Let's start: make-up brushes

Versione in Italiano

The Zoeva Very Croc Set and the 230 brush

One of the first things when you approach makeup is to get brushes and to learn how to use them.

I have always applied a bit of makeup, since adolescence, light makeup, with few stuff available and without any knowledge on the topic. My passion about makeup began when I started to find videos on youtube about this topic and... as I imagine happened to many of you... a new world opened up for me! I found that I could get a lot more from my makeup, with a little of knowledge and some more tools.When I realized that brushes could help a lot more than hands, or those awful sponges that we find in most of the eye shadows, I started using the ones I had at home. I had got small poor quality brushes received as a gift with some makeup. Even with those brushes I saw that things had started to improve, I could get decent shades and makeup gave me a lot more satisfaction. I generally try to save and to find the best value for money. My first purchase of brushes has therefore required a long study of videos and reviews on youtube and blogs. My choice in the end went on the Zoeva Very Croc Set, bought from the site http://www.zoeva-shop.de (33 € + 7.5 € for shipping), I added the pen brush cod. 230 (3.8 euro), because I thought it might be useful to me and it was missing from the set. It is a very complete set and, in my experience so far (I've used it for more than a year and a half), of excellent quality.

The Zoeva Very Croc Set

Zoeva Very Croc Set

It consists of 18 brushes, which come in a nice brown crocodile effect case, on each brush handle you can find its function. Let's see them one by one:

Zoeva Very Croc Set, 1-5 brushes

1. The larger brush, made to apply powder (Powder indication on the handle). It 's very soft, I used it for a long time before buying a kabuki to apply the mineral foundation. The bristles are not dense like a kabuki, but repeating the application I was able to get the desired coverage.
2. Blush Brush (Blush indication on the handle)... never used, since I use other brushes for blush, but I will give it a chance in the near future.
3. Duo fibre brush (at least in appearance, indicating Stippling on the handle). It is a brush with the bristles very sparse, for this reason, it is one of my favourite brushes to apply blush, in particular blush with very bright colours, which should be applied in a light way.
4. Angled brush for blush (Blush indication on the handle). It is my other favourite blush brush. It's very soft and I think it that makes the blush application really easy, without any patches.
5. Flat brush for liquid foundation (Foundation indication on the handle). Never used, fearing the "stripe" effect singled out by many people on the web. I prefer to use kabuki or hands. Perhaps I should give it a chance ...



Zoeva Very Croc Set, 6-11 brushes

6. Shade brush (Eye Blender indication on the handle). It is a rather large brush with pointed shape, often erroneously, in my opinion, considered a pen brush . I find it really good to blend, as it is compact enough to blend colours, even when made "sticky" by the primer.
7. Flat brush, rather large (Shader indication on the handle). It 'a brush that I use rarely, because I find it too large.
8. Flat brush (Shader indication on the handle). A bit smaller than the previous one, I find it good for the application of the cream concealer.
9. Brush for the eye crease (Crease indication on the handle). It is a brush little dense, with slightly pointed shape and quite large. I find it good to apply a dark eye shadow in the crease, if you want a quick and natural look, because eye shadow fades directly as it is applied.
10. Angled brush for eye shadow (Shader indication on the handle). Very versatile brush, considerably smaller, and more convenient for me, than the brushes listed in paragraphs 8 and 9. I use it often to apply eye shadow, wet or dry, both on the upper eyelid and in the crease.
11. Brush with short bristles and very dense (Smudger indication to dab on the handle). It's a good brush to apply eye shadow intensely on the eyelid.



Zoeva Very Croc Set, 12-18 brushes and 230 Pencil Brush

12. Stiff and angled brush (Eyebrow indication on the handle). Very useful and versatile brush. Created to fill in eyebrows, it is perfect to draw a line of eyeliner with a wet eyeshadow.
13. Fan Brush (Fan indication on the handle). This brush is useful only in some occasions, but it is very nice. It is 'in fact useful when, making up your eyes, a little dust falls on the cheeks, to get it off without "smearing" it on the skin.
14. Concealer brush (Camouflage indication on the handle). Brush almost never used, it has pointed bristles and it is quite stiff, but soft.
15. Brush eye-liner (Liner indication on the handle). Very thin brush to apply the eye-liner. I prefer to use the one shown at number 12, although this allows greater precision.
16. Rubber (Sponge Smudger indication on the handle). I rarely use it to soften the pencil... I do not think I've never learned to use it effectively. I never used to apply the colour, the function for which it may have been thought.
17. Brush for eyelashes and eyebrows (indication Lash / Eyebrow on the handle). Practically never used, it is composed of a comb and a brush. The comb is classic, the brush is too hard, I like more those that I find on many eyebrow pencils.
18. Lip brush (Lip indication on the handle). Retractable brush, which can be closed to carry it in your purse. It is very nice, I use it very rarely, because even though you should always use a brush, I apply the lipstick directly from the stick.

The 230 Zoeva brush

It is a pen brush (see previous picture), rather dense and small, suitable for precision application. I find it a bit small to apply eye shadow in the crease. I use it generally to apply a darker colour in the crease, to increase the intensity of a colour that I have previously applied with the brush shown in step 9.

I will soon continue with the review of my other brushes.