Brushes: natural vs. synthetic

[Addie 0]

I've been reading about how synthetic fiber brushes can be better than animal hair brushes in, terms of irritation, both because synthetic brushes are less likely to carry allergens and because they're softer. I think that'd be a good thing for acne-prone skin. I hear they shed less, too.

I'm also a little leery of "cruelty-free" animal hair. I have a friend on the inside of that biz, and she says I shouldn't worry, but I do.

So, what have been your experiences with natural versus synthetic brushes?

[Mandy Ann 1]

I've never tried natural and I probably never will. I love sythentic too much I hear natural can get smelly at times

[GroceryGirl 0]

Synthetic brushes are the way to go. So much softer than animal hair. less allergens, much nicer to your skin, and of course, no animals are involved "in any way" as far as getting their fur. My choice is synthetic. I have the AN Premium Kabuki, the large kabuki and the AN flat top. Oh and the AN blush brush - all are soooo soft and are awesome to apply makeup.

[rush25 47]

I use a combo of both. Sometimes natural just gets the job done better...hence the major success of the MAC 187.

[Siouxsie 7]

I have both, but my $45 Lancome flat top brush is sable & it's the softest brush I've ever touched. It doesn't shed for me. My synthetics are okay, but not as good quality & some still shed. I need to buy a really nice quality synthetic. I'm sure it depends on the quality of the brush. If you buy some cheap goat hair kabuki it's probably going to be scratchy & shed, but when I've bought a more expensive sable (& I possibly have some badger) they've been nice.

[Addie 0]

I have both, but my $45 Lancome flat top brush is sable & it's the softest brush I've ever touched. It doesn't shed for me. My synthetics are okay, but not as good quality & some still shed. I need to buy a really nice quality synthetic. I'm sure it depends on the quality of the brush. If you buy some cheap goat hair kabuki it's probably going to be scratchy & shed, but when I've bought a more expensive sable (& I possibly have some badger) they've been nice.

[User15978 1]

Well, right now i am using a natural brush made from sable hair from EM. Though they are making synthetic brushes, which will be out soon.

[Addie 0]

Yeah, I saw that on the blog . . .

How do you like your sable one? If I don't go synthetic, that's probably the one I'd get.

[Siouxsie 7]

I'm pretty sure I'm on the market for a nice-quality synthetic kabuki now, but I'm going to see how the first kabuki goes . . . first. This is the one I'm interested in if Mr. Goatie fails: http://www.aubreynicole.com/store/product....=272&page=1

[Addie 0]

I'm pretty sure I'm on the market for a nice-quality synthetic kabuki now, but I'm going to see how the first kabuki goes . . . first. This is the one I'm interested in if Mr. Goatie fails: http://www.aubreynicole.com/store/product....=272&page=1

A lot of people seem to like that one....I'm interested in trying it myself.

[spikeyli 0]

I have the synthetic kabuki and foundation brush from Joppa and they are softer and gentler than any natural and synthetic brush I ever own. The only thing that can somewhat rival my Joppa brushes are my Lancome brushes, which I paid over $200 for the combined set. Considering I paid $30 for the 3 Joppa brushes, it's a steal.

[Siouxsie 7]

I have the synthetic kabuki and foundation brush from Joppa and they are softer and gentler than any natural and synthetic brush I ever own. The only thing that can somewhat rival my Joppa brushes are my Lancome brushes, which I paid over $200 for the combined set. Considering I paid $30 for the 3 Joppa brushes, it's a steal.

[spikeyli 0]

I have the synthetic kabuki and foundation brush from Joppa and they are softer and gentler than any natural and synthetic brush I ever own. The only thing that can somewhat rival my Joppa brushes are my Lancome brushes, which I paid over $200 for the combined set. Considering I paid $30 for the 3 Joppa brushes, it's a steal.

Interesting....so the Joppa are comparable or better than the Lancome? I just love my Lancome brush, but it was sooo expensive. How is Joppa's customer service doing....I'm wary to order from them now as it seems they started to fall apart not long after my last order.

[Siouxsie 7]

You don't have to get the brush from Joppa, you can get it from choicebrush.com for $6.95 each, it's the same brush, just minus the Joppa logo

[sephora28 1]

I've never tried natural and I probably never will. I love sythentic too much I hear natural can get smelly at times

[spikeyli 0]

You don't have to get the brush from Joppa, you can get it from choicebrush.com for $6.95 each, it's the same brush, just minus the Joppa logo

Awesome...I think that is the synthetic I will try next. I might try the Aubrey Nicole one too....hehe, I'm starting up the obsession again!

[gigglebox 0]

The AN Premium Brush is really GREAT! I have never seen a bad review on it. Where did you hear it wasn't that great? I've seen a lot of talk about it on here, MUT and Makeup Mania and Makeup Alley...all raves! It's very soft, very dense and applies minerals wonderful. I also have the AN/Joppa/Choicebrush.com large kabuki and it's soft too, but not nearly as compact, so I have to put a hair tie on it to stiffen it up a bit. The AN premium kabuki is amazing!!

[User15978 1]

Yeah, I saw that on the blog . . .

How do you like your sable one? If I don't go synthetic, that's probably the one I'd get.