Evgeny brushes : Powder, Foundation and Eyeshadow S and L

Since I was so happy with my first Evgeny order, I wanted to complete the Evgeny set and order the rest of the collection. I wasn’t that excited about this second order because unlike the first, these are not brushes that usually trigger my curiosity. I already have a few goat powder brushes and a few sable/kolinsky brushes. However, I still wanted to get them since I love the man behind and I knew they would be good enough for me to use them anyway.

I will show you a few pictures today and give you my thoughts on them, please just keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion and that I have many similar and fierce brush competitors so it’s not that easy for any future acquisitions to blow me away 🙂

In this order, I took the Powder brush (Kashmir goat – 90cad), the Foundation brush (Sable, 60cad), the Large eyeshadow brush (Rusian Sable, 45cad) and the Small eyeshadow brush (Rusian Sable, 40cad), in that order in the picture :

The Powder brush

In terms of efficiency and ease of use, I have absolutely no complaints. I just think the price is too high for this one, for 90cad I was expecting a bit more. That sounds a bit horrible but I have to share my true feelings and that is the feeling I have for that one.  I have other brushes that are better for that price so I am not that blown away by this one, am I spoiled or difficult ? yes probably a bit…

The shape in the web store is a bit misleading to me, it looks more tapered and denser, in reality it’s not, it was before wash but then it spreads out. It’s not a bad thing because it makes it more fool-proof and more suitable for any type of product (powder, bronzer), and works with many levels of pigmentation.

It is much softer than the Mac 134, this Mac was my HG before I had to stop using it, it became too rough for my skin, or better stated : my skin became too sensitive for that brush.

Then I switched to the LY, which is denser and softer than the Mac 134, still not nirvana in terms of softness but so fast and easy to use for me. At that time I wasn’t looking for amazing brushes, just easy to use and that allowed me to apply my bronzer lighting fast so it matched my needs.

Today I use mostly squirrel brushes due to the sensitivity of my skin but I also use goat brushes from  Hakuhodo, Koyudo, Chikuhodo, RMK, etc… and I will continue to use this Evgeny. My only problem is that for that price I was expecting a softer and slightly denser brush. It’s too big for blush but it makes a nice powder and specially a great bronzer brush.

The hair is much better quality than the Mac brushes (134 and 116), actually this Evgeny powder brush is exactly situated between the Hakuhodo LAG and the Koyudo (set) both in terms of quality and softness. The Hakuhodo LAG (Sokoho goat/synthetic – 94$)  feelss very slightly softer than the Evgeny powder, and the Evgeny slightly softer than the Koyudo (goat, price of the full set : 115$).

Here are some pictures of the brushes I mentioned :

It’s a nice size for the application of bronzer, I do prefer a softer and less dense brush for the application of powder, but it can do both well.
The ferrule of my Evgeny powder brush is damaged (just a little bump if you spotted it) but I don’t remember receiving it like that, maybe it was caught somewhere in my drawer…

The Foundation brush

It’s my first sable foundation brush and it’s small. I was never drawn towards small foundation brushes since it takes me forever to apply my foundation.

When I use it, I apply my foundation without streaky lines but it takes time, specially if you want to use it for a full face application. I know some of you have it so I would like to know if you struggle or if the application is even and smooth for you. I use it with Ellis Faas, Suqqu or By Terry foundations. It leaves a glowy finish and I could just leave it like that but I feel like I still can’t resist to use a bigger buffing brush like the Rae Morris Radiance afterwards. Today I left the application without using the Radiance and no worries. I just like to push the foundation a bit more into the skin.

There are pros and cons. The biggest pro is that once I apply my foundation and blend with the same brush, I dip this brush even if it still has some residue from foundation into the Becca concealer (the brush is small enough to fit in the half side of the compact), then I can easily apply and blend the concealer underneath the eyes, take it much further down towards the center of the face and near the sides of the nose, gives a great dimension to the application, the sable hair is soft enough to use underneath the eye area. Once finished with that, I can use the same brush and apply cream blush by small strokes and blend the edges. Then I can just remove blush residue and continue with cream highlighter or cream contour. I did that and did not grab any other brush but the biggest disadvantage is that it takes some time… better not be in a hurry. I think I would really adore it if it was at least twice the size actually.

Sable brushes leave less reside on the bristles, it’s easier to jump from one product to the other with minimal cleaning but I still like to wash it regularly, it’s fluffier when clean and more pleasant to use.

I did not know how to compare it, I thought maybe the Mac 128 was a bit similar but the bristles of the Mac are much more flexible, I don’t like this Mac for the application of foundation, it’s too floppy, the hair is too fine so the blending is not an easy process. The Shu 18 is nice but again, it’s a small brush.

