About a year ago, I realised in shock after I arrived in Paris for a week vacation that I had forgotten my makeup brushes back at home. So I had to get a full set of affordable brushes while there. So my dreams of glamming it up in the city of light wouldn’t be turned off. And the closest mall was Gare do Nord where fortunately, Kiko is sold.
So here am I, to review Kiko Brushes.
Face 16 Multi-Purpose Kabuki Brush
After a few of these, I’ve come to the realization that I’m not a narrow-kabuki-type-of-brush girl. The main reason is because I don’t really contour, and I prefer other shapes for bronzer application. I own the Nars Ita brush and the Beca The One Perfecting brush, and both of those I feel are more versatile because they have a flat top. I Flat tops are better because you can use the edge to put down a very thin application and then blend out with the full flat surface.
The Kiko 16 brush is domed and very dense, with a pretty wide top, which means it picks up a lot of product but does not have a precise application. The brush is incredibly soft though – better for massages than makeup application. I can use this to apply bronzer but it’s not my first choice. It’s very big – a bit too big for me. I don’t have much use for it.
When washing it does take a bit of time to dry completely, but it’s certainly not the worst, particularly for how dense it is.
Face 07 Blending Powder Brush
This is not the most obvious shape for a powder brush, but it’s certainly an interesting one. It intrigued me enough to get me to buy it.
I don’t see an advantage nor a hinderance with the slant other than the fact that it allows for the brush to have a wider area to pick up product, and that is a good thing. It’s a very soft, moderately dense brush, and it has a lot of flexibility, mainly due to the shape. It picks up looser pressed powders pretty well, but for those dense, creamy-like powder formulations this is too soft to pick up any decent amount of product. It’s not a downside, it’s a characteristic – different powders require different brushes. This is made for more traditional or loose powders.
I mainly use it for setting powder, and I think it would be too big for any other use. Due to how large it is I can set my foundation in record time.
Again, another brush that does not take that long to dry when washed, even though it’s fairly dense.
Smart Blush Brush 103
Even though this is supposed to be a blush brush, I use this when I want a strong cheek highlighter. The paddle like shape does not help with blending out blushes and it packs on too much colour at once. It packs on a lot of highlighter too, but that I don’t mind. It’s probably the softest brush on this list, but the shape is not versatile at all – in my opinion.
I also find it is the hardest to clean – probably because of the bristles. Their Smart brush line has a different (softer) type of bristles that I think hold onto pigment more tightly. That being said, it’s not that hard to wash it – just a bit more elbow grease than what the other brushes get you used to.
Eyes 52 Powder Shader Brush
This is a medium-sized, thick shader brush with a very rounded top. I think it would work well for most eye sizes.
It’s reasonably soft (not prickly on the eyes, but not the softest thing on the eyelid either). You can use it for any type of eyeshadow application, but this brush really shines at picking up shimmers and those really dense, cream-like metallic shades, and packing them on the lid with minimal fallout. Great for glitters too, really grabs on to the particles.
I had no issues with washing or drying time.
Eyes 53 Precision Shader Brush
Very similar in performance to the 52 Powder Shader Brush, only smaller. Great for the inner corner, or detail work on the eyelid. If you have really small eyes and find most shader brushes are too big, this might be ideal for you.
I can use it to smudge out eyeliner or apply shadow on the lower lash line if I’m in a pinch, but it not my first choice for that – it’s a bit too big and too fluffed out for that type of work. And not soft enough.
But for shimmers/creamy metallics/glitters, this is amazing.
Eyes 56 Round Blending Brush
This is a tapered crease brush with a very rounded top (as opposed to a pointy one). It flares out a lot, making it a very big crease brush – it’s a bit too big for me and I can only use it when I’m applying either the same colour all over or if a want a very blended out crease. It’s also pretty firm, even though it’s not that dense. It does not have a lot of “give”. This is also the least soft of all the brushes on this post.
It’s not bad per se, but there are a lot of rounded crease brushes with synthetic bristles out there for the same price that are easier and more pleasant to use.
Again, no issues with washing or drying.
Eyes 66 Pointed Blending Brush
This one is a lot softer than the 56 brush – the white hairs are much softer than the black ones. The bristles are very long, and the brush is not very dense, which means is has a lot of give/flexibility.
I think this was thought for the undereye area – I mainly use it to set my concealer and blend out powder on that area, although it could be a good one for applying highlighter on a smaller face shape. It’s too big for the eyes, so I believe this is not meant for the eyelids.
The bristles are dirty in the picture because I used it, not because they are permanently stained. This washes and dries pretty easily.
Final Thoughts & Recommendations
The bristles are synthetic on all brushes, and they don’t shed when washing or using.
All in all, are Kiko brushes worth it? In general, I would say they are – specially because it’s not hard to get them at a discount since Kiko is always running sales. I would recommend skipping the Smart Blush Brush 103, the Eyes 56 Round Blending Brush, and the Face 16 Multi-Purpose Kabuki Brush, but everything else I really love and find they perform beautifully.
