Monday, September 6, 2010

AMW Reviews: Charm PRO




Lucky to those who plan to study makeup nowadays as there are so many choices of professional brush sets to choose from.  Gone are the days when we purchase brush sets because "that's the only set available that's inexpensive".  With all the wonderful creators and sellers for makeup tools out there, I am not surprised someone finally came up with a brush roll that includes everything a professional and soon-to-be professional makeup artists would need.  

Sophie, the owner of Beauty & Minerals, has been giving us quality, affordable and aesthetically gorgeous makeup brushes for the past years.  When she told me her plans on moving up to the next level --- a Professional Makeup Brush Set to be exact, I was ecstatic for her, I wanted her to do it!  Why?  She's been a beauty blogger for more than 4 years, been testing on different brush tools for years.  A MAC brush lover, a professional makeup artist and most of all ---- A PERFECTIONIST!  

Having someone who's a perfectionist create a professional brush set is what we need!  She knows the drill, she's been using various brushes on gigs and I won't be surprised if she can come up with a brush set that's COMPLETE, and girl!  I am not talking about Centrum!  I am talking about a Professional Makeup Brush Set that we can finally tote along, in just one makeup brush roll --- nothing more, nothing less!

Finally, I got here, in my hands, my very own CHARM PRO...Are you ready to be charmed?  Read my super in-depth review!  Gosh! You girls asked for this!  Picture heavy!!!




21 pcs. of ALL BLACK Professional Brushes

Housed in a gorgeous Faux Leather Brush Roll


Charm PRO says ---
For the first time, Charm has created a black makeup brush set, opting for minimalism, as it is the standard color for professional makeup artists.  Savor in the sleek black color of our new set.  Black is elegant.  Black is beautiful.

Our brushes are made of the finest animal and synthetic hair.  Guaranteed soft, but efficient enough to pick up enough product for your professional makeup application.

The Charm Makeup Brush Set features 21 pcs. of professional makeup brushes perfect to bring along with you in makeup school, during your makeup gigs, or as a part of your makeup brush collection.  These brushes are designed for advanced users who would want to create looks beyond basic.  Create an endless array of makeup looks with the Charm Pro Makeup Brushes!

We give you 21 pcs. of professional makeup brushes that we deem complete for doing makeup.  No more, no less.  Take it from us.

The Charm PRO Makeup Brush Set is composed of 21 professional quality makeup brushes, with a brush roll for storage.

AMW says (overall brush set)---
Pros
  • Well packed during shipment
  • Each brush are well protected with plastic

  • Brand name printed quite tastefully!

  • NONE of the brushes are scratchy
  • Does not shed nor bleed
  • The leather brush roll is not too soft nor too hard, just right for it to stay upright once I have it lean on a wall.
  • Brush roll is easy to clean with a makeup cleansing cloth or a towel.
  • Contains everything a professional makeup artist or someone who's studying makeup would need.
  • The all black handle and ferrule is just so unique and classic looking.
  • The bristles are attached quite well on the ferrules.
Cons
  • Why are you available just NOW?  *laughs*
Overall
A great brush set!  Worth the investment as whatever I need for makeup gig are all included in this brush set.  I do not need to go through my own brush collection and add it in my brush roll during gigs.  With this set, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING that I need is included here!  

I've tested the quality of this brush for weeks and weeks and so far, the Charm PRO does not fail!  
Tips
  • Never store your brushes in the brush roll when wet.
  • Wash your brushes with a mild shampoo mixed with dish washing liquid with conditioner.
  • Lay the brushes flat on a towel and let dry.
  • You can label your brushes with a nail polish, a sticker so you won't lose it in the middle of makeup gigs where everyone who's anyone has brushes laying around!
  • I suggest not to put back "used brushes" to prevent pigments from transferring from the brush to the brush roll.  It's better as well as you don't need to wash all the brushes again, just wash what's used.
  • If you are a non-PRO, you don't need this much brushes, its a pain during washing!  *laughs*  Go for the Charm Pro V2 brush set, will review them soon!


Will I recommend this to others?
DEFINITELY!  Thumbs Up!

Where to purchase and how much?
Php3,200 (approx $72.00) plus shipping.  Charm makeup brushes are available at www.beautyandminerals.com, and are also available at Shopsui outlets in Glorietta 3 and Tiendesitas. For USA and Canada buyers, great news! 
Beauty & Minerals will be offering special shipping arrangements for orders from the U.S. and Canada, as Sophie will be going to Canada this September 13. Sophie will be taking orders for September 1 until September 10, 2010. Take advantage of the lowered shipping fee (based on Canada Post rates ) instead of having them sent via Fedex from the Philippines, which is so expensive! Please email Sophie for your orders at beautyandminerals@gmail.com for a shipping quote.



