I was oohing and ahhing over pots of glitter when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to see James Vincent smiling at me saying, “Hi, Nicole.”
A mutual friend introduced us. I have long since admired James Vincent, but meeting him in person, artist to artist, was so wonderful. I met him at The Makeup Show in San Francisco last year. If you aren’t familiar with The Makeup Show, it’s a pro-focused beauty convention that travels the US every year. Bigger brands and smaller local brands attend, and you can find tons of goodies at a pro rate. They also have classes! I could listen to James Vincent teach for hooooours. And I did.
When I met him, he told me about this brush collection from the London Brush Company (it looks like they’re sold out as of right now), and I obviously needed it. The brushes are vegan Mongoose hair, and very simple in design with only James Vincent and London Brush Company on the ferrule. They’re very soft, and very versatile.
Let’s break it down: there are 3 pyramid brushes and two bent ones.
The biggest pyramid brush works for so many base products. That’s something I LOVE about LBC — the multitude of uses a single brush is made to have. I’ve used this brush for moisturizer, primer, foundation, setting powder, and contour. It’s bloody brilliant. The fine point makes it easy to get in there and contour precisely and the pyramid angle helps blend it out. It applies powder so easily with not too much product (I’ve been using it with the Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder and the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder).
The next two pyramid brushes I’ve been using mostly as eye brushes, but also for contouring my nose (which I don’t do often, but it helps in photos and when I’m hanging out with drag queens and feel under…painted). Again, this pyramid thing is bloody brilliant. Apply with the tip, blend with the edges. It also makes crease work so damn easy because the flat part of the triangle sort of blocks pigment from blending down onto your mobile lid. Brilliant I tell you.
Next, my favorite brushes. I am all about bent tools. I have a scar on the center of my right pupil which makes me see double (if not triple) at a certain distance (probably explains my art), so bent tools are great for precision work when you have obstacles. They’re also great when working on other people.
I love the mascara brush for smokey lash lines! It’s really easy to control pigment deposit with these brushes, and I find that switching between like colors (wiping the brush on a towel in between) is really easy. This eye look took a minute. One. Minute. Two brushes, one minute.
The bent lip brush is great for those bold lip colors that you need to get right the first go around. Since it’s bent, you can see exactly where you’re about to place the product, and there is literally nothing left up to chance. Bangin’ lip color every time.
Needless to say, I love this brush set. I have complete faith in anything James Vincent does.
James Vincent has worked with the likes of Joan Jett, Courtney Love, Florence and the Machine, and Lady Gaga to name a few. He founded the punk rock glam line Ardency Inn (check out their black eyeliner!) Check him out on Instagram for albums of the day & other makeup industry insights. His handle is @jvincentmakeup.
*James Vincent did not gift me this brush set.
oooh the brushes look lovely. ps. I love your hair!
so how do you use the mascara fan brush? I received it in a Sephora brush set but have no idea how to use it. lol.
is it for liner? is it for mascara? who knows. It’s just sitting on my vanity, waiting to be used!
Thank you! Well, I think they’re meant to be used for mascara, like fanning the product onto the underside of your lashes if that makes sense. But I prefer mascara wands, so I LOVE using it for getting dark shadow on top of and into the lash line. I also love it for applying darker colors to the lower lash line, and then blending it out with a fluffy brush. Is yours bent? It makes it soo easy to use! In the picture above where I’m using it on the upper lash line, Thats pretty much what I do, but I shimmy it all the way across the lid. Also for reference, I used tape to map out my wing on the far edge, so to make the smokey liner in this post, I had that tape down, subtle shades in the crease & a light shade on the lid. Then I used that fan brush and a light brown to map out my wing (thinner than usual). I wiped the product off of my brush with a towel, and then blended it that way, building up to black.
mine is not bent, but now that I have an idea what it’s for, i’ll give it a go!
thank you!
I just got another idea. Have you ever used powder before your mascara or in between coats to beef up your lashes? I bet fan brushes are awesome for that!
Great pics, Nicole! I love what you’re wearing on your lips. What is it?
