Rae Morris 26 piece set … my follow up review

Before you read the following review, please be aware that I have received a replacement set : please click here for some more info

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A long time ago, probably maybe 15 years ago, I remember my IT teacher talking about computers and electricity, he told us “it’s not because it fits that it works… ”  that’s right, but that does not apply to make up brushes, as long as it fits and the results are great, it will perfectly work  🙂  I may use an eyeshadow brush for highlighting, a highlighting brush for eyeshadow, a concealer brush for the lips or an eyeliner brush for concealer… Some brushes are not made for cream or liquid products but most of them can be used for several purposes and it is just a matter of preference. My brush collection is huge and I don’t need so many brushes but I just cannot resist getting new ones to try !

This is the follow up review to my first post on Rae Morris 26 piece set. I have only been using the brushes for a week, therefore my experience with them is not based on a long term use, if any of my opinions change in the future, I will update this post accordingly. I admit one week is not enough to thoroughly test them all.

In this review, I will address these topics :

1. The general experience with the order and their customer service
2. The packaging and the 26 piece brush set
3. The quality of the brushes
4. The brushes I love
5. The brushes I will use from time to time
6. The ones I will  probably not use
7. Conclusion

1. The general experience with the order and their customer service

This set contains 26 brushes. When you start the check out process, it’s a little bit confusing because you may think that the Radiance brush is included in this set, but it’s not.  I wish their site was a little bit more clear and that the order follow up link worked, the link I received redirected to a page stating that “no order has been found“, but maybe I was the only one with this problem. When I asked them by email if my order had been received they replied “it has certainly been received and currently being processed“…

I entered Wayne’s code at check out and had no idea if that code was validated, but I received the extra palette. The order arrived fast, they just forgot to include the brochure with the details of the brushes.

I have contacted them by email since I was confused about the Radiance and they said they will send one to me… They are also sending me the brochure since they forgot to include it in the set. That is certainly very nice !

2. The packaging and the 26 piece brush set

I received a big black case with 26 brushes. Some of the brushes I received are different from the ones that Wayne (gossmakeupartist in Youtube) and Jodi (jodik76 in Youtube) received, the 22 Pro Powder and the 23 Micro-Fibre foundation. Molly, from Molly’s Maquillage, is even showing a set with a different 25 Foundation/angled contour.

I love white brushes and I have very dry skin, so I was specially looking forward to receiving the older versions of the 22 and 23. I have contacted Rae Morris’ customer service and they replied that these were upgraded to a new version and they could not send me the old 22 and 23. The lip brush seems to be different as well. You really have to watch Jodi’s video, when she shows the lip brush and reads the corresponding description in the brochure, she freezes for a moment… the brush she is showing is clearly the right brush but it’s square instead of rounded as mentioned in the brochure.. amazing moment.. It’s hilarious ! She is adorable and her video is excellent  !

The black case is nice, made of heavy cardboard, I just don’t know what to do with it. Since the brushes are magnetic I would have preferred that instead of this big black case, they send a nice branded metallic plate that we could use either to hang on the wall or to lay flat inside  the desk drawer and that would help to keep the magnetic brushes in place. The fact that they are magnetic just drives me crazy, they are always sticking to each other and I’ll rather prefer if they weren’t.

The plastic mold that holds the brushes inside the black case  is too tight and you have to pull hard to remove the brushes, when I was removing them I think I could feel their pain…

3. The quality of the brushes

Had I not ordered from Rae Morris directly I would have thought they were bad imitations. I hope my set is an unfortunate exception, if it’s not, their quality has to be reviewed.

It depends on the brush but some shed a lot and even hurt. Maybe I am rushing my judgment, maybe I have to wait until the loose hairs manage their way out, maybe some other companies tend to use more their specialized comb that removes leftover clippings, which did not fully set…. I don’t know, I just never had this problem before… let’s wait…. They have been washed 3 times.

At the beginning I thought it was residue on the ferrule, but they have scratches and marks and one is flattened. Even after years using my current Mac, Bobbi Brown, etc… they are in pristine condition.

The 23 is flattened, you can see it on the right of the ferrule and you can also see marks, it’s not dust, it’s scraches and looks like the paint finishing on the ferrule is not done properly, maybe it is supposed to look like that but I don’t think so.

This 23 sheds so much, after using it I have to check my face and remove all the hair deposited by the brush, it sheds short and long hair, at the beginning I did not noticed the shorter ones, but when I checked my neck I was covered with them.

On my hand, you can see the shedding from the 22,  if I brush my hand with the 22, you can clearly see what happens :

The varnish of this flat shader does not go to the top of the handle :

I will review the rest of the flat shaders together with the Radiance brush as soon as I receive it.

4. The brushes I love

In this collection, these are the brushes I enjoy using regularly :

The 1 deluxe kabuki and the 2 mini kabuki are very nice and pointed. A great alternative is the Hakuhodo and the Mac 165, not exactly the same but close, Hakuhodo also makes a small pointed Yachiho. The RM 1 is very dense and picks a lot of product, probably the same density as the Mac 165, just slightly bigger. I will use the RM 1 for blush application and the RM 2 for contour and highlight and since they are white, I love them for cream products.

