NEW Sonia Kashuk Brushes Review + Buffing Brushes Comparison

Bottom Picture (left to right): Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Buffing Brush, Sonia Kashuk Dense Blush/Powder Brush, Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Buffing Brush, Sephora #45 Mineral Powder Brush

I love makeup (of course, this is a beauty blog) and that means I love makeup brushes as well! Many people have different preferences as to how they apply their makeup. Some people want to be as minimal as possible and use the least amount of brushes as they can, along with using their fingers as well. However, I am not that kind of person. Well, that is not necessarily true, since I do love to use my fingers for foundation sometimes and I think it is one of the best tools for makeup application, but I am just that kind of person that loves having different brushes that do different things! One of my favorite types of makeup brush is the dome-shaped buffing brush. I believe these kinds of brushes are so versatile and are amazing for foundation and various other things. I have four dome-shaped buffing brushes. Surprisingly, and unfortunately, the MAC 109 is not one of them, however I think one of my four brushes can be a similar dupe to the MAC 109! I did do a review on the two Sonia Kashuk brushes that I have on my personal blog, however I will post it again here for you guys to read. The review was written on March 9, 2012. 

Today, I will rave about two NEW Sonia Kashuk brushes that are fantastic! Not only are they fantastic, but they could possibly be good dupes for higher-end brushes! The brushes I am talking about are the Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Buffing Brush ($12.99) and Dense Blush/Powder Brush ($17.99).

I was browsing through Target today and I notice that Sonia Kashuk did some remodeling! The slight changes that I saw were that Sonia Kashuk has a few new, and very unique, brushes and that the prices have change slightly. The prices are slightly cheaper than they were before, so I would highly recommend for you to go to your local Target and check the Sonia Kashuk area out! Anyway, back to the brushes!

I’m going to tell you about the Sonia Kashuk Dense Blush/Powder Brush first and it is the brush with the black handle. First off, I love the design of the handle, because it allows the brush to fit very nicely in my hands and I feel like I have a lot of control of my makeup application. When I first saw this brush I immediately thought that it was so similar to the MAC 109 Brush! Now, I don’t have the MAC 109 brush myself, but I do know that the shape of the brush is almost the same. However, I do know that the MAC 109 is a little bit softer and definitely more dense, than the Sonia Kashuk Dense Blush/Powder Brush. The use of this brush is pretty self-explanatory, but when I use this brush for powder and blush, I think it works amazingly! The brush is the perfect size and density for applying and blending out blush and it applied powder really nicely to the areas where I wanted a little bit more coverage. I can also see this brush working very well for bronzer and contouring.

I think the Sonia Kashuk Dense Blush/Powder Brush is amazing, but I was the most surprise by the performance of the Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Buffing Brush! I was blown away! I honestly thought that this brush was going to apply foundation the same way as my Real Techniques Buffing Brush but I was so wrong! Not only did my foundation blended in so well, but this brush did it so quickly! I can honestly say that I did my whole face of foundation in around 10 seconds! No lie! This brush is like magic! While I find that my Real Techniques Buffing Brush works really well for really liquidy/runny foundations, I find that the Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Buffing Brush works extremely well for thick foundations. I used it with my BB Cream and I honestly have never applied BB Cream in an easier way before using this brush! Also, if you know how thick BB Creams can get, my BB Cream is really thick! The Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Buffing Brush is very soft and dense enough to truly buff in your foundation! Of course, anyone can use this brush for other things as well, like powder, bronzer, blush, ect. Now, the brush that this brush kind of reminds me of is the Sephora #55 Airbrush Brush. Now, I also don’t have the Sephora #55 Airbrush Brush, however I know that the Sephora brush claims to give an airbrush finish and the concept of the two brushes are the same. The Sonia Kashuk brush also claims to give an airbrush finish and to buff in cream/liquid products very nicely in circular motions. I’m not saying that the Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Buffing Brush is a dupe to the Sephora #55 Airbrush Brush. I’m saying that the Sonia Kashuk can be an alternative to the Sephora brush, if you are on a budget.

Now on to the mini comparison review of all the four dome-shaped buffing brushes! The four dome-shaped buffing brushes that I have are the Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Buffing Brush, Sonia Kashuk Dense Blush/Powder Brush, Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Buffing Brush, and Sephora #45 Mineral Powder Brush. All of the brushes are made up of synthetic hair, except the Sonia Kashuk Dense Blush/Powder Brush. All of the brushes are great for buffing out your makeup, however these are the uses that I like to use each brush for: 

Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Buffing Brush: I find that this brush is mainly good for thick cream/liquid foundations, like BB Creams. 

Sonia Kashuk Dense Blush/Powder Brush: Great for blush & bronzer! Powder as well when I want more coverage on specific areas of my face! I like to use this for powder products, but not cream products.

Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Buffing Brush: AMAZING for liquid foundations that are very "liquidy" and great for mineral/powder foundation! Great for liquid, cream, and powder!!!

Sephora #45 Mineral Powder Brush: The best for mineral and powder foundation for when I want the highest coverage! This brush is good for liquid foundation as well, however it is not amazing, since I do find that a lot of the product gets wasted because of the density of the synthetic bristles.

Do you need all of these four dome-shaped buffing brushes? Of course not! I could probably just have the Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Buffing Brush and use it for every aspect of my makeup application for face products, but I am just the type of person that likes to have a collection of makeup brushes for different things. Overall, all of these brushes are amazing multi-tasking brushes that are great for foundation, powder, blush, bronzer, and/or buffing out your makeup! I really hope you guys find this review and comparison helpful! Let me know if you guys have any questions or comments! Thank you!

- Lily <3