I got all lusty lady today when I opened the Smashbox Rapture Travel Brush Collection ($49), with the world in slow motion, the air searing hot, and the beating of my heart pounding in my ears.
Gingerly, I unbowed the ribbon on the pink quilted purse (sooo Chanel-esque, LOVE!), teasing the soft fabric with my fingers…
Smashbox’s Travel Brush Kit is one of several gift sets now available as part of the Smashbox Rapture Holiday Collection and comes with five short-handled travel brushes for face and eyes.
Soft Brush Heads
I don’t always like holiday brush sets because I think a lot of them come with brushes of poorer construction (scratchy and/or flimsy) than usual for a line. Most of the time, their allure has to do with the fact that, bundled with gift sets, they’re a heck of a lot cheaper than $20-30 brushes from the big guns like MAC.
But the Rapture Travel Brush set is better than most. I wouldn’t use these brushes every day for months (they’re not quite as soft as my full-size Sonia Kashuk and MAC brushes), but they’re definitely a step up from the MAC travel brush sets I’ve used in the past. Throw in the gorgeous pink carrying case, and you’re looking at a pretty good deal.
- Travel Face Brush:
- Travel Contour Brush and Liner Brush:
- Travel Angled Blending Brush:
- Travel Shadow Brush:
- Travel Smudger Brush:
This medium-sized brush head is flexible enough to be used as a face or a blush brush, but out of the five brushes in the set, this one feels the coarsest to me.
With heads on both ends, it’s like you’re getting a sixth brush in the set. One end is for liner, and it’s amazing! It feels incredibly soft on my lash line and creates very smooth, silky lines. The other end — the angled contour brush — has stumped me. I haven’t figured out how to use it yet, LOL! Any suggestions?
This brush easily blends away harsh lines and feels cozy and soft against my skin.
Fluffier than most shadow brushes I’ve used before, this brush can also apply color to the crease and the outer V. It applies dry shadow flawlessly, but I’m won’t use it with creams and wet products. When I did it applied kinda blotchy.
This brush’s blunt shape makes smudging eyeliner a breeze, but I wish the bristles were softer (boo).
Smashbox Rapture Travel Brush Collection
Price: $49
Use: A sexy carrying case and five above average brushes make this a nice gift
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B
Made for Travel
The lightweight brushes fit well in their pink quilted bag, yet aren’t so snug that they’re apt to get squished or deformed while they’re in storage.
A Few Things to Consider
As good as they are, these brushes don’t include equivalents to the MAC 266 or 217, and those go with me everywhere, so I’d want to bring along a couple extra brushes to supplement the set.
Oh Hole-y Workout Pants
How was your Saturday? El Hub and I stayed home. He asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I told him workout pants. Mine are falling apart. Each pair has at least one hole, usually near the bum area, and in this cold weather that’s not cool — or, rather, it is cool but in a bad way. Needless to say, it’s winter and I don’t need the extra air conditioning.
I’ve got my eyes on a new pair of Lululemon Grooves. The pair I have now is fraying at the bottoms, but they keep me warm, wick away sweat and, most importantly, make my booty look cute. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Dao says
December 6th, 2008 at 9:33 pmI bought yoga pants from Target a gazillion years ago and they are fine, a little bit faded but fine. Old Navy (aka your favorite fashion house) has some really cute pants for 15 dollars a pop as well. They look like the Lululemon ones, I think!
Elena says
December 6th, 2008 at 11:30 pmHi, I wanted to let you know I’ve recently become a fan of your blog and would like to feature you in the coming few weeks on my own blog. I am also starting a blogroll.
Just wanted to drop by and let you know!
Elena´s last blog post..Product Review: Neutrogena Body Clear Body Scrub
Jinnzor says
December 7th, 2008 at 1:58 amI just got the brush set yesterday and it’s lovely! The powder brush doesn’t pick up a lot of product, so I might use it for pigmented blushers and bronzers. I still haven’t figured the liner brush out. It looks like it would make a seriously thick line.
Jinnzor´s last blog post..NOTD: China Glaze Caribbean Blue.. yuck?
Eru says
December 7th, 2008 at 3:39 amHey K,
Those brushes look lovely 😀 I’m going to show this to the BF so he gets some ideas for Xmas, hehehehe.