Thank you, Karen! It’s my fave – Sad Girl by Anastasia Beverly Hills. It’s a matte berry w/pink reflects! It’s amazing.
I’m just jealous of how photogenic you are; you have the perfect nose shape.
I’m a bit confused by the term “vegen Mongoose hair.” I’ve never heard that term before. I thought vegen meant no animal products. Does that mean it’s faux mongoose hair? Or the mongooses are fed a vegen diet? Or did you mean cruelty free (as in the hairs are brushed off the animals without harming them)? I hope I don’t sound rude, I’m just confused. Thank you, Nicole!
Thank you! I’m pretty sure vegan Mongoose hair means it’s vegan hair (aka not even Mongoose hair) that is made to look, feel, and perform the way Mongoose hair would. On London Brush Company’s website, it says the hair is manmade. Hope that helps!
I have the same question. I am hoping that it means the hair is removed from the animals without harming them/fake Mongoose hair because I’d like to try these brushes!
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Found the answer on their website- “It’s a makeup brush made from fake fur!! Our nouVeau collection are made from the highest quality Vegan Mongoose, Vegan Blue Squirrel and Vegan Brown Squirrel.”
But I think that only some of the brushes in this set are the vegan fake fur.
Thanks for your detective work! I did some more… The 3 pyramid brushes are vegan, and the two bent tools are “Premium Grade European Sable”. I looked deeper into their philosophy, and it looks like all of their products are cruelty-free. Here’s more: “due to strict EU regulations, animals have to be handled carefully and without cruelty, and the hair has to be processed a certain way to make sure it is absolutely safe for use… Outside the EU and we have found hair that is coated with silicone to give a silky ‘high grade’ appearance. However, a few months down the line, the silicone wears off and the true integrity of the hair is revealed which is often more brittle and sharp.”
Thank you, Erin! I should have thought of that.
I had the same question Rachel! Nice to know it’s faux.
Erin recently posted … Play! by Sephora April 2016
Hooray for James Vincent and for London Brush Company! I’m such a fan of both <3
Meeeee toooooooooo! It’s like Christmas.
When I am hanging out with drag queens and feel under-makeupped… We have all been there, lol!
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Haha if you like glitter & sarcasm it is the place to be!
Cool 🙂 I really like the design of those brush handles.
Me too! And the cantaloupe color. They stick out & are easy to find on my messy table.
How exciting! And oooh I like the look and sound of that lip brush! Interesting how you hold/use it. Want to try!
Kiss & Make-up recently posted … Make-up look | Taupe, glitter and a touch of purple
It’s pretty fantastic and super easy to use!
Vegan mongoose? I’m confused…
I didn’t realize until after publication how confusing that sounds, but here’s the deal – The 3 pyramid brushes are manmade hair that resembles Mongoose fur. The other 2 brushes are made of “premium grade european sable” hair, which is also cruelty free. From their site: “Due to strict EU regulations, animals have to be handled carefully and without cruelty, and the hair has to be processed a certain way to make sure it is absolutely safe for use… Outside the EU and we have found hair that is coated with silicone to give a silky ‘high grade’ appearance. However, a few months down the line, the silicone wears off and the true integrity of the hair is revealed which is often more brittle and sharp.”
Interesting stuff. I hope that helps!
Thanks so much for the extra info! I really appreciate it.
Wow, so great to hear that James has a brush line!! I highly respect anything he does, too.
He’s a fantastic mentor, had a chance to be under his watchful eye at The Powder Group’s second Evolution workshop in Provincetown, MA.
It’s great to see you demo-ing the new brushes, thanks for the review!
No problem! Happy to take one for the team.
He really is a great wealth of knowledge if you ever get a chance to sit down and chat with him. Glad you’ve been able to!
These look both interesting & ergonomic. I’m definitely a fan of bent eyeliner brushes. Helps me to see where I’m drawing my line & how how to wing it out. Great post 🙂
Thank you! I love them too. Next I’ve gotta try those brushes that look like tooth/hair brushes!
I love your lipstick – what color/brand is it?