![]() |
| Rembrandt - The Night Watch |
If brushes made the artist, then everyone would be Rembrandt. Can a perfect brush make you paint a perfect picture? No...but I bet you didn't realize that a perfect brush can give your foundation a flawless look of perfection.
WHAT?
Yup. The geniuses over at Shiseido have created a foundation brush that is PERFECT! It's so perfect, in fact, they even use the word "perfect" in the name of the product.
Ladies and gentlemen I bring you:
![]() |
| image from nordstrom.com |
The Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush.
I have a fetish for looking like I have mannequin skin. Perfect, plastic, poreless, flawless. I want to look photoshopped. I want to look unreal. Blame it on the media. I have an unhealthy ideal of what "perfect" skin looks like. Thanks to photoshopping all traces of pores, blemishes and wrinkles form every face I see in magazines, I now want that same look. That look, by the way is unrealistic, but I want it anyway.
So what do I do? I go through a zillion different primers and foundations trying to achieve this flawless look. Sometimes it's not the foundation's fault that I can't look flawless. It's, what I like to call:
IO Error = Idiot Operator Error
or
1D10T Error = Idiot Error
Yes. I'm so clever.
Not.
Anyhoo.
When you combine Shiseido's sate-of-the-art technology with traditional Japanese brush-making techniques you end up with the perfect foundation brush that provides the perfect foundation finish. I have only used this brush with liquid and powder foundations but it is supposed to work for cream foundations as well. Judging by the performance I have seen so far, I imagine that cream foundations will respond very well to this brush.
The 100% Synthetic bristles in this brush pick up the the right amount of product and distributes it evenly for a consistent and flawless finish. The brush has tapered fibers that form an angle or slope, if you will. This slope allows the bristles to reach all of the facial contours. The trick is in the method you use to apply the foundation. The made in Japan brush has a fairly short handle. this makes it perfect for close up work and for travel! The brush from it's highest point to the end is approximately four and a half inches. (~4.5" or ~11.5 cm) From just the handle to the end of the ferrule, you know the metal part that holds the bristles to the brush, is approximately three and three quarters inches. (~3.75" or ~9.5 cm)
I found the best way to use this brush for an instantly perfect finish is to do the following:
- Put some liquid foundation on the back of your had. Use about 1/3 the amount you normally use when applying with a sponge or other brush.
- Gently tap the brush into the foundation picking up a small amount.
- Starting with your forehead (or chin) quickly tap or dab the brush over your face. You will then see a thin but even coverage of your foundation in the area to which you applied it. If needed you can smooth out any streaks you might encounter by gently sweeping the brush over the area or simply dab the brush some more in the same area to even out the coverage. However I have been using this brush for several weeks and I have yet to notice any streaking when I use the dab, dab, dab application!
- Work in sections forehead, nose, chin, cheeks, neck (if necessary) moving in a dabbing motion throughout. You do not need to move in circles or even strokes. That won't help.
End result...PERFECTION.
No seriously. I have been using Armani LSF in 3.75 for months and I have always like the color match but sometimes it just didn't look so great in application. I used a sponge to apply and I found myself going through bottle after bottle very quickly. I used to take 6 pumps of the bottle to get my entire face and neck done. Then when I started to use the Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush I a) Achieved an even and immaculate finish. 2) I started to used LESS of my foundation I went from 6 pumps to 3 to 4 depending on how much coverage I desired and iii) Because I started out with a more even coverage I used less concealer and my foundation wore better throughout the day because it was applied properly! WIN!
The only, and I mean ONLY issue I have with this brush, is that it can be slightly difficult to clean. The bristles are very dense and there are many of them. Foundation LOVES to cling to the brush and it tends to move farther and farther down the bristle until it reaches the ferrule. That makes cleaning a real bitch. I actually start by using my oil based cleanser (and if this is a bad thing to do, please tell me, it's the only way I have found that gets all the foundation to separate from the bristles) work it in there pretty well. then get the bristles damp and watch the oil emulsify off all of the foundation. Then I follow with my BECCA Professional Makeup Brush Soap and usually have to do two rounds of washing to get it all clean. I have to clean it after each use because I don't like using dirty brushes for foundation or any sort of liquid or cream based products.
Do you NEED this? YES! You need this bad! If you wear foundation, you need this brush. TRUST ME! If it can me this old hag look somewhat presentable and not scare small children* it can make you look like a supermodel...from the neck up. The brush retails for $30 USD (totally worth the investment) and can be found online and in select stores at Nordstrom, Sephora or Macy's...but surprisingly not on the Shiseido website. Humm.
*Funny story. Back in college I used to have all sorts of strange colors in my hair. Purple, Blue, White, Magenta, etc. This was in the early 1990's and in the south in a rather small town, so freaks like me were fairly unusual. I was in a local department store to pick up my roommate from work when I happened around a corner and took a little girl by surprise. I was wearing my platforms so I was about 6 feet tall. I was wearing all black, my leather biker jacket and a long black skirt. I had dark purple hair in spiral curls and I was wearing lipstick that matched my hair color (not the best makeup moment of my life). She took one look at me, her eyes went super wide and then she started to cry and run away from me. She thought I was a witch! BUWAHAHAHA! She almost had it right...she just needed to replace the 'W' with a 'B'!













