Adesign Brush Review

I think it's well established by now that I like my brushes so when I was offered some new brushes to try, I jumped at the chance! Adesign in an American brand and some of you may have come across their exhibit at IMATS.

From top to bottom: short handle flat top foundation, angled concealer, cream blusher, flat top foundation

My apologies in advance for not including a comparison with other brushes. I didn't have anything similar in my collection but, in retrospect, it would have been useful to have a sizing reference.

I've not had any experience of flat top brushes before and wasn't quite sure what to expect but I discovered that I get on very well with them. I've used both the large Kabuki-style flat top and the long handled flat topped brush to buff in foundation. They work well with liquids and creams and I've already mentioned how much I like them for buffing in my W3LL People Narcissist foundation. I also really like the long handled flat topped foundation for creating a subtle blush effect with the W3LL People Universalist stick. Now this is where a sizing reference would have been useful as the diameter of the long handled foundation brush is probably a little smaller than you might expect from my photographs. The diameter is roughly the same as a 10p piece.

The two flat top foundation brushes

The pouch on the left contains the large flat top foundation brush

I normally use my fingers to apply more emollient cream blushers but the Adesign cream blusher brush is actually very useful. Because of it's small size it is easy to control the area of application and I find it especially good if I only want to apply colour to the apple of my cheeks. Unusually for a brush designed for cream product, this is made from real hair (the other three brushes are made from synthetic fibre). I actually contacted Adesign to confirm this as the information wasn't on their website and I learned that they are in the process of switching this brush from real hair to synthetic fibre. I know for hygiene reasons that makes more sense but I like this brush very well as it is. It gives good resistance and doesn't splay yet still feels soft on the skin. I will be interested to see how the synthetic version compares.

I've probably had the least use from the angled concealer brush. There is no problem with it in terms of texture and function, I simply prefer the shape and fibres of my Le Metier de Beaute brush for concealer application.

These brushes are a pleasure to use, they feel soft and the fibres are of good quality. I do wish the handles were wooden rather than plastic but it's a minor gripe really. They wash well although, as you might expect, the large flat top foundation brush takes a bit of effort to rinse clean. Even with my trusty BECCA brush soap. The flat top foundation brushes take a while to dry which is unsurprising for such densely packed synthetic fibres and I find they benefit from running a hand over the top to separate the fibres once dry.

Adesign brushes are available from www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk. These brushes aren't available individually on Cocktails Cosmetics but the Skincare Brush Set contains a similar selection of brushes and costs £44.95. You can find more detail about the Adesign brushes on their website.


Disclosure: These items were sent to me without cost for review purposes.