Okay, now I want you to brace yourself, and take a deep breath.
Good? Okay, now when you’re ready, slowly read the following line…
$85.
Now that feeling there? — that split second when you felt the air forced out your lungs and could barely draw a breath? That’s called sticker shock, and the $85 Laura Mercier Travel Brush Set causes it a lot.
Thankfully, it subsides (somewhat) after a bit of number crunching and quality play time with these super soft brushes.
The kit, one of several of Laura’s holiday 2011 offerings, includes four travel size dual-ended eye brushes, a full size skunk brush and a faux snakeskin pouch with a removable insert.
Now, if this were just an $85 kit containing four travel eye brushes, a face brush and a cute, zippered pouch, I’d probably feel disappointed and a little upset, but the dual-tipped brushes serve to justify the price. With brush heads on both ends of four of the brushes, it’s like getting nine brushes for $9.44 each — practically a steal for Laura Mercier brushes, which usually sell for $30 a pop.
As for the quality of these travel brushes, color me impressed. I haven’t observed any shedding, loose ferrules or construction mistakes, and their performance seems to be on par with Laura’s more expensive full-size eye brushes.
Better yet, and why I really like this set, it covers all of the most important bases for my eye looks, with brushes for brows, concealer, liner, and for applying and blending eyeshadow.
And the full-size skunk brush? Amazing! I can’t believe I went without it for so long. It buffs powders, blushes and bronzers with a very light, natural touch. Great for getting that flawless, airbrushed look.
I’ve tried a bunch of travel brush sets over the years, ranging from drugstore to department, and most of them haven’t compared well to their full-size siblings. These, however, are among the best travel brushes I’ve ever used.
Lightweight, sturdy and compact, with performance comparable to good full-size brushes? Laura, mad props, girl! Ya done good. 🙂
PRICE: $85
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Laura Mercier counters and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I’m so tempted, but…ugh. I don’t need another angled liner brush, or another concealer brush. The others I could use in my collection, but that initial sticker shock is holding me back.
Thanks for the review! What are some other travel brush sets you would recommend?
Hey Karen, how would you compare the skunk brush to MAC 188? I’m working on grabbing one, if for nothing else then to highlight my face. Thanks for any information you might be able to send my way!
PS: I loled when I saw “sticker shock!”
most of my makeup brushes are from her line, just because even though they’re expensive, they’re damn good. I’ve never had ANY shedding or loose issues with mine, and I’ve had my brushes for at least six years. Six years, through cleaning, makeup, etc., and not a single loose bristle. They are simply some of the best, hands down, and blend like nobody’s business.
Karen, your posts are so thorough and well written and funny! I have to say, this set is way too overprice in my opinion. Sigma has a travel set that is amazing and way cheaper. <3
Nice set! But I don’t think I would have much use of all the brushes except for a few. But the skunk brush….I want!
I think that this is actually priced well for a good quality brush set. I’d rather pay the price for a good set of brushes rather than get ones that shed that are cheaper.
The price looks well worth it for the quality but that doesn’t mean I can afford it : (
Thank you for reviewing this. Where can you buy Laura Mercier products? I’d really like to purchase this brush kit.
It looks really nice, but my wallet is still in full sticker shock 🙂 Not because the set is not worth it, but because its been exercised way beyond its capacity 😉 Poor thing…
It looks really nice, but my wallet is still in full sticker shock 🙂 Not because the set is not worth it, but because my wallet has been exercised waaaay beyond its capacity 😉 Poor thing…