Are Oval Makeup Brushes Worth the Hype?

If you're a beauty maven, or you like social media, you may seen a few makeup artists using oval brushes recently. I mean Jaclyn Hill has been using one for the past few weeks. She mentioned in one of her videos that she didn't like the oval brush concept initially, but then she fell in love with it. So....what's the hype?

This makeup brush set is here, but there are copious amounts of oval brush sets across brands like these, these and even this luxury choice. I would venture to say I've heard the most about the Artis set, since it's high-end and one of the first of its kind. Here's a few more options for you: Option 1 / Option 2 / Now let's dive into my impressions!

There is definitely something about an oval brush that allows me as the user to get a flawless coverage. Even if I overdo the amount of foundation, it still looks really nice. Even after using the same brush a few days in a row, the brush has not turned crunchy and does not seem to be caked with product. I think the soft synthetic hair helps with the maintenance of the brush and it is obviously animal-friendly. These have a firm handle which allows for an easier application. I use my entire hand with the larger brushes, rather than just two fingers like I normally would. This gives me more ease and control of what I'm doing, and really allows my wrist to help the even and precise application of foundation to my face. The foundation application with an oval brush is truly amazing, and I don't want to use anything else for that application as I am honestly obsessed with using the largest oval brush. It helps to blend the skin, get any dry flakes off the skin and really smoothes the skin down.

A couple of interesting things I noticed:

•  These have significantly more brush hairs than the standard brush you may be used to. There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, brush hairs especially on the larger ones.

• These brushes are multi-purpose and one brush can be used in multiple ways. For example, the fifth brush from the left (image below) can be used for highlighter, eyeshadow, contouring and even blush!

• It seems these work best with cream and liquid products. Powders are a bit harder to rub into the skin. I attempted to apply a powder blush and it felt odd, and was a bit difficult to get the finish I wanted. 

• When you use these brushes, you are applying makeup from the side and not from the front. If you were to use your fingers and hands to apply makeup, you would apply from the side, so in a way this is a natural application.

The consensus
I think these are absolutely awesome, and definitely worth the hype. My favorite brush was the largest because it applies my foundation like a dream. Also the fifth brush from the left in the images is another favorite because I can use it for so many different things. I don't necessarily think you need all of them, but a few of these are amazing and better than anything else on the market!

Have you seen these brushes yet? What are your initial thoughts?

Disclaimer: Sometimes I am lucky enough to receive products as PR samples. This post was not sponsored, and I have no obligation to share this brush range with you. As always all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.