MSQ 15 pcs brush set with PU leather bag

i've heard about aliexpress but i never bought anything from them, mainly because i'm afraid that my order will be stuck in customs, especially since they put red-line situation, many online shops even struggle with this situation. but my sister in law bought some unicorn slipper from them and it arrived safely! then i asked my husband and he also have bought items from them too and arrived safely. so i decided to get some makeup brushes, especially after watching it from some youtuber. at first i wanted to buy jessup makeup, but the price is higher. perhaps because jessup is getting more attention since it's being reviewed more than MSQ. but i decided to get MSQ not only because it's cheaper, but it has more brushes that i usually use and want to try than the jessup one. i also waited the aliexpress sale so i got this set with the eye set in such incredibly cheap price. oh.. i was super glad that both arrived safely.

this is the description from aliexpress website: hair material - high quality synthetic and natural goat hair. ferrule material - glossy aluminium. handle material - natural wood. case material - high quality PU leather.

the pouch

the packaging: since i bought the one that comes in a makeup pouch, all the brushes are packed inside the makeup pouch, but they put everything and each brushes in plastic cover, so i'm quite impressed. all brushes arrived safely without any damage.

all the brushes in its plastic cover

the product and result: like i've said, each brush has each plastic cover. they also give the powder blush a plastic casing, similar to beauty creation, which is awesome. there are several set but i bought the 15 pieces one that has black wood handle with silver aluminium ferrule. i have to say it's pretty boring, there are so many other brand that has this combination, but what can i do? the rose gold and black one is more expensive that it comes with more brushes, more than i actually need, so i have to settle with this one. there are 5 face brushes and the rest are eye makeup brushes. all the face brushes has synthetic hair, but the eye makeup brushes has combination, synthetic and natural goat hair. again, i don't like the combination with the natural hair, mainly because i don't know how to care for them. my BH cosmetic brush that has natural hair bristles is hard to maintain, so that's why i decided to buy synthetic hair because it's easier to wash and maintain.

the pouch is made of PU synthetic leather, and it's black. the size is bigger than my beauty creations' pouch, and it's super soft and flimsy compared to beauty creations' one. some complained that it has awful smell, but mine doesn't.

all the face brushes

let's start talking about each brushes. i will talk about face brushes first and then the eye brushes. i've tried most of them, but i know there are brushes that i won't use, so i won't comment much on them.
- powder brush: this is the biggest one in the bunch. all the face brushes have long and firm handle, slightly longer than my beauty creations' brushes, which makes them easier and firmer to hold. the powder brush has plastic cover to maintain the shape. it's fluffy, but not as fluffy as beauty creations'. since it's a bit dense, if i use this to powder all over my face, sometimes it will pick a little bit too much of powder that it makes my under eyes or around my nose cakey. i think if you use bronzer, then this will be suitable for bronzing too.

powder brush

- blush brush: this brush has rounded top, which is new for me. i usually has angled blush brush. it's super soft just like the powder brush, but it's a bit too dense for my liking. i use this with my powder blush which is not too pigmented. if i have to use more pigmented powder blush, i will have to be careful. do only one dip and tap the excess before putting it on my face. but other than that it works super well.

blush brush

- angled blush brush: since there's a round blush brush, i use this brush for contour. this has similar feeling to beauty creations' angled blush brush. both are not as dense as elf angled blush brush, which makes them quite hard to use. it's quite flimsy so somehow i can't contour as precise as i want to be, but it's workable. but i'm not a patient person, so i decided not to use this brush and sometimes use it for my pigmented blush. i prefer my masami shouko brush to contour.

angled blush brush (it's dirty because i've tried it to contour before taking picture)

- flat top brush: i decided to go with MSQ partly because some youtubers said that they have good kabuki brush, and one of them is their flat top foundation brush. and i have to say it's quite good. the brush is soft and dense. but when i first get it, there are some hair that poke out from the surface, so i have to trim it to make it look nice. it blends foundation beautifully and doesn't leave streaky finish on me.

flat top brush

- highlight brush: okay, on the aliexpress web's picture, the brush seems a little bit taller. but when it arrived, it looked similar to beauty creations big blending brush, which i use to blend concealer. but it's not too dense so i can use just one size for highlighting and it works just well. it's soft as well.

