Sale Score - The Sonia Kashuk 15 Year Anniversary Brush Set

Sometimes the shopping-fu is with me.

I was on my way home from physio when I had the sudden and overwhelming urge to check Target for a bath mat I had been thinking of purchasing. As is my usual practice, I did a quick walk-by the beauty department, on the off chance there was something new and/or awesome.

AND BEHOLD.

This is the 15 piece Professional Brush Set that came out recently, to celebrate the past 15 years of Sonia Kashuk as a brand. When I saw reviews popping up on Youtube and fevered posts on Instagram, I relegated this to the "Aw, that's nice" part of my brain, as I never, ever assumed I would have the luck of stumbling upon one.

And then the shopping-fu. Not only were two of these prime sets sitting on the shelf, happy as you please, but they bore that most of exciting of signs: the red liquidation sticker. Already reasonably priced at 39.99$, I snatched this one for a mere 20$. The purple and gold was perhaps a tad more gaudy than I'd generally like, but math won over aesthetics in this case, as fifteen brushes for 20$ worked out to about 1.33$ per brush. I figured if I liked 5 out of the brushes, I would still consider it money well spent.

I have yet to put these through their paces, but based on very superficial first impressions of how they feel, I am doubly pleased with my score. The powder and blush brush are full and silky soft (not Chikuhodo, obviously, but better than the Sigma and Quo in my collection). The round buffing brush feels a touch too stiff in the centre, but a good wash may soften that up. I think it'll work for cream contour products. The foundation paddle brush is smooth and evenly tapered, with no scratchy bits (often an issue with drugstore paddle brushes - I'm looking at you, Real Techniques).

The narrow contour brush is soft but dense, and I'm really curious to try this one out, as I don't have anything like it. It's a big part of why I bought this kit, hoping it wouldn't suck. The angled buffing/foundation brush is really nice, very dense and silky.

For the face brushes alone, I am impressed.

Onto the eye brushes:

The crease brush is too full, firm and dense for me to use for that purpose, except to really soften and blow out an eyeshadow over the crease, but it's a nice enough brush. I could see myself using it for concealer or specific contouring. The second crease/blending brush is also too big for me, except to maybe apply brow bone highlight. It's quite a bit denser, as well. I need to play around with it to figure out how I would use it.

The lay down brush is interesting - it's almost a cross between the MAC 217 and 249 in terms of the length and shape of the bristles, though it has a narrower profile and a slimmer shape. It's a little too slim and precise to blend the crease, but for laying down product and getting a tight shape in the crease or the outer corner, I suspect it might be perfect. If it picks up powder as well as the 249, I have a feeling this will be the sleeper hit of the set.

The bullet brush feels a little stiff for me, as does the pointed brush and the tapered smudge brush. I think they'll wind up feeling scratchy when used closer to the lash line, but I'll have to try them to be sure.

The concealer brush is basic, like pretty much every concealer brush ever included in any set ever made. (I really wish they would start including fluffier version, which is the way a lot of people apply concealer these days). Same "basic" comment applies to the angled brush and spoolie. I'm also assuming the angled brush is meant for the brow, and not eyeliner, as it's too thick and not quite evenly cut on the edge.

So overall? Strongly positive about 6, potentially positive about 3, unimpressed but no qualms about 3, and wary about 3. I think that's not a bad breakdown at all, especially since the ones I'm most confident about are the brushes that would be more expensive anyway. So...super pleased!

Have you guys seem this at your local Target? Are you thinking about tracking it down? Or have you scored anything else on sale that you're thrilled with?

(I purchased this item. This post is not sponsored or compensated.)