Dual Fibre Brush


The Dual Fibre Brush is also known as the stippling brush.  Great for that "airbrushed" foundation look.  Dual purpose, this can be used on liquid or cream foundation, I also use this to apply my cream and powder blushes for that soft "blushed" look.  I own a lot of stippling brushes and this one is actually not too soft nor harsh, just right for that "stippling" motion. 

Compared to MAC's 168 brush, the MAC brush is denser.  Compared to Sigma Brush, they are almost similar!

Large Powder Brush
The Large Powder Brush has a certain stiffness needed for that light to medium coverage.  I love using this for re-touch.  Works well on the body as well.   
I also find this brush useful for Male makeup.  I love to dust bronzer all over the face of the model with this brush and the effect?  Hunkilicious!

Small Powder/ Blush Brush
As a Powder Brush, I use this to 'set' liquid/cream foundation.  I prefer this brush for Powder Foundation application which can give medium to heavy coverage.  As a blush brush, this surprisingly works quite well to contour the cheeks because of the brush's perfect stiffness.  Very soft bristles and non-scratchy. 


Foundation Brush


The Charm PRO Foundation Brush is actually made of synthetic hair.  I prefer to use this brush for moisturizer and primer application as it easily glides on the clients' face.  Brush is easy to maneuver even on the sides of the nose and under the eye area.  As compared to my favorite Essence of Beauty Foundation brush, this is less dense. 

Angled Contour Brush
This brush works well as a blush brush!  Love the nice "flush" it can create.  The brush is quite dense so be careful during blush application.  On a contour side, it gives a very obvious contour because of the short and dense bristles.  I prefer using this for that "obvious" contour then blend it with the Small Powder Brush.  The brush is made of animal hair so washing is a bit difficult as the pigments left can be easily seen due to its white color!

Note from AMW: Animal hairs used to create a contour brush can cause fluffiness after constant washing.  I find that using a brush guard on this particular brush helps!

Concealer Brush
The synthetic concealer brush works well on cream and liquid concealer.  I love how it's size is just right to conceal larger areas like under the eye.  I like using this brush on highlighting the temple, the bridge of the nose and the sides of the lips using the "tip" of the brush.

Wet/Dry Eyeshadow Brush

I love dual purpose brush and this one works great on wet and dry pigments.  The stiffness of the brush makes it easy to grab eyeshadow pigments and I love the fact that this brush set has separate brush for the wet and dry one!  It is difficult to do a wet application and use the same brush for dry application.With this brush, I am actually enjoying in foiling pigments for that "focused on the eyes" makeup.

Eyeshadow Brush

Another super close dupe to MAC's 239 brush!  The animal hair white bristles makes eyeshadow application a breeze.  Patting motion for a more intense look!  I have nothing more to say about this brush but BRAVO!

Tapered Blending Brush
Another close dupe to MAC's 224 brush.  Blending eyeshadow for larger lid space is a breeze with this Tapered Blending Brush.  I love using this brush to re-touch on powder foundation under the eye area.  Check this LINK for that Awake Look!

Angled Shading Brush

I own a couple of angled shading brush but I found this to be the smallest of all.  It's actually nice as most Asians have smaller lid space and this works well for blending eyeshadow on the outer-v area.  I found myself using this brush to apply the "highlight" eyeshadow on the brow bone area!

Pencil Point Brush

I use this brush to "blend" the pencil liner application done, or use this brush to apply eyeshadow on top of the eyeliner.  Smudging pencil liners for simple and quick smokey eyes is a breeze with this brush.  Very dense and soft!  Doesn't hurt my lids at all.

Precise Crease Blending Brush

The Pencil Crease Blending Brush is a perfect took for me to apply darker eyeshadow on the outer-v especially on smaller eyes.  Instead of using the huge Tapered Blending Brush, I use this to blend eyeshadow for monolids and tiny lid spaces!  On some days, I also like to use this to highlight the lip area by applying a shade or two lighter powder on the outer corners of the lips for that "Angelina Jolie" lips people want!

Flat Liner Brush

I own a couple of Flat Liner brushes in my brush sets but found myself not using this at all!  Personal preference I guess.  Let me know if you have some useful tips for this brush!  I'd love to use this!