How the foundation brush fits on the face :

Large eyeshadow brush

The quality of the sable hair used is great, soft, firm but pleasant both for eyeshadow or concealer application. Sable hair can be used with any type of product, I have swatched a powder, a sparkly and a cream product with all the brushes shown below. They are not always the same material, some are weasel, pony or kolinsky but all could be easily used with any type of product. The Addiction is a bit special since it contains also squirrel hair, I won’t use it with cream since I am not sure it’s a good thing to do but anyway it doesn’t have enough firmness to be used with cream.

I am not a huge fan of sable brushes -except for the Shu-  my preference for a daily use is goat or squirrel but I think it’s also because it’s a habit and that habit could change anytime. Probably if I was a makeup artist I would have sable brushes to use on models, they may leave a bit less residue on the bristles and one brush works with all products, they are also known to be more enduring.

• RBR Large 003 (23€) Pony hair. Not very soft, pokes a bit but blends well and picks a lot of product.
• Hakuhodo S 120 (7560 yen) 100% Kolinsky. Only available in Japan. Very soft, firm, keeps its shape, applies evenly, precise enough for base application, not fluffy enough for blending. Doesn’t poke.
• Chikuhodo 12-3 (3990 yen) 100% Kolinsky. Very soft but not as soft as the Koyudo S 120. Starts to get a bit big for all over application on smaller eyes. More flexible than the S 120, but thicker which makes it also suitable for blending -providing you are looking for a flat-ish blending brush. Doesn’t poke.
• Nars (from the palette “And God created the woman”) Sable ? Not sure…  It’s a decent brush for a set, not as soft as the other options but fluffy and nice for all over application and blending. Not my favorite but a brush we can use.
• Shu Uemura 12 (100 GBP) Kolinsky/sable. It’s very similar to Hakuhodo S 120 in terms of softness but it’s much fuller. Doesn’t poke.
• Evgeny Large (45cad) Rusian sable. Feels similar to the Chikuhodo 12-3, soft and firm, comes to a point so you can use it a bit more precisely. Doesn’t poke but it’s quite firm.
• Addiction B (3780 yen) Weasel / brown squirrel. It’s soft and fluffy for a flat-ish brush, it’s more a blender than a base application, you can use it for base application but it’s very flexible and can start to be too big for most of us to use on the eyes. Doesn’t poke.
• Shu Uemura 10 (52.50GBP) Kolinsky/sable. A smaller version of the Shu 12, soft but more firm. Doesn’t poke.

How the Evgeny Large fits on the browbone :

The swatches with a powder product are quite equal, you won’t see much difference between the applications. I have been applying my makeup with the Evgeny brushes on one eye and the other brush options in the other.  At the end, the result is equal, but… there is something about the Shu brushes that is just crazy -apart from their price-, they don’t only apply the product but it’s like an army of living nano robots working underneath each bristle to blend as you apply. I can’t really explain, it does “more” while it does it …

The result with the Shu and the Evgeny brushes is the same on both eyes when I try them, it’s just the process that is a bit different.

For the sparkly product, again the Shu does it better. That said, both the Evgeny brushes do a great job with any type of product. It doesn’t really show on the swatches but on the eyes, the applications are even and it packs the product heavily enough, no complaints.

With the Mac paintpot, it’s again the Shu that packs the most but you will be able to work with the Evgeny as well, no worries at all. Since the Shu is a bit thicker, I find the blending easier.

Small eyeshadow brush

• Shu Uemura 10  (52.50GBP) Kolinsky/sable.
• Evgeny small (40 cad) Rusian sable.
• Hakuhodo Kokutan WS (3675 yen) Weasel.
• Hakuhodo S 148 (3150 yen) Weasel.

This is how it fits around the eye :

I am not doing the swatches again with the Shu 10 since they are shown above. As you see, not much difference between weasel and sable, for me in this case it will be more a matter of precision needed :

I apply the eyeshadow in two different ways, either patting or sliding the product downwards or in windshield motions, you can put more intensity when you use it in a windshield motion, just depending on the brushes, specially if the bristles have a lot of spring they can cause fallout.

The swatches below will show you the difference between these two type of applications :

I have also swatched the same products with completely different materials, sable (Evgeny), squirrel (Tanseido) and goat (Mac).

For me the difference is not that huge, it will be a matter of personal preference and budget. The three perform well enough with powder or sparkly products.

My preference goes to the Shu brushes, but the extra performance they deliver also comes with a scary extraordinary price, the Evgeny are a nice alternative if you want great quality sable brushes.

I hope this helps, if you had any experience with these brushes, please kindly share, your input is always very helpful and different opinions will enrich our decision-making abilities 🙂