This post was originally written and posted in September 2013 on my other blog, Style Creativity Love. Which is why the watermark on my photos has a different name.
Read to the end for my review on these makeup brushes over 2 years later.
September 16, 2013
Last Thursday night I attended the San Francisco event for The Wayne Goss Brush Collection hosted by Beautylish. I’ve been a member of Beautylish for years and I’ve been wanting to attend a local event since I heard they had them. And this was perfect because it was in honor of one of my favorite You Tube beauty gurus!
If you don’t know Wayne Goss aka GossMakeupArtist, he is a professional makeup artist from the UK and YouTube Beauty Guru. He is known for his no nonsense approach to makeup application, tips ‘n tricks, and 100% honest product reviews. He’s like the Alton Brown of the makeup world. Subscribe to his channels: GossMakeupArtist and GossMakeupChat. Wayne himself couldn’t attend since he lives all the way in the UK and they had events in NYC, SF and LA.
Now what did Wayne say about making new friends? Be your best self…. and no naughty sense of humor. I can be crude and sarcastic, that’s true. Does this come across on the internet? I never does, people always think I’m complaining or rude. You don’t get me man, you don’t GET me!
Because I don’t have any friends, I went to the event by myself. (<- That’s not a complaint! You still don’t get me!)
I met a lot of really nice beauty enthusiasts and met the founders of Beautylish! The event was held at Hotel Vitale, in a room with a terrace view of the Ferry Building. They served food and drinks and gave us a free Beautylish tee! I was chatting with the co-founder and he said that they may host a DIY event, which is right up my alley! Can’t wait for the next event!
About the brushes
You can watch the video of Wayne explaining them here at this link. He will have more videos about the individual brushes on his channel soon.
First Look! Wayne Goss Makeup Brush Collection
Frequently Asked Questions About The Brushes
These brushes are handmade, not mass produced by machine. Though they are made from animal hair, they are cruelty free! No animals were harmed, killed or put in terrible conditions for their hair.
Note that Wayne’s brushes aren’t made by an established brand where he slaps his name on the handle. He sought out brush crafters, looking for the perfect artisans to make them based on his standards. They’re made in Japan, crafted in the same town where Hakuhodo brushes are made. He was very involved in the creation of these brushes, even putting his own money into the production of them. If you are familiar with his reviews, you know that Wayne is very particular about quality and getting the most out of your money. He’s done many reviews on various brushes, and I recall he spent $1500 on a brush set from Claudioriaz, where we was left disappointed. He’d never want us to experience that kind of disappointment with a product he backed. Based on what I saw at the preview event, this collection is well worth the investment.
They are so soft you almost can’t feel that it’s there. There is not a single scratchy or harsh brush hair in these!
One of the strongest points for me, is that there won’t be any hair fallout. I ruined one of my Real Techniques buffing brushes due to my faulty brush washing technique. (It can still be saved with wood glue!) But I got water in the ferrule and it loosened the glue, then the head popped off! Rats!
The construction in Wayne’s brushes don’t allow for the hairs to come loose. (But you should still take good care of your brushes!)
Months ago, he showed us his massive makeup brush collection that he had accumulated over the years being a professional makeup artist. Here was his previous brush collection, from other brands. The presenters at the Beautylish said that he got rid of ’em! We, the guests, were so shocked! That’s how confident he is in his brushes. Not that I would ever throw out my current brushes, but it does say a lot about the quality of his collection if he was willing to get rid of his massive collection of makeup brushes! If there’s a video on it, I can’t find it, so I can’t tell you exactly what he did with them.
The Individual Brushes
Brush 1: Foundation
I want to try this brush with an actual application on my own face. It’s a pretty unique brush, I don’t have one in my personal collection like it.
Brush 2: Powder
This was everyone at the event’s favorite brush!
It’ so so so so so so so so so so so soft. That is my professional assessment of this brush. Ha!
