Samantha Chapman Expert Face Brush - A review

On a recent shopping trip to Norwich, I came across a new make-up brush range in Boots by Samantha Chapman.

Of the collection on display, the brush that caught my eye was the Expert Face Brush.  It didn’t really look like any brush I had seen before; it looked like a large version of the Mac 227 ‘large fluff brush’ for eyes, but this brush was for your face.  That was my curiosity officially aroused.

I did the usual, and stood with it in my hand for about 5 minutes trying to decide if I needed yet another make up brush.  At £9.99 it wasn’t expensive enough to immediately discount, but wasn’t cheap enough to warrant an “oh go on then”.  My will power won and I put it back.

However my curiosity continued to niggle and I found myself checking out reviews on the beauty blogs.  I couldn’t find a single bad review.  I then went on the Samantha Chapman website where she gives video tutorials of how to use the brushes.  I got 11 seconds into the tutorial for the Expert Face Brush and then found myself clicking “add to basket” on Amazon.  Expert Face Brush...purchased.

So what’s the verdict?  I love this brush.  I normally apply my liquid foundation with either my fingers or the Mac 190 foundation brush.  I have dabbled in the past with the Mac 130 stippling brush, but never quite worked out how to use it properly.

This brush is like nothing I have seen on the market before.  It has shorter bristles which are densely packed and graduated to make a smooth ‘bulb-like’ shape.  The bristles are soft, very soft. They are synthetic but you wouldn’t guess.  And the bristles are so dense and tight that it feels like a very expensive brush.

Application is so easy.  Watch Samantha’s video and you’ll see she literally just brushes her foundation on with little care.  This is all down to the brush.  The head is small enough to give good control, but big enough to allow quick coverage of the whole face.  It requires barely any blending as it leaves none of the pesky brush strokes that you get with a standard foundation brush.  I also like the way it almost buffs the foundation into the skin.  I find some foundation brushes just push the foundation around your face, but this seems to buff and apply at the same time.

It feels very luxurious on the skin, which is potentially one of my favourite things about it.  Even my Mac foundation brush can get scratchy at times and gets very loaded down with the product.  The Expert Face Brush stays light and soft whilst still giving great coverage. 

The effect this brush creates is also impressive.  I don’t think I have ever used another brush that could rival it in its evenness.  I definitely see what other bloggers mean when they say it gives a very flawless finish.  I also found it didn’t accentuate my pores quite as much – I’m not sure why but it didn’t seem to make the foundation cling quite as much.

For £9.99 this brush is a steal, and has become the staple of my make-up collection after just a week of using it.  I need to clean it soon, so I am hoping it cleans up nicely.  If it does, I am definitely consigning my old foundation brushes to the bin.  I doubt it will be long before the big make-up brush names will be bringing out a copy.  Samantha Chapman, I salute you.