Notino Master Collection F04 Blush Brush Review
By Maychiri's Thoughts - September 20, 2023
The first brush for today is the Notino Master Collection F04
Blush Brush!
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You know, I have been meaning to buy one of these Master
Collection brushes for the longest time! It’s just that they were always a bit
pricey for me. And then, they were all suddenly discounted greatly! Seriously,
this brush was like more than 70% off! I thought it would be a steal; surely,
if they are called ‘Master Collection’, they must be at least good, right? In
fact, this brush should be great! Although, the shape is a bit odd for a blush
brush... hmm. So, is this brush truly master level? Or was it so cheap for good
reason?
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Packaging: it came in a cardboard box that looked very
elegant. I like the white text on the dark background, very elegant! There’s
some white swirls on one side that add to its elegance. While the cardboard is
elegant on its own, the design of the brush makes it even better. The brush was
protected by a brush guard, one of those soft plastic sleeves that sometimes
arrive with brushes. It’s a nice touch! And it saves me having to find a brush
guard for this brush.
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As for the brush itself, it is very elegant looking. The
black/white combo is eternally elegant. I love how pure white the hairs are, to
contrast with the black handle. The silver metallic text is the perfect choice,
adding even more elegance to an already chic brush.
The ferrule is slightly
smoky gray, with some brownish tones. It might have been better if it were silver
metallic like the text. Still, it feels solid and looks expensive, to match its
original price. However, what’s up with the shape of this brush? So this is
supposed to be a blush brush... but it’s very thin and not very dense. And it’s
cut flat. I fail to see how this could ever apply blush well enough. It’s not
even big enough! I am honestly baffled by the shape, and I have 0 clue as to
what Notino were thinking when they designed this brush. Like, was this meant
to be a different kind of brush that they botched so they went and said “ah
sure, let’s just call it a blush brush then”?
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But. And this a big but, the price does not reflect
the level of quality. I would never ever pay what it costs originally, knowing
how bad it actually is. Perhaps that is why it was marked down so
significantly. See, the hairs are not cut evenly; there are some hairs that are
longer, messing with the way this brush applies pigment (as if that’s the only
reason). The hairs are synthetic and they are super shiny and almost plastic
looking. Not what you’d expect from a brush that doesn’t come cheap! In
addition, there were already a few hairs that fell out, and I haven’t even been
using this brush for two weeks at the time of this writing. God knows what will
happen once I wash it.
But hey, at least it is feather-soft, right? That,
sadly, won’t be enough to cover all the other problems yet to come.
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Speaking of, this brush struggles to apply pigment
naturally. It’s really weird. Like, it picks up a very good amount of pigment, but
it’s like that pigment is literally sitting on top of the hairs so that it only
ends up in one small area. So, this is what happens when I try to use a blush
with this brush: I swirl around the pan, pick up a large amount of blush (I
know that because the hairs have become very pink), start applying and I get
95% of the blush in one tiny area, which cannot even be blended out. So, like,
you need to go back to the pan again and again to get a roughly even layer of blush, but that, necessarily, means that it’s impossible to make it subtle. I
wanted to have subtle pink cheeks but with this brush you can only get 0% or
100%, nothing in between.
And even when you start adding pigment to all the
sparse areas, you are still left with a rough, uneven, patchy application. It
honestly looks horrible. And it seems like this brush cannot blend pigments
well enough to make it look natural. Every time I try to blend it out with this
brush I get an even more patchy finish. It all just looks sloppy and ugly. And
that confirms my suspicions that this brush doesn’t have a good shape for
blushes. I don’t know what this shape is good for, if anything, but blushes
ain’t it, chief. It’s just so frustrating to use, having to tappity tap the
pigment so much and still have it be patchy and ugly. Ugh. Not cool or fun!
Good news! There seems to be no fall-out during washing!
It’s also quite easy to wash as it does not absorb shampoo. Finally something
good!
Look, this brush is not worth anywhere near the amount it goes
for without any specials. It’s vastly overpriced. In fact, I can barely say the
price I paid, which was stupidly cheap in comparison to the original, was worth
it. Master Collection? Bah! If this is what they think a master level blush
brush should be then... well, indeed. I really don’t like it, and here I
though it would live up to the name. It’s got a weird shape for a blush brush,
like, it’s too narrow. And it’s cut flat instead of at an angle, which makes it
a bit harder to use (angled blush brushes follow the shape of the cheek, which
is why so many have that shape). And it’s not even big enough. The biggest
problem, though, is just how awfully it applies pigment. It’s so weird; the
brush picks up a lot of pigment, but it’s like 99% of it ends up in one tiny
area, instead of being dispersed gradually over a larger area – like it’s supposed to! This means that you
are left with a blotchy, uneven and just plain ugly application, forcing you to
spend more time fixing it. That results in it being impossible to have faint
blush, you’ll either have fainter blush but it’s patchy and ugly, or you’ll
have extremely intense blush and it will be mostly even. I always have to help
myself with other brushes to blend it out properly, since this brush isn’t good
for blending. So, what is it good for? Good question! And one I do not have an
answer to. It’s a baffling brush in its design, that disappoints with its usage
and level of quality (hairs look cheap and there has been some fall-out over
the course of, what, 8 times that I used it). To ask for more than 10€,
let alone more than 15€ is quite frankly absurd. It’s just a bad brush,
all-around. I’m glad I got it at a big discount, but I sometimes wish I hadn’t
bought it at all. Nope, it’s definitely not getting any recommendations from
me. Just avoid it, buy a Wet n Wild or Essence blush brush instead, you’ll be
much happier with them.
Rating: 3/10
Would but again? NO
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