I have been a user and lover of the Crownbrush makeup brushes since just before I started my makeup course in 2006. My mum bought me a set of brushes to get me started , and up until a few years ago, when I started blogging and reviewing Crownbrush products, I didn’t even realise that they were in fact Crownbrush. I still have these brushes over 8 years on and they have lasted perfectly and brilliantly hence why I have a deep-rooted love for this brand.
Up until now, Crown have offered us a handful of makeup palettes but it’s pretty much been over-shadowed (no pun intended) by their huge brush range and focus…Up until now. You will soon see a huge selection of makeup from Crownbrush which has never been available in the UK : eye pencils, lip colours, bronzers, chubby lip pencils, primers, mascaras and cream eyeshadows. I was fortunate enough to be sent pretty much the whole range to have a play with, so without further ramblings, here are the products so you can see the shades / swatches and maybe start working out what you want to try / buy / love.
Chubby Lip Pencils (£3.99)
10 shades of oversized pencils that act as a lipliner and lipstick all-in-one. The finish is semi-glossy and leaves the lips hydrated and comfortable. A creamy pigmented lipstick ; blot and re-apply for longwear.
*These are available NOW online.
Lip Pencils (£2.99)
6 shades that cover most of the bases. These have a nice creamy texture and stay on really well. I think ‘Mojave Rock’ is the classic nude lip colour that will be good for most. They are maybe missing a dark berry & fuschia pink but these 6 are the ‘key’ liner shades…if you want to enhance your wear of the chubby lip pencils then whack one of these colours all over the lips underneath it.
Eye Pencils (£2.99)
There are 13 shades from the core range then an extra 4 (the ones on the right below) which are a more metallic/shimmery finish. I think these are really good, and they have a decent wear on them, for £2.99 you cannot go wrong. A great colour selection and I’m lovin’ the coral blue (NARS fans : this is a dupe for the now discontinued ‘Parrot Cay’), milk chocolate, copperock and gunmetal. On the pencils it says they are eye and brow pencils ; I personally feel they are a little soft for brow definition so wouldn’t use them on the brows.
Chubby Eye Pencils (£3.99)
13 shades of soft creamy eyeshadows that are easy to apply and blend straight from the oversized pencils. I think these will be a huge hit with the Crownbrush fans and the colours are really great. Blizzard is one makeup artists will love ; a great base for under eyeshadow to really make colours looks bright. I have been wearing Dark Chocolate and Copper Rock which are THE shades for blue / green eyes. Also really love the unusual ‘grinch green’ (that name!) and Caracao is the most stunning blue. Use on their own or under your powder shadow to enhance the colour – I would recommend using their new Eye Primer if you are just going to wear these on their own to increase longevity/wear.
*These are available NOW online.
Glamsticks (£3.99)
5 shades of metallic cream eyeshadow in twist-up sticks.
Bronzers (£6.99)
Don’t be confused by the Fair vs Sunkissed and matte talk : Well do be.. as I am, and this has been my only gripe with this makeup thus far. Let me explain:
The ‘Matte/Fair‘ bronzer is the DARKER tone of the two, and is matte ; a lovely general bronzer.
The ‘Matte/Sunkissed’ bronzer is in fact not matte as it has a very shimmery finish, and is more of a highlighter than a bronzer; it would struggle to bronze the palest of skins, NARS Laguna-esqe but a LOT paler. Sorry I forgot to swatch these, I will try and add ASAP.
I think the names here need to be changed as may cause confusion, or at least they need to ditch the ‘Matte’ chat on the sunkissed bronzer, and maybe call it ‘Sunkissed highlighter’.
Blush Bronze Illuminate (£19.99)
I think the priciest item of the 100 + item’s that will be launching, but also probably the key makeup item which seems to be getting the most attention. Not dissimilar to the Sleek Face form palette, but a bit bigger in size. This is, as expected, your blush, bronze and highlight in one. A great bronzer tone (matte!), a peachy-pink blusher (not far off NARS orgasm) and a nice simple highlighter, which has sheen as opposed to OTT shimmer. A beautiful trio.
My Thoughts
Crownbrush is a budget beauty & makeup range, and the makeup is sitting perfectly into this category. It’s not the cheapest of makeup out there, but it’s definitely affordable / lower end high street prices and it’s good quality, fuss-free and is easy to use even for the non make-uppers. Are professional makeup artists going to rush out to buy the whole range for their kit? No, that doesn’t happen with any new makeup range : It’s a brand that I think is perfect for anyone, everyone, newbie MUA’s, makeup enthusiasts, students (they do a GREAT college/student discounts) bloggers, and for sure, makeup artists, including myself, will be selecting key products from the makeup range. I think it’s going to do really well here in the UK.
My Top Picks
Feeling as overwhelmed as I am with how many products there are? Here are my top picks and shades from what I have tried:
Blush, Bronze, highlight
Chubby lip pencils : Moroccan Bazaar, Hollywood dreams (NARS Funny Face HI!), Nude Beach, Hawaiian Hula (perfect rose nude)
Chubby Eye Pencils : Blizzard, Caracao, Frappe, Dark Chocolate, Sahara
Eyeliners : CopperRock, Gunmetal, Milk or Dark Chocolate & Coral Blue
Lip pencils : Mojave Rock, Fuego
HD Under Eye primer
There is also Trio eyeshadows, glitter liquid liners, gel liners & mascaras in the makeup range which will be coming soon, I’m really excited to try the gel liners and glitter liners. Everything else will be launching on the Crownbrush UK website on the 12th March.
Will you be purchasing anything from the range? What shades or products have caught your eye?
