RMK Cheek Brush

I've had the RMK Cheek brush for a couple of months but it's taken me a while to get around to reviewing it. I seem to have expanded my blusher brush collection quite a lot recently with the addition of my Hakuhodo Yachiyo, Illamasqua blusher brush, the RMK and also a new Rouge Bunny Rouge Blusher brush (review to come) which means that I have more brushes to rotate through these days. I like to have a good play with an item before attempting a review and I also I like to have washed the brush at least once, hence my delay. I'm still a procrastinator when it comes to brush washing!

Top to bottom: RBR Face Contour 012, RBR Blusher 002, RMK Cheek brush

I washed the RMK brush for the first time yesterday. As I had anticipated with the squirrel hair, wetting the brush released a bit of an animal pong. This always seems to happen with squirrel hair brushes and I mention it only as it might bother some. The smell does dissipate once the brush is dry. The brush washed well and dried quite rapidly. It fluffed up a little which is again quite normal but retained it's tapered shape nicely. I didn't notice any bleeding or shedding of hairs.

The RMK is a beautifully soft brush. It has a short handle but I quite like this in a blusher brush and as my lovely blogger friend Dempeaux pointed out, this actually quite a good thing for us short-sighted gals! I also think it makes it an ideal brush for travel and this is the one I packed for my recent Christmas jaunt.

The brush hairs form a flat paddle shape. The hairs pick up pigment well (though not so well with very compacted powders) and deposit the colour in a sweep: the tips of the hairs feel grippy yet super soft on the skin. In the course of expanding my collection, I have come to realise that I favour a more densely packed fluffy or domed shaped brush for blusher application. I think I tend to buff in colour rather than just sweep. The RMK has fluffed up significantly with washing so I may be able to apply colour with the tip more so now as well as just the side.

I think this is a lovely brush and has a very luxurious feel at a lower price point than similar squirrel hair brushes. I bought mine from Selfridges in London and I believe it cost around £35 (annoyingly I have mislaid the receipt in one my cleaning escapades). For those living in the US, you can get hold of RMK brushes through BonBonCosmetics.com.


Disclosure: The Rouge Bunny Rouge bushes shown here were PR samples, I bought the RMK myself.