12 days of Xmas Favourites: A few of my favourite makeup things

What better way to lead up to Christmas than sharing my absolute makeup favourites?

Inspired by the song “12 days of Christmas”, I’m going to be doing a post a day with my favourite products for each category (foundation, powder, eyeshadow, etc). The first day (today) will have one favourite from a certain category, the second day will have two favourites from another category, the third will have three, and so forth. Which are the categories? Well, that’s a secret until the time of publishing.

Being that for the first day I could only choose one item, and I can’t bring myself to choose just one favourite from a category (could you imagine, just one lipstick? Or one blush? Impossible), I chose a brand. My favourite makeup brush brand. On the first day of Christmas, myself gave to me…

…a Rephr brush set under the tree:

If I had to use just one brand, out of all the makeup brushes I own currently, it would be Rephr. I love them. The number 02 is my favourite eyeshadow brush and the only one that could replace my beloved (and discontinued) 235 MAC eyeshadow brush. Rephr brushes are handmade in Japan, the Mecca of good brushes, and are made with real hair. Although I’m not a purist – there are a lot of synthetic brushes that do specific jobs better than real hair ones – for eyeshadow packing and blending, real hair makes a huge difference. I feel so strongly about this that I’ve recently ordered their big eye brush collection set.

Rephr is also the brand that has the best customer service I’ve ever experienced. They’re quick to respond, do it so even out of business hours, offer immediate solutions when there is a problem and are overall just nice. For any regular customer(I bought all of my Rephr brushes like any other person, and they have no idea I have a blog). But ultimately, what makes me choose them is the quality of the brushes.

There is not on dud in their line (that I’ve tried) and I would feel comfortable recommending any brush that you believe would fit your needs better, but in case you’re wondering about my specific favourites, here they are:

  • 24 – a great densely packed brush that is your saviour when something is particularly hard to blend out. If you tend to have a heavy hand with blush, a clean 24 brush is the one to use to take care of that. It’s also great to use with the powder gelée formulas that are naturally harder to pick up, because being so dense it will grab enough product for you not to have to double dip;
  • 05 – a great bronzer blush. The size is perfect, and it’s the perfect balance between density and bounce. Not being so tightly packed makes this brush perfect for dispersing bronzer on the skin;
  • 04 – perfect for powder blush and highlight. I actually have two of these, one for each task. This is a great brush for the traditional powder blushes, because it is small enough not to overwhelm the face with colour, and like the 05 brush, has the perfect density and bounce to blend out the powders nicely. The angle helps with the positioning of blush and highlight on the cheekbones;
  • 03 – a pencil brush that’s pointy enough for detailed work. They’re usually too big for me to use on the inner corner without misplacing eyeshadow everywhere, but this brush does that job, and does it without feeling prickly on the eyelid.
  • 02 – great eyeshadow brush, it’s what I like to use to place colour on the lid. It’s not too big, not too small, picks up shadow wonderfully and places it with precision. I also use it wet with metallic and glittery eyeshadows and it works great like that too.
  • 01 – great blending brush. Again, another great substitute for a deceased MAC iconic brush, the 217, this Rephr version is even softer. It’s my favourite shape to blend eyeshadows into each other, place colour in the crease and diffuse the transition shade into the browbone eyeshadow colour. A blending workhorse;
  • 23 – if the 03 brush is still too big, grab this one. This brush replaces an actual pencil point. So imagine the precision you get with a eyeliner pencil, but with eyeshadow. It’s a must have for me for its uniqueness;
  • 29 – why don’t more companies make brushes this tiny, hum? Why?? There are a lot of us with small eyes. Or with an overall lack of handiness. This brush makes lining the eyes the easiest experience ever. Tight-lining, smudging under the eyes, powder eyeshadow or gel eyeliner – you name it, this does it, and does it well. You won’t ever look like a racoon because this is small enough to keep the eyeliner on the area it’s supposed to stay in. And you can always stamp instead of slide with this brush, if you have difficulty getting a straight eyeliner line.

The brushes are soft and never shed. Because they are white, they’re difficult to clean and to get them looking new again, but on the other hand you can see how dirty they are before you need to wash them. And shipping does take a while, but it’s so worth it.

Rephr is always running bundle deals and makes a discount if you purchase through their concept store, which just means you commit to give a review on the brushes you are purchasing in order for them to improve. I love everything about the brand, but most importantly, the brushes. Recommend, 10/10.

Tune in tomorrow for my favourites in the second mystery category…

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13 Comments

  1. I never heard of this brush brand before but it sounds really good. Quality wise, they sound amazing, I love their minimalistic design and shopping experience sounds also great. I will consider next time I need to replace my brushes. Thank you so much for sharing!

    1. I have to make the review on the entire eye brush line. What I love the most about them is that the brushes have that japanese quality and artistry but the deals they run make them really affordable (for the quality).

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