Precise Concealer Brush

Precise Concealer Brush is a perfect tool to hide those zits and breakouts!  I use this brush on Correcting Flaws.  I apply green concealer using this brush to counteract redness on zits!  I also use this brush to highlight the nose bridge using a light cream concealer.

Angled Liner/ Brow Brush

Those the brush name suggests brow brush.  I use this to apply my trustee gel liners.  PERIOD. 

Bent Liner Brush

There are some people who likes to apply gel liner using this brush.  My best friend does!  On my part, I use this to create "winged" or "cat eye" look.  This is also a perfect tool for Avant Garde look.  Need to draw something?  Create dots on the eye area?  Draw a Tree like what I did during my Makeup School days?  This is the brush to call out for!

Eyebrow Defining Brush
OMG!  I screamed when I saw that the brush set includes this brush! FINALLY, a full size brow brush!!  I've been using my G-Lish travel brow brush for years and I am so scared of losing it!  It is so difficult to find a good brow brush and this is the perfect one!  The right stiffness can grab any eyebrow powders or eyeshadow to fill in your eyebrows.  Love this brush to death!  I cannot DARE to lose this! 

Mini Fan Brush

I've been longing for this brush ever since I saw Eve Pearl using this to "fan out" the clumps on the lashes!  I love this!  I can't believe someone finally came up with this as part of the brush set!!!


Brow Spoolie/Lash Brush


In fairness to all spoolie brushes out there, you can't go wrong with a spoolie.  Spoolie brush of any brand are quite consistent, even the sample spoolies from makeup counters are good enough!  I love to use this to brush eyebrow hairs, and to separate lashes from clumps!

Fan Brush

At first glance, this brush looks like a "decor" to the brush set, looks useless to anyone at first glance.  But when I brought this brush set along for a shoot, I found this works so well to clean up fallen pigments under the eye after a smokey look.  This brush works so well as a nose contour brush too!  A tip though, this brush tends to have fly-aways on the sides inside the brush roll, please keep the plastic cover that comes with this brush to maintain the brush shape.

Retractable Lip Brush

Another "you-can't-go-wrong-in-manufacturing" brush.  Love the fact that it has a cover and I can extend the length of the lip brush! 

Big Whew right?  If you are still reading this portion, huge thanks to you for reading!  I have this love affair with brushes so I tend to be super OC with them especially when I review them.  Thanks to the readers who requested for this brush review, it gave me a nice push as I've been using this brush set for 3 weeks, even way before they were launched!  Thanks Sophie for giving me heads up on your brush collection!  This is indeed a brush set worth taking along!

Let me know if you have other questions, I'll be glad to answer them.  For purchase queries, you can contact Sophie Uy via email beautyandminerals@gmail.com.

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!
 

13 comments :

  1. all i can say is WOW! this set is a must-have for makeup artists who's on a budget.

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  2. Another WOW! Those brushes looks very nice! You have a lot of brushes :P

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  3. hehe funny ba title ko ate nikki? wasn't aware that it was funny. but i am glad it made you smile :)

    saw this sa multiply nga. like like ko din buy but then i wouldn't be able to fully utilize it! hehe

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  4. Been waiting for your review on this ate nikki before I purchase. Thank you

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  5. WOW on those brushes. They look professional indeed. Thanks for featuring this, I guess I now have another option for make up brushes when I finally decide to go to make up school. :P

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  6. Wow, those brushes look awesome. Thanks for the review.

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  7. Wow thank you for the review, very detailed and helpful :) I'm a new visitor to your blog & just followed :)

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  8. Khymm, this is a great set, I can attest to that :)

    Anastacia, you are right *covers face* I am embarrassed now hahahah

    Miemiemie, so true, if you plan to use it on youself, you can purchase one brush at a time (single ones) or go for the travel versions

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  9. Katya, glad you find this review helpful :)

    Pammy, this is indeed a great option for soon to be makeup artists :) or currently makeup artists!

    Gio, thanks for reading as always

    Shanghainese Dumpling, thanks so much for your follow, I've read your blog too :)

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  10. This brush set sounds fab and very good value!n good brushes definitely do not come cheap!! Thanks for the review!

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  11. NicNic, so true, so this good value brush is just right! I am really happy with this :")

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  12. I bought this brush set because of you! Thank God I did 'coz I'm in love with it!

    Tracy_D

    FacePaintingAdventures
    http://www.facepaintingadventures.blogspot.com/

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  13. @Tracy_D Yay! Glad you love it as much as I do :)

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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to comment your questions, suggestions and just anything you may want to say! Keep smiling and stay happy!