Brush Review: Gifty's Professional Brush Set

I am so happy to be doing this review. And i must say that i am honoured to have been asked to do it. Thank you Funke Tonye - Preghafi (Gifty's Daughter Makeup Studio)

Well, here we are and the much awaited review.

 

The brushes were couried to me. I wasnt in the office when they arrived. Imagine my surprise when i was told a package had arrived for me. I opened it and saw these gorgeous looking red and black brushes in a beautiful brush belt with a flap.



The brand name is embossed on the flap cover and not boldly written across the brush belt like some others are. This gives it a touch of class and elegance. me likey. Each of the brushes also has this written on them.



I really love that the brush belt has a flap, this means that regarless of how i fold my brush belt and put in a carrier bag, there is no danger of them scattering everywhere and even losing shape as is often the case.

This is my present brush belt. I needed a bigger one from my first and when i bought the Sleek professional brush set, i realised it was bigger so i put most of my brushes in it and this is what i use for gigs.



See how the brushes fall out if the brush belt is mistakenly placed upside down or a bit slanted.



this is not the case with Gifty's Daughter brush set as the flap holds everything in place.

  

the lowest step in the belt itself is made of transparent mesh so if you happen to have some miniature brushes in your collection (like i have the angled and crease brushes from the Sleek miniature brush set) or other littel odds and ends, you can see them throught the transparent mesh fabric.



This belt has only 3 tiers for the brushes as against the regular 4 tiers. They are also sewn up leaving out the regular 2nd tier which is usually open.

  

2 individual dual-ended brushes were included in the package. Foundation-concealer & Crease-flat e/s brush.

  This is great cos i am yet to see any Nigerian brush brand that has these. They make makeup application a breeze as all you have to do is flip the brush and the next step can be instantly done.

Foundation - Concealer. These are made of the regular synthetic fibre and can be washed easily.

 

see how thin the brush is.

This brush is perfect for creme and liquid foundation application. If you have the desire to use a foundation with a thicker formulation e.g. Black Opal sticks or a creme to powder, then this is not the brush for you as the brush is not made for heavy duty skin work.

Moisturiser, Primer, tinted moisturisers and the like? This is a good go-to brush.

(Iv used for 2 days in a row now after initial shampooing. I usually spot clean the brushes i use for personal makeup application.) This brush is easy to spot clean. Initial shedding is to be expected.



I love the concealer brush. This is rare in a lot of Nigerian brush sets.



This is a really cool flat e/s brush. It is however too small for an all over eyelid application an dis much better for more detailed work on the eyelid e.g. e/s in the inner third of the lid.



This precision crease brush is also good quality with a dense bristle arrangement. I have a feeling that this brush was intended to be used to apply e/s to the crease of the eye and blend out but this brush is too dense for the wiper motion necessary for proper blending of the crease colour. i wont advise that this brush be used for blending crease colour as have an abrasive effect on the skin. (remember, the skin around the eye is the softest and most delicate. To be treated with care)


 *The 2 dual-ended brushes are a very good initiative and are indeed commendable as they are good quality and fill a need (for me - flip and apply). However, the e/s dual-ended brush needs a complement to it and that will be a dual-ended e/s brush with a bigger flat e/s brush for eyelid application and a softer, fluffier crease brush for blending of the crease colour.

The face brushes. These are my favourite in the entire set.



From the top - large fan brush, large powder brush, small powder brush, round top blush brush, angled blush brush (which can also be used for contouring), foundation brush.

 These are natural bristle brushes (apart from the foundation brush which is has the same verdict as the dual ended founation brush). The brushes are dense and soft and are suitable for all over face and body application.

Spoolie and brow brush/lash comb



I have a preference for steel lash combs due to the fact that they do not break and the teeth are generally smaller than the plastic combs which may break when in use or even in the process of packing with other brushes.



This is a plastic lash comb with a ragged edge. this brush has never fallen before but this was due to several skirmishes with other brushes in the brush belt.

 

These are the next largest brushes in the set. From sight, i believe they are to be e/s brushes but they are HUGE.



From top - shader brush, flat shadow brush and angled e/s brush

 

the GD shader brush at the bottom with the Sleek and Italian badger shader brushes (i just washed the IB brush thats why it looks a bit flat)

  

From top - GD angled shadow brush, GD crease brush, IB deluxe crease brush, MAC 222 brush and Sleek miniature set crease brush



I was a bit confused about what exactly the GD brush at the top was until it clicked that it is supposed to be an angled e/s brush (see it beside the Sleek angled brush and how unlike an angled brush it looks. Did i mention that it is HUGE and circular? The angle is also very shape. Im not surprised it took me a while to figure it out)

The GD crease brush is also one of the HUGE brushes. See it beside the Orekelewa and IB precision crease brushes (i believe the GD brush is to be a precision crease brush cos of its overall shape and density. As i said about the dual-ended brush,please do not use for blending). The IB brush was just washed and that is why it looks like a pencil brush.

