July 23-24 in Vancouver (B.C.) was an exciting time--it was my very first IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) experience!! The first thing that caught my eye as I entered into the show was the Royal & Langnickel booth's synthetic "Silk Green Line" brush set. It was ticketed as having a regular price of $119 (if I remember correctly) and I snagged it for only $50! WOO!
The Royal & Langnickel site (www.royalbrushes.com) describe the set like this: "SILK GreenLine™ was developed for our customers seeking eco-friendly brushes without sacrificing the luxurious feel and precision of natural professional brushes. These high-end brushes boast a special blend of synthetic filaments, along with 100% bamboo handles and chrome plated nickel ferrules. Packaged in a sustainable cork case, the GreenLine™ is unrivaled in quality and price."
I was in love with everything about the set as soon a I saw it!
Here are some photos I took after finally opening it up this past weekend.
This is what the set looked like from the outside. Isn't the cork case neato?
When I opened up the case, each brush was wrapped in a nice plastic sleeve. The only brush that got kind of smooshed from this was the large powder brush, but I'm sure it will regain its perfect shape after having a few days out of that silly sleeve!
Without the plastic sleeves, the brushes were like this. All nice and fresh!
The left side of the brush set contains these six brushes (from left to right): GL-4 "Smudger", GL-3 "Eye Shadow", GL-5 "Liner", GL-1 "Powder", GL-2 "Blush", and GL-12 "Lip". These brushes are wonderfully soft. The Powder brush and blush brush, especially, are sooooooo soft. I do find myself wishing that the "Smudger" brush was a fluffy blending brush, but it will still be useful for deep crease work and for smudging (of course). The "Liner" brush I find quite thick for a liner brush, but I'm sure I'll be able to think of a way to use it.
The right side of the set contains these brushes (left to right): GL-8 "Eyeliner/Brow", GL-6 "Eye Fluff", GL-7 "Foundation", GL-11 "Concealer", GL-10 "Brow/Lash", and GL-9 "Flat Liner". I loooooooove how fine and small the "Eyeliner/Brow" brush is! It's awesomeness. And the "Eye Fluff" brush's name is enough to make me giggle. I will probably use the "Concealer" brush as a paddle-style eye shadow brush (since I have a tendency to like using that kind of brush to really pack on mineral pigments). Not pictured is the spoolie that is on the bottom of the "Brow/Lash" brush--it's a typical spoolie. I do like that the comb on the GL-10 is metal. It's nice and sturdy. I was also rather excited to get a flat liner brush, as I don't have one in my collection--and this one is nice--I wish its tip was a bit finer, but I'm sure it'll be okay!
Although I have not used these brushes yet, I am very pleased with the way they are made and feel. I love that their handles are bamboo and the brushes themselves feel really sturdy--the ferrules don't budge at all. Once I test these bad-boys out with makeup, I'll be sure to link back to this blog.
If you have these brushes (or any from Royal and Langnickel), how do you like them? :)
If you have these brushes (or any from Royal and Langnickel), how do you like them? :)
Edit (08/11/2011): I have tried these brushes out a couple of times now and I am really really happy with how they've been performing! No shedding, they're SUPER soft. Gah! I'm so glad that I bought them when I had the chance. The GL-4 Smudger brush works well to put colour in the duct area and to blend it up towards the inner crease. The strange GL-5 "Liner" brush worked really well today for me to put a pressed shadow along my lower lash line. The GL-6 Eye Fluff brush has been great at putting colour into the crease or blending a lid colour out into the crease area. I am a happy vegan brush consumer, yes I am!