Hope you’re doing great 😀
Hugs :3
Eru´s last blog post..Mysterious Butterfly Quad by Guerlain ~ Finally!
Ellery says
December 7th, 2008 at 7:26 amI’m glad I’m not the only one who immediately though of Chanel, hahah!
I rarely travel but I still want these. I love the pinkness and I need some new brushes desperately. 😀
Ellery´s last blog post..What I Wore Today
jojoba says
December 7th, 2008 at 7:53 amlovely looking pink brushes! i love travel sized brushes not just for traveling for also for the short handles. i find they work best for me. oh, the only thing i don’t like about this set is the ribbon. what’s up with that? can’t they use zipper? well, it’s just my pet peeve… don’t mind me!
jojoba´s last blog post..Review: Shu Uemura Eye Color Palettes, Mika Holiday Collection 2008, Part 2 – Secret Luscious Rose
sarahPUFFY! says
December 7th, 2008 at 8:58 amcontour brushes are for the crease. the point is ultra defined so your application will be as sharp as possible. I’m one of the people that needs that kind of brush, because of my eye shape – almond, with a heavy-ish lid.
HTH,
xx Puffy
sarahPUFFY!´s last blog post..Why hay there….
Katee says
December 7th, 2008 at 10:34 amSuper cute brush set!
Katee´s last blog post..NOTD: Zoya Richelle
Tara says
December 7th, 2008 at 1:01 pmDarn it! I read your post and decided that they would be a nice stocking stuffer gift for my mother (who lives out of a suitcase), so I immediately went over to the Sephora web site (free shipping today!). They’re already sold out. Then I ran over to the Smashbox web page. All gone too. Oh well…
Elena says
December 7th, 2008 at 2:13 pmHey Karen,
I’m glad you reviewed these today, because I’ve been hunting for a bargain set of brushes and carrying case to keep in my book bag. Have you tried the holiday brush sets from MAC this year? Last year’s face brush set was my first set of brushes, but they shed terribly, and this year’s eye brush set feels horribly scratchy to me, so I gave them a miss. I’ll be giving these a glance for sure. 🙂 Also, I agree with SarahPuffy on the use for the contour brush. 🙂
I’m totally with you on the workout pants issue. Mine are always the crazy thick kind of pants, otherwise, Lord knows I’m going to ruin them, lol. That hasn’t stopped them from air conditioning me, either…
Catherine says
December 7th, 2008 at 2:23 pmHehehe, I mostly love the adorable carrying case. It’s so reminiscent of pretty lingerie.
I’ve been looking for a brush set to leave at work for a while, but I really wanted one with both a kabuki-style powder brush and a separate blush brush. Have you tried EcoTools? I know I read about them somewhere online, and I kept thinking it was your blog, but I tried searching the archives and couldn’t find anything. Anyway, I just saw their 5 piece mineral makeup set at Long’s for 25% off and I LOVE them. They’re softer than my BE brushes! And like… 10x cheaper. They don’t have very much variety as far as eye brushes, unfortunately, but the face and blush ones are amazing. =)
cloudburst says
December 7th, 2008 at 2:25 pmI use angled contour brushes for blending out crease colours – I’ll use another small brush (or the tip of the contour brush) to draw a dark crease line & then blend it out with the angled contour. I have very shallow creases & this works for me.
I have a full size Smashbox powder brush & I have to say I think their brush quality is quite good.
Lars says
December 8th, 2008 at 2:37 pmi guess i’m just a mac snob, but these don’t really excite me (besides being pretty)
i’ve tried lots of brushes but never found any as good as my mac brushes
Marisol says
December 8th, 2008 at 7:45 pmWhat a cute set! I got the travel set from Costco and am taking it with me on vacation.
What cleaner do you use for your brushes? I use MAC’s Cleaner and baby shampoo for a deep clean.
Marisol´s last blog post..TILT 11.27.08
Anna says
December 31st, 2008 at 5:53 pmI got my own set of these for Christmas and they’re great! Also updating my review on this product! 😀
Anna´s last blog post..ANGELS SING…IN PINK! ; smashbox rapture travel brush collection