The liner brushes (i love them)



From top - angled e/l brush, flat top liner brush, pointed liner brush and a new take of the angled e/l brush. Im thinking i will use this for precision work on the lips Im sure it will work just fine for that. The pointed liner brush is pretty soft so im hoping it works just fine though id have preferred if it was a bit stiff.



My other e/l and angled brushes. From top - Sleek miniature angled e/l brush, Sleek pro set angled brush (which was such a disappointment), Sleek flat top liner brush, Sleek pointed liner brush (which is horribly soft and cant really be used for precision work)

  

Im wondering why there are 5 of them. I like the fact that they all taper to a pointed flat edge which will be a huge plus when doing a cut crease eye but apart from a slight difference in lengths they are all the same. Just having the 1st from the top and the middle brush would have been sufficient for the set.



About these, im not quite sure. From top - lip brush, small netural bristle brush, smudged tip brush, natural bristle brush, lip brush.
Il definitely be using one of th enatural bristle brushes as a smakk e/s bush for precision detailing on the eyes.

 

So there are 3 lip brushes in the set (il most likely use one of them for spot concealing)

The first thing that caught my eye was thhe packaging. I have already mentioned the brush belt itself and the classy monogram on the flap. The brushes (as you have seen in the pics) are black and red, which also gives them a classy feel. Thumbs up for that cos i absolutely love a black and red combo. The handles of the brushes are quite long which is quite common among some brush brands. I actually prefer the shorter handled brushes cos it gives more control. It owuld have been nice for the brushes to have some kind of identification either by writing the intended use on them e.g. IB - large shader brush, Sigma - F30, MAC - 21.

Would i recommend as a first brush set for an upcoming MUA? No. Would i recommend as a back-up set? Yes. Would i recommend to anyone who doesnt know their brushes? No.

- This set has great face brushes but absolutely no good eyeshadow brushes. Remember that as makeup artists, the beauty of our work is blend, blend, blend. Unless you are doing a cut crease look, you have to blend all your shadows out (and even with a cut crease look, you have to blend your crease colour upwards and with the brow bone colour.

- The foundation brush is not meant for heavy duty work. Sometimes, i just prefer to use my brushes all the way and not use my hands at all. So unless you are more into sponges, id say the foundation brush here is half of a much needed 1.

- For an upcoming MUA, you need a brush set that will act as your partner. You are just starting out and perhaps you havent mastered most of the tips and tricks needed to enhance the beauty of your art. Your need a brush set that will give you a certain completeness which most MUAs have with their first set of brushes.

Areas of Improvement:
1. The crease brushes are too dense and could actually lead to abrasions in the skin if used for blending.
2. There should be a supplementary foundation brush made for heavy duty use.
3. The flat e/s brushes should be varied e.g. one for eyelid detail work, one for all over eye application, one with a fluffy edge.
4. More versatility in the brushes made e.g. duo fibre brush, buffer brush, small fan brush, pencil brush.
5. The pointed liner brush should be a little bit stiffer for more precision work.

The beauty of a great makeup brush set is that the individual pieces have the ability to perform several functions. This brush set is hindered from that by the none versatility of the brushes and in some cases the intense density of some of the brushes.

All in all, i still believe its a great brush set and im really proud of the fact that it is coming from a Nigerian MUA.

 

Here are my brushes that were in the Sleek brush belt and the GD brushes.

Iv incorporated the dual-ended brushes into my personal kit and i really like them. I use the dual-ended foundation brush to apply my MK foundation, the flat e/s brush for applying e/s to my inner lid corner, the crease brush for packing dark colours into my crease and blending out with my IB deluxe crease brush. So it makes a great addition to my kit both personal and professional.

Great work Funke a big applause goes out to you and Gifty's Daughter (GD)

*As stated, the product was provided for review. All views are my personal opinions and they have not been sponsored by anyone.

*For purchase of this product please contact Funke Tonye-Preghafi on facebook or Gifty's Daughter makeup Studio - 48, Khana str, Stopo over plaza, D-Line, Port Harcourt, Rivers State (+234 803 3368 927, +234 805 1654 105.