Suqqu Foundation Brush

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I love fan style brushes and I have a huge selection, yet, this is something quite new in my collection!

After feeling the density and movement of the bristles I knew that this was not the type of brush I would automatically pick for my foundation application, but I was eager to try it, see how it performed and in which situations I could use it.

Foundation brushes are the most complex brushes to design. There are so many variables that it’s difficult to predict if and how the brush will work for someone. Your skin, your foundation, your technique, everything has an impact on how it is going to perform.

I am going to share my own experience with this brush, hopefully it helps you. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to try it on somebody else yet.

Disclaimer: I already said this before several times, but it feels unfair for me to review foundations. My skin is one of a kind and not in a good way, it’s extremely dry to an extent that I have never encountered before on friends, relatives, co-workers, or anyone that I met. I have seen doctors about it, they believe they have found one of the main causes but it won’t help me to fix the issues today.
Also, I have quite a lot of wrinkles, fine lines, pores or zones where it is going to be more tricky to buff – either due to the irregular texture or more “skin movement” due to ageing.

Technical details

I bought mine on Selfridges recently, it costs 36£, approx 50$. It’s made in Japan. It comes in a paper packaging and with a little plastic case to store it and carry it around safely.

The shape is quite interesting since it’s wide and angled, there is quite a lot of surface in contact with the skin when used flat (23mm x 50mm).

We would think because it’s synthetic, it’s going to be quite soft but it has roughness, which can be good. The roughness is going to give it more grip and blending power, but it can feel quite rough on delicate skin. If you are ok with that “roughness”, then this is going to mimic more the performance of natural bristles. It is borderline ok for me, depending on the angle or the movement of the brush, it does poke occasionally (my skin is extremely sensitive).

Bristles: Synthetic
Total length of the brush: 76mm
Bristles length: 25mm
Base of the bristles: 46mm x 9.21mm
Weight: 21g

Foundation application

I have used this brush with many foundations, Suqqu and non-Suqqu. Sometimes the tool we use can help make a foundation work better, for me there is no change here, if the foundation does not usually work on my skin, this brush is not going to upgrade the results. Now, with regards to the foundations that work for me, they still work when applied with this brush, but there are some things to note.

During these past days that I have been using it, the best way and best results were achieved when I applied a quite generous amount of foundation onto the brush directly, the more liquid the foundation, the better. The bristles have enough grip to deal with blending, they don’t stick to each other like many synthetic bristles often do -this is great.
When I worked with a thicker foundation, it was more difficult to diffuse it evenly. The areas that don’t have as much movement -like the cheekbone area- are quite easy to blend, but zones that have more movement -like the hollows of the cheeks- I struggled to blend and buff -without over blending on the perimeter. At the end, the results were not perfectly even and on some areas the application was thicker than others.
With my go-to foundation, I had no issues at all but if I wanted to use a foundation that was less forgiving, then it would take some additional effort. Would I use it with my go-to foundation? I can, but it depends on the days and my skin. I can’t really play with coverage, for example if I want more coverage just where the redness is, it’s going to be more tricky to achieve.

The foundations that I used with this brush are (please keep in mind my previous disclaimer):

– Natasha Denona Face Glow : I can safely wear this foundation all day long, dry patches don’t resurface at the end of a day wear. It’s comfortable and does not trigger itchiness (due to dry skin). Also, funny to say but my facial fuzz doesn’t show as much with this foundation, it may feel a bit more “sticky” to the touch but the major benefit for me is the comfort it provides.
– Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation: It looks very good, does not emphasize fine lines, sometimes I can see the most difficult dry patches resurfacing at the end of the day, even though it doesn’t feel uncomfortable, it’s not as comfortable as the Denona.
– IT Cosmetics CC+ hydrating serum: It worked better on my skin a few years ago, today it’s still ok but at the end of the day, I can see little dry patches start to appear and some itchiness due to dry skin.
– Chantecaille Future Skin Gel foundation: it used to work really well for me, with the ageing process now this is not as comfortable as before -although I still manage to keep it for 6-8 hours before I see patches. Well, if my face starts to itch, due to dryness, I will tend to touch it, therefore causing the irregularities…

