Rephr Brushes review

I don’t normally review many makeup brushes, because I just don’t try them out as often. Makeup brushes can be quite an expense and I have a couple of solid favorites that I use all the time. I rarely reach for something else. But since I hadn’t tried any new makeup brushes for more than 2 years, I felt it was time to see what was out there. And one brand I wanted to try was Rephr. This brand specializes in Japanese style makeup brushes at an affordable price point and when they had 40% off earlier this year I decided to buy myself some brushes.

Review: Rephr makeup brushes 2021 Best Sellers, Essential Collect Plus & brushes for hooded eyes

So twice a year this brand does a huge sale where, in exchange for a review on their website, you can buy their products at a huge discount. I bought 10 brushes that would have totalled over €400 worth of product at a regular price point, for just over €200. Granted, that is still a lot of money to spend in one go, but Japanese makeup brushees are expensive and I had never tried them and I was curious. I mainly use Sigma, Zoeva and Real Techniques brushes, some of which I have owned for more than a decade, so sometimes it is just good to refresh and try something new.

Rephr brush set 1: 2021 Bestsellers

I decided to buy two premade sets and two single brushes when I placed my order. The first set I ordered was the 2021 Bestsellers set. This features 3 eye brushes and one face brush. All these brushes are multipurpose though and can be used whichever way you want. I will be talking about each brush and they do and how I use them in more detail down below when I show you closeups of these brushes.

Rephr brush set 2: The Essential Collection Plus

This next set intrigued me because it features some more face brushes and some interesting eye brushes. There are six brushes in total and the shapes really intrigued me. I felt this was a pretty well-rounded set and together with the first set I felt it would allow me to do a full face makeup look quite easily between the two.

Rephr single brushes: Brush 13 & Brush 14

But I also decided to buy two of their single brushes. These were both listed at being perfect for hooded eyes or detailed work. Since my eyes are hooded and deepset I struggle with many eye brushes just being too big for my lid space. I therefore prefer a smaller brush and these seemed to be perfect. These 12 brushes pretty much give me a full face makeup look application at my finger tips.

Rephr Brush 01 & 02

So let’s look at some close up. Brush 01 is their all round blending and shading brush that everyone should be able to use. I liked it for applying shadow to the crease. It is bigger than my standard brush for crease work: MAC’s infamous 217, but I could definitely make it work. Brush 02 is another multitasker but aimed more so at applying shadow and pack it on. I used this mainly for applying shadow to my top lid. The brand also recommends this for the lower lash line, but I found it too big for that purpose.

Rephr Brush 03 & 04

The next set of two were also in the Essentials set, like the first two we just discussed. Brush 03 is a small pencil brush that is a bit smaller than the Sigma E30 I normally use. This was great for very detailed work along the inner corner and to smoke out liner along the lash line. Brush 04 is a face brush, originally meant for contouring, but it can do so much more. I loved it for powder blush. This is a very soft, dense fluffy brush and I really thought this was one of the more stand out brushes I got.

Rephr Brush 13 & 14

Our hooded eyes brushes! I was very curious to see how these would fare as I had never used brushes specifically for hooded eyes. Brush 13 is a very small crease brush. It is tiny but therefore really good at packing on shadow in the crease, but I mainly loved it for creating a stronger Outer V. It’s this little brush that is my no. 1 favorite from Rephr I tried. Since buying this I have been inspired to try out some different eyeshadow placements. Brush 14 was like a longer version of Brush 13: it is a long slender brush that should lay down shadow as well as blend. I liked this, but haven’t really grasped my perfect way of using it yet. It was too flimsy for lower lash line work but it was nice around the inner corner as well.

Rephr Brush 19 & 22

Moving on to some face brushes then! Brush 19 was part of the 2021 Bestsellers Set, while Brush 22 is part of the Essentials Collection. Brush 19 is a large tapered style brush. I love brushes like this for applying my face powder. When I apply too much powder my makeup never looks quite right and this makes light work of ensuring I pickup just the right amount. Brush 22 is the largest face brush I have here to show you and it is perfect for powder bronzer. Soft, fluffy and dense enough to get a natural application but light enough to not over do it and make your bronzer too intense and muddy looking. Definitely a winner and another standout from the line in my book.

Rephr Brush 24 & 26

The last brushes I have for you are all from the Essentials Collection. Brush 24 is the quintessential blush brush. I preferred the angled brush for blush myself. This one would be nice for a powder contour as well, but it is quite good for applying creams as well. You could even use it for foundation, but I prefer a flat kabuki style brush for that. Brush 26 is another different one for me: it is a gigantic pencil brush and this one was great for crease work and the Outer V. Another standout that I loved and will be using many more times for sure.

Rephr Brush 27 & 28

The final two brushes I have to show you are also from the Essentials collection, but of course all the brushes here can be bought individually as well. Brush 27 is a blending brush which worked well enough but was a bit big for my lids. It works well enough to blend but I prefer to blend as I apply and this wasn’t perfect for that. Brush 28 is a compact shader brush and this is great for packing on shimmers to the middle of the lid.

My final thoughts

The Rephr brushes I tried are great ones indeed. I have to use them more often to really incorporate them into my routine, but I am definitely liking what I tried here. I do feel I have enough brushes here that I don’t necessarily need anything else from the brand. I am currently on a bit of a brush buying kick as so many new brands have come out since I last bought brushes. So definitely let me know if you want to see me review more brushes, because I could definitely do that.

Would I recommend Rephr brushes?

I would definitely if you are looking for good makeup brushes. They can still be pricey though, even with the discount but they are worth the money for sure. If you are new to makeup I would suggest a different brand that is more affordable to help you figure out what works for you in terms of brush shapes and sizes and then when you are ready to invest, then Rephr is a great first step in professionalizing your makeup brush kit.

What are your favorite brushes to use?