Monday, August 27, 2012

Spotlight: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (aka OCC) Brushes

One thing I love just as much as makeup, is makeup brushes. The tools you use to apply your makeup make a world of difference in the application process and final result. As you may have guessed by now, by my in depth synthetic brush review, I LOVE makeup brushes.  I've recently added to my collection some high end brushes from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (aka OCC). These brushes are very luxurious and definitely pro quality. If you are a professional makeup artist, or looking to make an investment in top notch brushes, I highly recommend these.

I already had an OCC lip brush that came in my lip tar set.  Side note: lip tars are basically a hybrid between a lipstick and and a gloss, and one of my favorite lip products because you can mix them to create your own colors and they last a really long time on the lip. More recently I purchased from OCC their Brush #001: Large Powder Brush, Brush # 011: Small Powder/Blush Brush, and Brush #004: Tapered Blending Brush.

Pros: High quality synthetic fibers, sturdy handles, good handle length, soft bristles, brush head shape is ideal for professional application

Cons: For some, it will be price, these are not cheap brushes, but I'm of the firm belief that you often get what you pay for, and I believe these are worth the price.  I also think OCC should do a better job of showcasing the brushes on their site, better pictures, more in depth description, etc. On their site they look like they are nothing special, but when you get them in your hands, they are truly spectacular.

The company may not like this part of my review, but I chose to showcase the brushes along side a less expensive brand simply to give you a frame of reference as to the size of the brush. I feel many of you may have these less expensive brushes in your collection, so you can really see the size and evaluate for yourself if this is something you want to purchase. Again, this comparison is only to show size.

These are the brushes:




 Note the tapered head on the large powder brush.
 The nice full head on this brush is ideal for both face and body. I use it to apply bronzer, dust off any excess powder and even at times, depending on the look I am going for, a sheer application of blush.


 Above is the small powder/blush brush. This has become my go to blush brush. I love it for precise placement of both cream and powder blush on the cheeks. Because of it's size it also fits nicely in the hollows of the cheeks if you want to contour with it. I use this brush almost daily.


 Above is a side by side comparison of the large and small powder brushes. Note the difference in head shape. The smaller is flatter, though slightly rounded, while the larger comes to a tip.


 Above is the lip brush. This is ideal for applying lipstick, lip tars, and gloss. I almost always prefer to apply all three with a brush, as I find gloss application comes out shinier and more even with a brush.  Applying lipstick with this brush allows for a more precise application.




 As mentioned above, I wanted to show you a size comparison. Above, I paired the OCC small powder/blush brush with a Real Techniques buffing brush. While the Real Techniques brush has a flatter head, and wider handle, they are approximately the same size.
 Note the density of the bristles
 Again, I've paired the OCC brush along side a Real Techniques brush. These are both large powder brushes. As you can see, the OCC brush is a bit longer, and the head is more tapered.
 The bristles have the perfect amount of bend to them.

 Note the Real Techniques brush has a fuller head, but that is largely due to the different shape of the bristles.


 Here I've compared the OCC blending brush to a Too Faced tapered blending brush. Note how much longer the OCC brush is. The head on the OCC brush is also tapered, while the Too Faced bristles are not.
 For me, this tapered blending brush is a stand out among my entire brush collection, and I am starting to wonder how I ever lived without it. It blends out crease color with perfection.


This comparison is between the OCC lip brush and an E.L.F. concealer brush. Although the E.L.F. brush is meant for concealer, I often use it as a lip brush. Note the bristles on the OCC brush are much longer, and more tapered.

One complaint I sometimes hear about synthetic brushes is that they don't pick up powder products as well as animal hair brushes.  With the OCC brushes, this was not the case at all. These brushes pick up powder just as well as any other brush on the market, and would stand up and hold their own against the top of the line by any brand.

In conclusion, these are solid brushes. I'm really happy I purchased them, and I encourage you to try them out. Even if you only purchase one, get the one you think you'll use the most, and trust me you will be wowed by the quality.  These are truly excellent brushes, and they absolutely make the case that you really don't need to harm animals to get a superior quality brush.  OCC is a vegan brand, so if you are interested in cruelty free cosmetics, I encourage you to check out the rest of their products as well.

Their site is: www.occmakeup.com which is where I purchased all of these brushes for review.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the thorough review and side by side comparisons. This was SUPER helpful!

    ReplyDelete

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