The powder brush is a multi-use brush. It is perfect for blush, contour, highlight, setting powder, pretending you have a fuzzy animal who loves you…
It all depends on how you hold and angle the brush. Plus you can just wipe the current powder off with a towel and use it for the next powder. That’s the beauty of it, it’s multi-use because of it’s shape and ease of cleaning.
Another strong point of this brush is that is so delicate, it won’t disturb the foundation you already applied, leaving you with a perfect finish.
If I were to buy one brush from this collection, this would be it.
Brushes 3-6: Crease and Blending
You know that smoky eye that got away from you? I feel like because these are so finely tapered, you don’t get that messy splay of bristles that tend to get away and make your shadow go higher than intended. Oh yes, that’s happened.
You can also never have too many blending brushes! You always want a clean brush to blend without getting everything muddy. Since there are three different sizes of the tapered crease brushes, there is a brush for anyone’s eye lid shape. You can also wing out your shadow without getting too carried away with a brush that is too big for your lid space.
The crease brushes and blending brush are not only for crease work, but can also be used for packing on shadow on the lids, just by turning the brush on it’s side. These brushes can also be used for contouring the nose.
I’d personally love to have these and try them out and see which brush is best for what job. Only then I can give you all an accurate review based on my experiences.
Brush 7: Lip Brush
This is sold as a lip brush but you can it as an eyeliner brush as well.
This brush has a curved top, whereas all of my other lip brushes are pointed or flat. The curve is supposed to give you a more natural application.
Brush 8: Precision Brush
This brush is perfect for tight-lining and pushing gel liner into the roots of your lashes to make them appear longer and more lush.
You can use it to draw on individual brow hairs! My left eyebrow has hairs that tend to grow downwards. No gel will hold them in place! I get so frustrated, they get ripped out like the naughty little fuckers they are. I have to fill that spot in, even then it looks uneven! This brush is so fine, it seems like it could do the trick!
Investment
In the US, The Wayne Goss Collection is sold exclusively at Beautylish.com. As of the posting of this blog, it is $210 to pre-order the entire set of 8 brushes. Later, they will be sold individually at the Beautylish online boutique.
If you were to purchase them individually, it would cost $224. Not including tax or shipping.
You save $14 if you you were to take advantage of the $210 set price. It’s almost like paying $3 for the lip or precision brush. Make your own decision what you think is best for you and your budget.
Would I buy them? Definitely! They’re amazing, gorgeous brushes of the highest quality. I can rest easy that the brush hairs won’t come falling out (though I’d take special care of them cause they can still get ruined with improper treatment.) They are super soft and would make blending easier. And there are brushes in this collection I don’t already own. It would be a pleasure to own them, I’d use them every day.
I’d say they have a similar price point as MAC. Given the choice, I’d pick the Wayne Goss brushes over MAC brushes because of their uniqueness, the high quality and that these might be limited edition and MAC you can get anytime. Plus MAC brushes just aren’t as soft. These feel so luxurious!
Do I have the money? I have a dollar in my wallet. Ooooh. That’s a little sad. I bought some thai food after the event, so I have a dollar in change left. Uhhh….. I need $209.
Disclaimer: I wasn’t paid or promised any free products for writing this review. The event was free, and invitations were sent to Beautylish members, regardless if they were bloggers or not. The decision to make a post about the brushes was my own. Ah… aren’t disclaimers nice and friendly?
March 2016
In December 2013, I received these brushes as a holiday gift from my spouse.
Brush #8 is my go-to brush for my brow powder. I actually panic when I can’t find this brush because my other brushes just aren’t as fine as this one. It’s perfect for brows!
Brush 2, 3, 4 and 6 are my go-tos for blending. #2 is the largest and the brush I always reach for when blending my crease and brow bone colors to blend seamlessly. I honestly use these brushes first over any of my others because they are so soft!
In the photos from the event, you can see that the name has been rubbed off from all of the handling. I have used my brushes every day and cleansed them regularly for more than two years and the names have not rubbed off.