highlight brush

now let's move on to eye brushes: there are total 10 eye brushes, and half of them are made of natural hair (goat hair).

all the eye brushes

- small blending brush: this is a round top blending brush, similar to beauty creations'. it's made of synthetic hair, very soft. you can use this to blend concealer for smaller area or to buff base color to your eyelid. i usually use this brush to put base color all over my lid.

small blending brush

- angled eyeshadow brush: again, this is made of syntethic hair, and very soft and also similar to beauty creations'. you can use this to put color on your crease, but i rarely use this.

angled eyeshadow brush

- angled eyebrow brush: this is a small angled eyebrow brush. a bit smaller and more dense compared to beauty creations'. this is made of synthetic hair. i don't use eyebrow wax or gel or powder that need separate brush, so i barely use this brush. but since it's a little bit smaller, it's more dense so i find it easier to use on my eyebrow.

angled eyebrow brush

- small dome eye brush: this is similar to my masami shouko dome eye brush (i forget whether it's the M or the S one) but this is a little bit longer. since this set doesn't have any pencil brush, i use this brush to pack darker color to my outer V. this is made of synthetic hair and it's very soft as well. compared to masami, it has same density, but since this is slightly longer, somehow it feels flimsier. but it doesn't affect the application.

small dome eye brush

- flat eyebrow brush: again, i almost never use this brush. this is also made of synthetic hair and quite wide so i don't think i can use it on my eyebrow. sometimes i use this to eyeline my under lashline with darker eyeshadow and it works well, but i don't use that everytime i do my makeup.

flat eyebrow brush

- angled bended eyeliner brush: this is made of natural hair. this has angled ferrule and the hair is super thin and covered with hard plastic cover. this is the brush that i never use. i don't have any gel eyeliner that comes in a pot, and all my eyeliner has brush tip that's super easy to use, so i don't easy myself using this brush. but if you have gel eyeliner and you hate the brush that it comes up with, then you might get the chance to use this brush.

angle bended eyeliner brush

- small blending eyeshadow: okay, this is super weird. when it first came, it looks like a small but skinny blending eyeshadow, but after i wash it, it looks a little bit shorter that it seems like a pencil brush. it's made of natural hair and it's super soft and super easy to use to blend my eyeshadow. since i use the dome brush to put darker color, i use this brush to highlight my under brow and my inner corner and it works okay, but i feel it's a little too big for my inner eyes. oh and although it does seem shrink after i wash it, but it still maintains its shape and doesn't shed.

small blending/ pencil brush

- flat fluffy eye shader brush: this is made of natural hair. it washes okay and doesn't shed as well. i use this brush to put color all over my lid and it works well. it's a little big so if you have small eyelid space, this might be too big for you.

fluffy eye shade brush

- there are two fluffy eye blending brush. on the web it seems to have different size, but on reality, it is the same size, so i use one to put color on my crease and then use the other one if i need a clean brush to tone down the color. although it's big, a slightly bigger than my beauty creations and elf, but a bit thinner than BH cosmetics so it's easier to use on my crease. and it doesn't poke my eyelid even though it's made of natural hair. although it's hard to maintain the shape after washing it, but it doesn't shed and using brush guard solve the problem, so i super like it.

eye blending brush

overall, i'm quite impressed, all the face brushes are super firm to hold, all the handles are long enough for firm grip, even slightly longer than my beauty creations' brushes. all the bristles are super soft and even though some hair poking out, none of them poke into my skin and hurt my skin. i only need to trim them a little bit. it washes well and maintain its shape pretty well too. i pay for around Rp. 175.000,- with the pouch when it was on sale so it's pretty good deal considering i pay more for beauty creations and get lesser brush. the only grudge that i have against this set is the smell from the natural hair brushes. it does smell awful, and although i've washed it twice, with brush detergent and baby shampoo, nothing is changed. it still smells like horse (or goat, maybe). oh well, maybe i just need to wash this more since other said that the smell will be gone after washing it. if you're planning to buy brushes from aliexpress and you're confused about what to buy, except for the well known jessup brush, then let me recommend you to try MSQ. i also think that this brand might have sold their previous brushes as zoeva fake brushes, but i can't say for sure since there's no more fake brushes sold at aliexpress. and if i can say more, i like their face brushes more than their eye brushes, but that doesn't mean that their eye brushes aren't good. so, be adventurous and check it out yourself.