has a thin edge which makes applying shadow along the lower lash line easy. Love.
Rating: 10/10

Here are some other Ecotools sets and brushes that are popular!
Brushes & Applicators Sets at Target at ShopStyle
Six piece Brush Set

Brushes & Applicators by Ulta at ShopStyle
Bronzer Brush (the handle on this one is hefty! You could use this as rolling pin is so thick! Heard many raves about it though.

Brushes & Applicators by Ulta at ShopStyle
Retractable Kabuki in bag

Brushes & Applicators at Target at ShopStyle
Retractable Kabuki on its own (Great for traveling and all recycled Aluminum)



Makeup Sets by Ulta at ShopStyle

This is the only picture I can find of the angled liner brush, but it gets great reviews too. Haven't heard anything good or bad about the grooming kit though (pictured above).

I also asked 33 make-up junkies (not including me) who had heard of Ecotools before "Do you love and use Ecotools brushes?" Turns out, 23 out of 33 of them or approximately 70% like them and use them on a semi-regular basis. If that doesn't say something about them I don't know what does!
These make perfect gifts for someone else or yourself if you're just getting into make-up. Having the right brushes makes it so much easier to apply cosmetics and create looks.

1 comment:

  1. I love my ecotools brushes, sadly the selection in England is pretty limited - I'd love to try out the eyeshadow blending brush and I think they also make a flat top brush as well?
    Of the brushes I own I would recommend the angled eyeliner brush, blush brush and eyeshadow brush. I have the retractable kabuki but mine seems really rough, not sure why...

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