Thursday, October 13, 2011

Product Review: Ecotools Makeup Brushes

I decided to do a girly splurge and buy some makeup tools. I'd been working without them, but a couple of the cheaper brushes which came with my makeup just were not cutting the application. I did a little poking around and decided to check out Ecotools.

Ecotools makes brushes and other body equipment (body brushes, scrubblets, bath and body tools). I bought a retractable kabuki brush and a set of eye makeup brushes with case. What I liked was that the handles of the brushes are bamboo, not plastic, the metal parts which hold the bristles are recycled aluminum, and the bristles, while synthetic polyester (plastic!), are extremely soft for being vegan. The case for the makeup brushes was made of cotton and hemp.

The price was a bit higher than some brushes, but not by much. The kabuki was $5, and the eye brushes were $6 for five brushes and case. I bought them at a supermarket, so no shipping costs. This is actually on the lower end of cost for makeup brushes, even considering the "green" packaging and image.

I think the neatest part for me was the packaging. They don't put it in paper-backed plastic like a lot of brushes, which often can't be recycled. Instead, they put it in a recycled plastic pouch. While I'm a bit leery of plastic packaging, they make the pouch extremely sturdy and encourage you to reuse it for whatever you need. The smaller one from my brush is being used as a travel pouch for my toothbrush. I think the larger one will be a cosmetics kit for travel, too. If you don't want to reuse them, the plastic itself can be recycled.

As far as the brushes themselves, I'm not the best comparative person to ask. I've never owned makeup tools before. I can say, however, that they are soft, get the job done with no holes in the application, and are easy to use.

Finally, Ecotools donates 1% of their overall profit to EarthShare and the Wildlife Alliance, two charities that work to promote sustainability and protect forests and wildlife.

The verdict? If you need a new makeup tool, I'd recommend these. They're about as sustainable as available, fairly plastic-free, and their business practices seem rather legitimate. 

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