Morphe recently launched a collaboration with Jeffree Star. This is not to be confused with Jeffree Star Cosmetics, the brand. This collab is with Morphe and Jeffree Star the person. The set includes four synthetic bristled brushes and three animal hair brushes, housed in a plastic brush bag. All of the brushes and the bag are also available individually. However buying the set offers a significant discount.
The brushes with pink bristles are synthetic, the ones with white bristles are made of animal hair. The synthetic brushes include; a rounded, tapered powder brush, buffing-style foundation brush, contour brush, and double sided brow brush with spoolie.
I am going to discuss the animal hair brushes in this set so that I can offer cruelty-free dupes if you like the shapes. The animal hair brushes include; a blending eyeshadow brush, a tapered eyeshadow crease brush, and a highlighter brush. Separately, Morphe also put out a beauty sponge set as part of this collaboration.
Comparisons:
The synthetic bristled brushes are very soft. This is the first time I ever purchased anything from Morphe. The brush set with bag retails for $49. This is what I consider to be a mid-priced set. That being said, I did not expect these to be very luxurious. I would say the set is priced properly given the quality and Jeffree Star name attached.
For comparison, the Bdellium Tools 959 Pink Bambu brush is very similar in shape, as is the Coastal Scents BR-C-S28. As expected, given the price points, the Bdellium Tools is of higher quality and ideal for professional use. The Coastal Scents version is more budget friendly, and feels more cheaply made than the Morphe version.
The contour brush is a small dome shaped brush that can also be used for blending concealer under the eye, or applying setting powder. The shape is comparable to the above E.L.F. and Bdellium Tools brushes.
The bristles on most of these brushes border on top soft. They have a lot of give to them, so I find holding the brush closer to the bristles is needed when picking up cream product, such as the Fenty Match Stix for contouring.
The brow brush is probably my favorite in the collection. The bristles come to a very fine point allowing for the most natural looking application of brow powder or pomade. I would compare the brush head to my Aveda brow brush, or the IT Cosmetics brush above in terms of shape.
I do not have a brush in my collection that is shaped the same as the large powder brush in this collection.
The highlight brush, which is made of animal hair, looks nearly identical to my Wet n Wild brush above. I purchased this Wet n Wild brush as part of a 10-piece set on sale for $15 at the end of 2018. As you can see the Morphe brush looks like it comes to a more tapered tip, but that is only because the Wet n Wild brush has been used extensively. If I were to wash it and keep it in a brush guard, the bristles would appear just as tight.
The animal hair brushes in. This set feel quite scratchy, and are nowhere near as soft as the synthetics in this collection.
If you are looking for a cruelty-free dupe for the tapered eyeshadow brush in this collection I have a few good ones. The My Kitco My Tapered Crease brush, Real Techniques PowderBleu B04 eyeshadow brush, and the Cozzette brush pictured above are all great options. All are superior to the Morphe version.
The eyeshadow blending brush in this collection (also made with animal hair) is $8 when purchased individually. For less money, you could buy the. Bdellium Tools 776 brush, which is much higher quality and nearly identical in shape. Cruelty-free dupes include the Wet n Wild P15, and Real Techniques Bold Metals #203 brush.
In Action:
The foundation brush did give a nice even appearance to my foundation. However, the bristles are so soft that I had to hold the brush quite close to the bristles when blending.
The large tapered powder brush is a unique shape & size to my collection. It is very rounded all the way through, and picks up powder products better than anticipated. The brushes are also a bit heavier than I expected. I used this brush to apply setting powder, and powder bronzer to the face and neck.
The double sided brow brush works beautifully to draw on hair like strokes with brow powder, and blend with the spoolie end. I really enjoy this brush and I believe I will get a lot of use out of it.
I used the contour brush with my Fenty Match Stix in Amber. Because the bristles are so soft and flexible, it was difficult to pick up product directly from the stick onto the brush. Once I did manage to get enough product on the bristles, it worked well to apply and blend. I wish this brush was just a tad larger, as it took quite a bit of time to contour certain areas of the face with it.
The finished look:
Above is the finished look. Due to the size and shape of the brushes included in this set, I found it difficult to do a full face with just these brushes, even when using the synthetic dupes in place of the animal hair brushes. I think the set could have used a pencil brush, and a smaller face brush for blush application.
Who are these brushes for?
I enjoy watching Jeffree Star videos on YouTube. I find him quite entertaining. Jeffree Star Cosmetics, the brand, puts out the best eyeshadow on the market. If you want some cute pink brushes, and want to support Jeffree Star, these brushes are at a price point that justifies buying them. I like that the synthetic brushes are available individually. The brush bag is a nice shape, and holds a good amount of brushes.
If you are expecting very high quality makeup brushes, I suggest looking elsewhere. However, at this price point, I do not think these brushes are pretending to be a very high end set. They are not cheaply made garbage either, but are sort of your middle of the road brushes that are more than adequate for personal use.
I hope this guide helps you decide what to do when Morphe restocks. These brushes were purchased at morphe.com and are available at Morphe retail stores. It is my understanding that they are now sold out online, but there will be a restock at some point.
Note: I only purchased the synthetic brushes from this set and the bag individually. I borrowed the animal hair brushes from a friend in order to show synthetic dupes in case any of my readers are looking for synthetic versions in similar shapes.
Did you buy any of these brushes?
What are your thoughts?
*I do not get paid to write reviews. This post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own.
Why would you purchase this,knowing that they contain animal hair?
ReplyDeleteGreat question. I wrote in the beginning of the post that I included the animal hair brushes to show dupes, but I realize that I was unclear. I added a comment at the bottom for clarification. I only purchased the synthetic brushes and bag (individually). I borrowed the animal hair brushes from a friend to offer synthetic dupes and show a side by side comparison. I thought some readers might like to see synthetic options for similarly shaped brushes. I have only done these types of comparisons a couple of times, but if you do not enjoy them I will omit them from future posts. I only purchase brushes made of synthetic hair. Thank you for your question.
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