Bare Escentuals Wet/Dry Shadow Brush

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About Bare Escentuals
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Bare Escentuals first of all introduced their BareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation in 1976, since then Bare Escentuals has created creamy, feather-light color for all over your face, cheeks and eyes. All their products are 100% pure minerals and aswell as having a range of make up products they also have a range of specially designed brushes to go with each of these products.

Although BareMinerals make up has been around since 1976 it is only in the last few years it has become more well known, and it still isn't as widely known about as it should be. It is America's number 1 selling foundation and also the number 1 mineral make up brand in the world, proving that it must be good. It is slowly coming into more salons and getting more of the deserved publicity it should in the UK. Quite a few salons, I have found mainly in the Midlands stock BareMinerals, and the salon I work in does also, and has done for several years - the customers love it! Since using Bare Escentuals make up on my face, I would never use anything else and I know alot of customers feel the same. I think it is the best make up out there by far.

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Wet/Dry Shadow Brush
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The Wet/Dry Shadow Brush is a versitile brush that enables you to apply eyeshadows both wet and dry for an opaque, smooth effect. The Wet/Dry Shadow is made only from the finest quality tapered and textured hairs to help you shape and shade as you wish, meaning you will get the best you can out of the brush thanks to its high quality.

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Use & Effects
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I don't usually think it matters too much what brushes you use to apply your make up with and have never used the recommended brushes from companies as I know they are no better than any others but with BareMinerals Wet/Dry Shadow Brush, and all of BareMinerals brushes it is different. This is the only brush I would actually say is compulsory for maximising the effects from the products you apply with this brush. Make Up brushes are like a builders tools, they are compulsory for doing the job, and you need the right tools to do the job the best you can. It has been specially designed for use with BareMinerals eyeshadows and colours. I have used this brush on other products, including Barry M eyeshadows which are very similar in texture to BareMinerals eyeshadows and also some Bourjois and No.7 eyeshadows.

The brush looks good, it is average sized, not too big that you can fit it in your make up bag yet not too small that you will loose it, it looks pretty much exactly the same the BareMinerals Maximum Coverage Concealer brush but with a smaller brush head. The handle is long and black and remains clean throughout use and doesn't clog up and the bristles are brown in colour. The bristles themselves, I think actually look quite hard, but at first touch, you see this is not true - they are really soft, like running cotton wool over your skin. As the bristles are so soft, it means it won't irritate or scratch your skin but will apply your eyeshadow into your skin nicely and especially as it concentrates on your delicate eye area, it is slightly softer and more gentle than the other BareMinerals brushes. I have sensitive skin and ecezma on my face and sometimes on my eyelids and this brush is so gentle to that, it doesn't make it worse and apply the eyeshadow over my patches of ecezma without it clinging to it and making it obvious. The bristles tend to absorb quite a lot of the product, so there is no need to use too much. You usually only need one coat of eyeshadow rather than a few I have found I have been required to apply other times. You can apply the most colour to the shape over your eyeball starting from the inside out, and then blend the remaining colour on the brush upwards and to the sides and as the brush is so thin, you can use it to apply the remaining shadow as an eyeliner that looks natural and doesn't look like you have panda eyes! The brush evenly smoothes the product onto your skin and leaves your skin with a flawless finish everytime. It blends the eyeshadow so perfectly into your skin and there is no obvious line between the eyeshadow and your skin without it on. The product is even and doesn't make you look like a clown, it really blends the product into your skin perfectly leaving you with flawless looking make up. You can use this brush with dry eyeshadow as you normally would, or you can wet the brush very slightly before use and then apply the eyeshadow - this will give you a darker and deeper, more creamy effect. This brush has been specially designed to apply eyeshadow both those ways and works so well both ways. Using this brush opposed to other brushes really does make a difference to the final appearance of your make up, it works so perfectly with BareMinerals products and leaves your make up finish perfect. If using any old brush with BareMinerals products, then you don't get the perfect, even and smooth appearance and also a lot of other brushes aren't as soft and gentle to your skin as this brush. I have had my brush for a year now and it is still in fantastic condition, just as when I first purchased it and the bristles also last, they don't fall out.

It is recommended that you do clean your brushes every so often, to eliminate any bacteria and especially if one day you use light shadow and another dark, you don't want to apply the wrong colour to your eyes. You can use BareMinerals Brush Cleaner, which I do or you can wash my brushes in hot soapy water, but make sure you throughly rinse them afterwards as you don't want any soapy residue to remain otherwise it will transfer onto your skin and could cause a reaction. The BareMinerals Brush Cleaner only costs £6 and I find it lasts for months, so I would say it was worth getting.

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Price & Availability
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The Wet/Dry Shadow Brush costs £13, it can be purchased from any salon stocking BareMinerals products and from various websites such as www.lookfantastic.com. I got mine in a BareMinerals starter kit which included several other brushes, foundation, bronzer and concealer.

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Conclusion
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I think this is a fantastic eyeshadow brush, it blends the colour perfectly into your eyes, without looking fake and obvious. Although it costs quite a lot, it lasts forever and is the best eyeshadow brush I have found with you can use over and over.