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As a beauty writer, I have more makeup than anyone I know—seriously. My vanity is filled to the brim with lipsticks, blushes, eyeshadow palettes, sunscreens, and mountains of new beauty products waiting to be tested. Oddly enough though, the one makeup product my vanity has been missing are high-quality brushes. Honestly, I’m not too sure why my collection is lacking in this department, but I’ve always found that my Real Techniques beauty sponge does the trick for 99 percent of my makeup routine. With that said, I’m always open to trying new things in the space, and frankly, the fact that I haven’t touched a makeup brush in months given my job seemed wrong on so many levels, so I knew I had to get my hands on a few options to see if they could take my trusty beauty sponge’s place.
Last week, I received a selection of eye and face brushes from makeup brush brand, Rephr, and I haven’t stopped using them since. At this point, I don’t even know how I went this long applying my eyeshadow with my fingers, but I digress. Haven’t heard of the brand before? Here’s a little bit of background: Rephr is an AAPI-founded brand with a mission to offer customers and professional makeup artists high-quality makeup tools (think brushes, eyelash curlers, and storage) at affordable prices. Oh, and did I mention that the brand is a favorite of celebrity makeup artists like Daniel Martine, Hung Vanngo, and Katie Jane Hughes?!
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Rephr Brushes Review
Well, you might be wondering what the hype is about around these brushes? I’m here to tell you, they feel like you’re rubbing little clouds on your face—it’s delightful. Made from uncut natural hair by artisans in Japan, the bristles on these brushes are very soft and smooth and great for the eyes and face. The entire eye collection features 15 brushes, but my favorites are Brush 16 and Brush 03. According to the brand, Brush 16 is designed to pack on a quick base coat. I’m not one to do any crazy eye look aside from a simple pink base coat and that’s exactly what this brush did. It didn’t require much effort to get the desired color and the fallout was minimal. To spruce up the look a bit, I went in with Brush 03 around the crease of my lid to add a bit more dimension.
When it came to the face for foundation and blush, I opted for Brush 17 and Brush 24. The foundation brush had a flat top perfect for packing on foundation without any streakiness. While I still prefer to put my foundation on with a beauty sponge, a brush is definitely not out of the question. I found that the product didn’t get soaked into the bristles, but made its way onto my skin very quickly. For the blush, this brush had a more rounded shape perfect for applying product directly to the apples of the cheeks and the high points of the face if you’re going for a more lifted look.
This comprehensive set comes with eleven complexion brushes to suit every need.
Rephr Vanity System
As if my vanity wasn’t already a mess with makeup, it was now more cluttered with brushes. However, the brand's Modular Vanity System was the ultimate game-changer. Yes, I now have no lingering brushes or lipsticks on my desk - it’s glorious. This set is equipped with a component for brushes, lipsticks, brushes, palettes and everything in between. The best part? They are magnetic so you can arrange them into a setup that works for you. Personally, I organized mine in the pattern that I do my makeup: foundation, concealer, eyeshadow, eyeliner and lipstick. This way I was able to easily grab the products I needed in an assembly-line-like manner and it saved me so much time and stress. No longer did I have to rummage through my vanity looking for my coveted products, but they were right there in plain sight. Also, the sleek black design is so chic—I felt like a pro makeup artist. For someone who has been applying their shadow with a finger up until this point, that says a lot—trust me.
This makeup holder is not only practical, but it also looks gorgeous on my vanity.
Overall Thoughts
From the brushes to the vanity system, I was thoroughly impressed with Rephr. Initially, I was super nervous about using brushes because I didn’t want them to feel like I was rubbing a broomstick on my skin, but it was far from it—hallelujah. The brushes in combination with the vanity system completely upgraded my makeup station from drab to fab. Lastly, while the brushes are available to buy separately, you’re better off buying the Complete Face Set and the Complete Eye Collection to save yourself nearly 50 percent and have more options at your disposal.
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