Hello lovelies!

Over the years, Ireland has produced some fantastic beauty brands that really deserve more publicity and hype. I think that it is super important to support and champion our own homegrown, local brands, so, over the course of 2017, I have decided to feature at least 12 Irish beauty brands/suppliers on the blog that I really believe are worth checking out.

I was very kindly sent some make up brushes from the Irish brand, NIMA Brush before Christmas to try out. This was what really kickstarted my Irish brand focus idea as I was so impressed with the quality of this lesser known brand’s brushes.

NIMA Brush is the brainchild of Irish make up artist, Niamh Martin who has over 15 years experience in the industry. Niamh wanted to provide a range of professional standard tools that were both affordable and long lasting. The brushes are manufactured using the most natural fibres and strongest brush ferrules which help prevent the brush from shedding after cleaning.

I was very fortunate to receive ten brushes from two of the award winning NIMA lines – the Artistic Collection and the Elite Collection.

At first glance, I was impressed by how dense and soft the brushes are. The face brushes are also nicely weighted adding a real feeling of luxury.

The Artistic Collection

The first thing that struck me about the Artistic Collection brushes is the colour – a bright duck egg green-blue with gold details, really girly and unique. This line bequeaths each brush with a name which all relate to somebody important in Niamh’s life (cute, eh?).

You can purchase the entire Artistic Collection (30 brushes) for €250 here or you can mix and match the various brushes by buying separately.

I was sent the following brushes (pictured left to right):

The Stephanie Pointed Eye Liner Brush €10

This brush surprisingly turned out to be one of my most reached for brushes throughout my test period. I had recently received one of the Kylie Cosmetics Kyliner kits and wasn’t a huge fan of the included brush (review coming soon). I tried this brush out instead and was really impressed with how precise it was for using with gel liner. The bristles have just the right density for me – not too stiff and not too soft and this really helped me create much better eyeliner looks.

A deceptive gem.

The Kate Detail Brush €10

This detailed shader brush was actually really good for specifically laying down eye product across the entire lid (in my case – glitter). I found that the brush picked up a nice amount of product and that it gave an even and smooth application.

Worth picking up, but put it down the wish list for now.

The Emma Concealer Brush €10

This brush is designed for patting concealer onto the inner corners of the eyes or onto any blemishes. I tried it with my MAC Pro Longwear Concealer and was happy with the application around the under eyes before I blended it with my BeautyBlender.

A good staple product – especially if you own the awkwardly packaged MAC PLW.

The Erin Fan Brush €12

This is a small, much more precise fan brush in comparison to my Morphe fan brush for example. This allowed me to create a much more intense look when applying highlighter by building up product – perfect for creating a “blinging” evening make up look. That being said, I also found that, with a lighter hand, the brush picked up a nice amount of product and was capable of producing a healthy, well-blended, more natural look, suitable for day time. Another use for this versatile little brush might be for sweeping fallen eyeshadow from under the eye area or for brushing off excess loose powder after baking.

A brush worth having.

The Suzanne Foundation Brush €16

For me, this small foundation brush is perfect for painting foundation onto the face prior to blending or for patting  the standard “upside down triangle” area of concealer or cream highlighter below the eyes.

It’s good at what it does, but it’s not a necessity starter brush if you are planning on picking any of these brushes up in my humble opinion, the others are a much better starting point.

The Elite Collection

The star of the very generous package for me was the Elite Face Detail five piece kabuki set which covers all of your face make up needs.

This collection is my favourite aesthetically, with beautiful clean white handles and rose god detailing. You can buy this set for €65 here as well as picking up most brushes in the set individually.

All of these brushes are made from Taklon synthetic fibres, which means that they are perfect for use with both cream and powder products. They are also non porous, meaning they won’t soak up your product and cause wastage.

The Elite Face Detail set contains the following brushes (pictured top to bottom):

The Contour Kabuki €18

This brush was my favourite for applying blush. The soft bristles picked up a good amount of product (light hand needed) and the slanted shape applied blush to my cheekbones perfectly.

One of the best angled kabuki’s that I have tried.

The Round Head Kabuki €18

I really liked using this brush for pushing loose setting powder into the face to set it. It’s large enough to cover the face in a few movements yet small enough to reach the more awkward spots, The bristles are also so soft and gentle on the skin. This brush also works well for buffing foundation into the skin and reminded me somewhat of the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.

Lovely, but not a must have.

The Tapered Fluffy Kabuki 

The perfect powder brush. I particularly liked this one for powder bronzer due to the tapered end. I thought it made applying product to the outer perimeters of the face easier than other brushes.

Definitely in the top 5.

The Flat Head Kabuki €18

This was the stand out brush for me. I used this to really work and buff foundation into the skin. I tried it with both liquid and powder products and can vouch that it works just as well with both. The brush is big enough to effortlessly cover the entire face in a few strokes and it produces a really natural look . Another use that I found for the flat head kabuki was for using with my Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer. The brush works beautifully with the texture of this product and blends it like an absolute dream.

A must have in the collection.

The Precision Kabuki

I used this brush for contour. I tried it with both cream and powder contour and it works well for both, but blends the powder that little bit better in my honest opinion. The tapered end is really good for blending product in the hollow of the cheek and for placing contour in exactly the right spots on the face.

A solid 7/10 brush for me.

So there you have it, a full review on NIMA Brush. Have any of you guys tried this brand out yet? If so, what were your thoughts? If not, what are you waiting for?

Until next time.

Lynsey xox