Just out of curiosity I also used foundations that don’t usually work for me. For example Sisley, La Mer, La Prairie, Suqqu, this brush did not change how they looked or applied on me. Most of the time it won’t make a difference but sometimes, when you can change the tool, it changes the results. Some foundations are better applied with the fingertips, or sponges, or with very dense brushes or with rougher bristles, etc…

Cream blush/contour application

I use a lot of cream blushes and I quite liked this brush with cream blushes. I find that it does a much better job when I can pick the product directly with the brush and then do a soft stippling/swiping motion to apply and blend.
If the pan is small/round/or I cannot fit the brush in it, applying the cream blush with the fingertips and blending with the brush was not as even and effortless.
Same for contour cream products, I loved it with them but if the products are more on the thicker side and tough to blend, you may see that you move the underneath application a bit too much.

Pros:
– These bristles do not have the “stickiness” that synthetic bristles usually have, they have a behavior that is quite similar to natural bristles
– Can be pretty fast and deliver a quick application
– Dries super quickly
– After the first use, it continues to perform as the bristles don’t stick together, just wipe it on a towel and it can be reused with similar performance
– It is easy to carry around and comes with a little pouch

Cons:
– Lacks control if you need precision for buffing
– Tends to require a bit more foundation for an equivalent coverage vs a different, denser brush

Suqqu brushes

I wanted to show you the other Suqqu alternatives to applying foundation. I own the Suqqu Face Designing Brush (dyed goat hair -90£), and the Suqqu W Dual-ended foundation brush (synthetic fibers – 25£).

The Suqqu Face Designing Brush feels quite rough on the skin, these are strong thick bristles! It does work for foundation because it’s not too flexible and the grip stays at the very top of the bristles, no need to press too hard to get to blending mode so that’s great. It’s not the most precise brush but it offers more control in comparison to the the Suqqu fan foundation brush.
I don’t use it often because it’s not that soft on my skin and I have other brush preferences for foundation application that allow a much faster application, with better control on the zones that need more attention.

The Suqqu W Dual-ended foundation brush has airiness and flexibility, it’s difficult to imagine it can work with foundation when you touch it but it’s does the job. I am not a huge fan of this design though, I find that the bristles do not adjust to the surface of the skin/face. It tends to flick rather than smoothly follow the structure with a controllable movement. I feel like it’s not blending with enough strength where the pores are more visible and I need more depth. Also the sponge is not something I would imagine attached at the bottom of the brush. 1st: It’s going to get dirty if stored vertically, 2nd: it’s not something we can change when it starts to deteriorate.

This brush feels softer on the skin versus the other two Suqqu foundation brushes. I enjoy this brush more for cream blush or contour because of its size and airiness. So, it could be repurposed as a cream blush brush but, because I have brushes for cream blush that are easier to use, I am not necessarily going to reach for this one.

Other brushes

I tried to find brushes in my collection that were synthetic, with a similar design idea but I don’t have many.

Decorté Foundation Brush – 40$ Recommended for liquid, cream and powder foundations : It just feels like a flat hard sponge on the skin. It doesn’t really blend but stamps, might work you but I did not find a way to make it work for me. It doesn’t really have the functionality of a sponge either, maybe it works the best when used like a puff, with powder. Not sure what to do with this brush other than special effects where I stamp and stipple bruise-like colors on the skin.

Cle de Peau Powder foundation brush – Recommended for Powder foundations: When I bought it, I thought I would use this brush for foundation touch-ups, but it’s actually a powder brush and it’s too flexible and too thin to effortlessly blend foundation.

Real Techniques Foundation Blender 213 -approx 13$ – Recommended for liquids, creams and powders: There are many ways to use this little strong brush. If you like dense brushes this is for you. It doesn’t work for me because of its density, it moves my skin too much and in the center there are a few very pokey bristles, which surprised me actually because it is a synthetic brush. I recommend you to watch Nic’s video and if you like that, for the price it’s a good deal.

The IT One sweep wonder is definitely not for foundation but so you can see the size comparison in case you own it.

We all have our preferences and even though this Suqqu Foundation brush may not be my favorite, this brush may suit you perfectly well. When I posted on Instagram about this brush I read several comments saying it was great for them, so it really is a personal preference. I believe the bristles have a lot of potential, the shape is interesting but for me it just lacks sufficient control to be able to target the areas on my face that need more dedication.

This fan-style Suqqu foundation brush is available on Selfridges at this link.