The RM 7, deluxe precision shader,  is not as pointed as the one in the brochure picture, the Hakuhodo has even a more pointed tip. It blends very well but I was expecting a more pointed brush.

The RM 8, medium precision shader, is pointed but again, the Sigma is even more pointed. I do prefer the RM, it is softer and great for the socket.

The RM 12, chiseled smudger, is very nice. Some alternatives below. I prefer a round smudger, but this RM is definitely a nice to have.

The RM 10, tapered oval shadow,  is excellent for the application of the base color but my holy grail remains the Bobbi Brown. This Bobbi Brown below and my Bobbi Brown powder brush are the first high end brushes I ever bought a very long time ago and they are in perfect condition, like new, I cannot say the same about the RM and I have been using them for only 1 week. Again this RM eyeshadow brush sheds, and the bristles are not shaped as nicely as Hakuhodos, you will not see this finishing in a Hakuhodo brush, but it is not the same price as well…

The RM 11, medium oval shadow is nice for the eyelid, but I think I love my Mac 239 better… I need to see what happens in the future, if I find myself reaching for the RM more than for the Mac.

5. The brushes I will use from time to time

The brow brush on the left is great for brushing facial hair… Unfortunately I have quite a lot of hair near my hairline and even down my jawline…  I think I will shortly do something about that, but for men with a mustache or a beard, this one can be great !

The RM 9, detail precision shader, to me it does not look like the picture on the site or the brochure, not the same nice pointed tip. I prefer Hakuhodo G5520 which is much better for precision.

The RM 24, all-over powder, sheds as well, I hope the shedding will stop soon…. If Chanel 2 and Hakuhodo S100 had a bad rebel baby, this RM 24 would be their baby. I would say the firmness of the bristles is between the Chanel and the S100, but Chanel and Hakuhodo are softer than the RM 24.  As I tend to have a heavy hand in blush and bronzer application the Chanel is excellent for blending out a heavy application for example, I use it nearly every single day !

The RM 22, Pro Powder brush is not bad if it does not continue to disintegrate in the shedding process…
I wanted the first release since it was pointier and white (great for cream products that I use a lot). The other 3 brushes pictured below are my favorite brushes for powder and blush, I got the Trish brush when I saw that Deb (debbick1 on Youtube) included it in her favorite brushes. I can understand why ! This Trish 37, the Suqqu face brush and the Hakuhodo K002 are the softest brushes I have ever seen !

6. The brushes I will probably not use

I don’t think I will use these brushes very often, and some even not at all.

I haven’t found what I could use the RM 6 for… yet. Rae’s recommendations are for eyeshadow (finishing) or contouring and shading. If I want to blend my eyeshadow, the two Hakuhodo below are better for that purpose and I reach for them everyday. Then, for highlighting I also prefer the ones at the bottom of the picture. I will continue to investigate on this particular brush, maybe it reveals to be a very nice brush but so far I don’t know.

I will not use the RM 23 at all since it sheds too much.

You can even see where it has been flattened :

The RM 21 is ok, but the Coastal Scents is softer and I like it better for my dry and sensitive skin.

I prefer a softer and larger concealer brush, the bristles of the RM 20 are quite harsh for the skin around my eyes.

The RM 25 is not a brush I will use, but the angled side is great to go into the corners of the nose or applying concealer below the eyes just in the corner. In the brochure the 25 brush pictured is different for this one. It would be ok if they “upgraded” to a better version but the 3 times the brushes are different, I very much preferred the one before, I don’t know and don’t understand why she changed them but I would love to know !

I tried the 25 for foundation application but I prefer a flat top kabuki which makes application faster.

The lip brush is the worst of them all. I cannot use it since it hurts. The center of the bristles is so hard that I thought some metal had been forgotten inside the bristles… then I took a closer look at the ferrule, it is not residue, it is a bad scratch that removed part of the metal (or plastic). This is not good quality for me.

The eyeliner RM 14 is nice but Sigma and Hakuhodo are nice alternatives.

The bent eyeliner is too thin and I cannot hold it properly. Also the bristles are too stiff and make the application of the eyeliner difficult for me.

The metal mascara applicator is a nice option if you are a make up artist and need to apply mascara on different clients. I have tried it with the new Guerlain mascara Noir G which has a thick formula. The result was better than if I used the mascara directly on my lashes. The problem is that I am not very patient and I nearly lost an eye in the process…

The RM 16, angle brow and mascara definer is nice but I already have one like this.

The RM 26, fan highlighter, is too soft and not dense enough, I don’t usually need this kind of brushes in my make up routine. I have the Louise Young fan brush that is better for me, for precise blush or highlighting.

7. Conclusion

Rae Morris states that they are the best in the world and that she has tested each brush, I cannot believe that unless I received a bad set.  If you got a different quality one, please reply to the post or contact me and let me know what you think of it.

Is it worth the price tag ? I don’t know what the quality of the other sets is like, if I refer only to the set I received, it isn’t and I don’t recommend it. I hope she will sell them individually in the short future.

Rae says this Collection is cruelty free and environmentally sustainable, recycled bamboo handles and dye free.