If you know me well, you know I sometimes get on a "kick" for a little while, then I move on to something else. Earlier in the year, I was on a self-tanner "kick". I found one that I am happy with, so I moved on with challenging myself to keep potted plants alive. They are now flourishing and blooming away. Currently, I have been looking for makeup brushes. I am determined not to spend the money on MAC brushes, unless I get them as a gift or something :o) So, I have been reading reviews and trying out supposedly comparable, cheaper makeup brushes. I read on makeup websites that sometimes you can find surprisingly good brushes at random grocery stores or drugstores. One store that was mentioned was Kroger, so I headed down to my local store to see what they had.
I found out that Kroger actually has their own line of beauty products. The brand name is Daily Mirra. I could not find many reviews on these brushes, so I decided to try them out and give them my own review.
The first set that I got was the 4-Piece Face Essentials Mini Brushes. My first observation was that the brushes are very soft. You should always wash your makeup brushes before using them the first time, so I washed them with
MAC Brush Cleaner . During the first washing, the powder and blush brushes shed like crazy and continued to shed during use until I washed them a second time. I was about to give up on them, but after that second washing, they really do not shed at all. I am no makeup brush expert and cannot compare them to high end brands, but for $7, they seem pretty good to me!
 |
| Powder Brush |
 |
| Blush Brush |
 |
| Eyeshadow Brush |
 |
| Eyebrow Brush |
|
Overall, I use the powder, blush, and eyeshadow brush a lot. I have tried the Sonia Kashuk white-handled brushes from Target before, and I feel like these brushes are softer and perform better than those. (I actually threw my Sonia Kashuk blush brush in the trash after getting these).
I got another set as well called the 4-Piece Eye Duo Mini Travel Brush Kit. I am not a big fan of the fact that these are duo brushes. I would much rather they be 8 single brushes, but I guess it is convenient for travel. I have not found these brushes to shed at all. I will do an individual review of each brush under its corresponding picture below.
 |
| Crease Brush- Labeled "Eyeshadow" on left and "Smokey" on right |
|
This is the brush that I use most often out of this kit. It is very soft, and I find the left side of the brush labeled "Eyeshadow" is perfect for putting shadow in the crease. The right side labeled "Smokey" is great for putting darker colors in the "outer V" of the eye and blending.
 |
| Brush labeled "Concealer" on left and "Touch-up" on right |
I don't usually use a brush to put on under-eye concealer, so this brush has been used for other things. I've used the "concealer" side for precise placement of eyeshadow and the "touch-up" side on the right for highlighting the brow bone or packing eyeshadow on the lid.
 |
| Brush labeled "Smudge" on left and "Brow" on right |
I really like the rubber-tipped "smudge" brush for smudging eyeliner. I haven't used the "brow" brush for brows but it works for lining eyes with eyeshadow.
 |
| Eyeliner Brushes |
These brushes bristles are very stiff and work well for eyeliner placement.
So for my final thoughts:
- My favorite brushes out of these kits are the powder, blush, and eyeshadow brushes that came with the face kit AND the duo "Eyeshadow"/"Smokey" brush that came with the eyes kit.
- Both kits were around $7 each, so both were worth giving a try.
- Overall grade: B : I know there are better quality brushes out there and the initial shedding was annoying, but these brushes do the job well and are extremely cheap!
Look forward to another makeup brush post about using paintbrushes as makeup brushes! (Sounds crazy, but apparently a lot of people do it!)
