Love Moment With My Charm Flat Top Brush

My friend Sophie truly personifies her passion. Not only does she write for one of the most influential beauty blogs in the country, she also does makeup professionally. After her course at LCI a couple of years ago, Sophie packed her bags and immersed herself in a six-month long course in makeup artistry in Singapore, taking her love for makeup at a different level and harnessed her talents even more. Not only that, she also owns a mineral makeup business and her brand, Beauty and Minerals is present in almost every bazaar there is.

I always make it a point to visit Sophie whenever I'm in a bazaar. It's quite easy to spot her booth - just look for the one that's all pink and pretty :) ! Despite her superstardom in the Internet and international makeup degree tucked under her belt, Sophie still remains the down-to-earth girl I first met at a hair care event a few years ago. She shares her tips and tricks in makeup (shortcuts to creating the perfect brow and base and a whole lot more) when asked, and she loves doing so.

Her baby, Beauty and Minerals has affordable mineral makeup and makeup tools, which makes high quality makeup and tools available for the kikay girl with a limited budget. If you're a lazy daisy with makeup, Sophie could even suggest for you the tools to use plus the colors to choose that could fit the budget.

And speaking of being lazy with makeup, Charm, the brush brand that Sophie sells in her Beauty and Minerals site, has a flat top brush that is becoming my love during my own lazy daisy day. You know, times when we need to put on makeup but we're too lazy to.

Don't Charm brushes bring out your absolute kikay-ness with the whimsical font of the logo and cotton candy pink color?
Clients and friends remark at how I could manage to fish out my Charm brushes from my KSP-pink toolbelt, but somehow I do. Sanay na.

Okay so back to the flat-top brush. Admitedtly, I didn't know where I could use the flat top brush at first, since I'm used to the notion that I should have a dome-shaped brush. Heck even my kabuki brushes (all 3 of them) have a subtle dome shape. Anyway, Sophie suggested I could use this for skincare too, such as moisturizer and primer for clients, should I want the moisturizer be absorbed by the client's skin. It worked quite well though. Check out the flat head's detail there.

Since the head was flat, it was easy for me to pick up product and sort of deposit the product on the skin before buffing it on the face. I figured this procedure is better than using my hands, since it's more hygienic. But as long as my hands are clean and 100% sanitized though, it's okay. I'm just OC.

Anyway, I thought also though, that some people, especially those who are buying this for personal use could find it a tad expensive to buy a separate brush for skincare. I then asked to myself how this could also be used for makeup?

Sophie suggested to me that it works really well on mineral powders, most especially the pressed mineral powders (hmmm, like MAC MSF powder, perhaps?). The fibers grab the product more and then from there, they could swirl the brush on the face for more coverage.

I tried this on my Studiofix powder a few times, and it actually worked quite well. It deposits like a sponge and blends like a natural powder brush with good compromise. What I do is deposit a bit first on the area that I feel needs some help in coverage and just blend the product in with the same product. The coverage is a bit denser than using a kabuki brush or a dual fiber brush, but if I want more coverage, then I guess I could use this. Since the fibers are made of synthetic fiber, it's quite soft too on the face and it didn't leave any itchy-scratchy feel.

This brush could also be used on loose mineral powders, but I won't suggest to use this for blush or contour. I would still prefer a soft and dome shaped brush for the blush for a subtle and just-been-kissed look. Since the shape of the brush is flat and round, it wouldn't make a good contour brush either.

I suggest also, if you're using this both for skincare and powder/dry makeup, to wipe the bristles first so that none of the oily residue from the skincare could go to the pressed makeup to avoid contamination. We want our brushes and makeup to last longer, of course. This could also be used in theater makeup where we want thick coverage with the minimal time we have to do makeup for theater.

The Flat Top Brush is around Php 600. You could order from the Beauty and Minerals website or check out the Beauty and Minerals booth at the bazaars.

[Disclaimer: Product provided for review.]