Maychiri's Thoughts: Barbara Hofmann

Barbara Hofmann Foundation Pinsel [Rose Specialedition] Review

November 01, 2024

Another brush in this little brush phase we're having this week! This time we are taking a look at the Barbara Hofmann Foundation Pinsel, variant Rose Specialedition!

This brush was purchased at a time when I was still experimenting, trying to buy brushes from as many different brands as I could, to determine which ones are good and which ones aren’t. As I was at Müller, time had come to finally try out one of their own in-house brands, Barbara Hofmann. I see their brushes every time I go to Müller, I just never thought about buying one because they were a bit pricey for me. But I decided that this time I would finally buy one, and I thought that a flat-top foundation brush would be a good choice. You can never have too many foundation brushes as they tend to become worn out sooner due to having to be washed more often. This one was so pretty with its rose gold design, and me being the magpie that I am, I just had to have the most sparkly one! Now, let’s see how good this brush is!

Packaging: the outer packaging is not it. The brush came with only a clear plastic sleeve over the brush head and ferrule and it was open from one side. This means that any number of people could have touched it. Not good hygiene at all. Honestly, I would prefer a flimsy plastic bag to this.

The brush itself is gorgeous! The handle and ferrule are rose gold, but they look different still. The ferrule is smooth metallic, while the handle features a very captivating texture: it looks like cracked metal, with what looks like metallic flakes. But it’s smooth to touch, not rough or scratchy. This is so interesting! Stunning design! The brush head is large and has a flat top. It’s got dark brown hairs with white tips. I love the brown colour, it really complements the rose gold so well! The overall quality of the brush feels high, it feels sturdy and well-made.

The hairs are synthetic. The hairs are kinda odd; they are quite shiny and sound like paper when I blend with the brush, but they don’t feel cheap or low quality. The hairs are sleek and super straight, so that does explain the shininess of them, I guess. But why does it sound like paper? Anyways, they are actually high quality, no fraying or fall-out to be seen and all hairs are perfectly evenly cut, so that it has a completely flat top. Now this is what a flat-top brush should be like! The hairs are sooo super soft, wow! Flat-top brushes tend to be prickly when using a tapping motion, but not this one! It feels wonderfully soft no matter how you use it, be it a swirling, swiping or tapping motion. This is miraculous! Man, what amazing hairs!

This is a brush meant to be used with liquid products, as evidenced by the extremely dense brush head. That said, it is a dream to use! It picks up a ton of product, more than what you’ll actually need, and then it applies it perfectly evenly and richly! It gives you a full coverage look without even trying much! However, a decent amount of product does get absorbed by the hairs, so that’s one reason why it gives such a natural, perfectly blended out finish.

Now, I already spilled the beans, but yeah, it blends incredibly well! I’d say that it’s definitely in the top 3 foundation brushes (that aren’t flat) in terms of how well it blends. It just buffs products onto the skin so incredibly well that you are left with a gorgeous base, and it doesn’t cause any pilling, either! It’s also super easy to use around the nose, thanks to the flexible hairs, and it isn’t hard at all to get foundation and concealers to look good on the nose when you use this brush. It blends just as well whether you are tapping with it, swirling or swiping, but I prefer to use a mixture of gentle swiping and tapping. I swear, foundation and concealer look much better when I blend them with this brush! I just wish it didn’t absorb as much product as it does, but that’s a small problem anyways.

Washing this brush is actually quite fun because it is extremely easy to wash, which isn’t often the case with foundation brushes. But this brush has hairs that seem like they don’t absorb a lot of pigment, so that pigment just slides off the hairs when you wash it with shampoo. I cannot express how much easier this makes everything! I usually struggle to remove all foundation from foundation brushes, but this one is as easy as can be! And the slick hairs stay in amazing condition after a wash, no fraying, fall-out or any sign of wear! Amazing, truly!

In conclusion, this brush is phenomenal! I love how well blended out foundations are when I use this brush! See, this brush blends liquid products extremely easily and it doesn’t leave a streaky finish! It just buffs in foundations so well that they are blended out within seconds! It’s amazing! It’s also soft, even if the hairs do sound a bit like paper while blending. It blends equally well however you use it, swirling, tapping or swiping. It does absorb more product than usual, but I don’t care as long as it blends this well! And it’s so pretty! I cannot believe I haven’t considered buying this brush sooner... it may be a drugstore brand, but it feels so much higher quality! I will give this brush my highest recommendation, it deserves it!

Rating: 9/10

Would buy again? YES