Bellange Kabuki 10-Piece Makeup Brush Set Review

Brushes are an important part of your makeup routine (for those of us who like to use brushes to apply our makeup, that is), so I'm always on the lookout to expand my brush collection.
The company Bellange approached me in January, wanting to see if I would like to try out their brush set that included 10 different types of face brushes. The whole set retails for just under $20, which seemed a pretty decent price for face brushes, so I was intrigued and (as is obvious because I am writing this post) I said yes.

My Review of Bellangé Kabuki Makeup Brush Set

Packaging & First Impressions...
All the brushes were individually wrapped in plastic and inside this purple little makeup bag. While the thought behind the bag was cute, it isn't the type of bag I would reuse. It's made with really thin material and doesn't feel particularly strong.
You get 5 large brushes and 5 smaller brushes in this set. It's really cute that each large foundation brush has a 'matching' concealer brush. Maybe I'm the only one to find that neat, but I just wanted to mention it. :-)
The brushes themselves felt really nice. The large face brushes were very densely packed and relatively soft (not It Cosmetic soft, but reminded me of Real Techniques ;-). The smaller concealer brushes weren't as dense, but still relatively soft. For the price (basically $2 a brush) I was impressed and had high hopes.
Product & Application....
I had mixed results with these brushes. Some brushes I've discovered to be ones I reach for regularly now...but there were a few in this bunch that I wasn't too happy with. The two pointed brushes (94K and 84K) had the stiffest bristles, and because they felt so 'sharp', I didn't go anywhere near either of these two. The only other brush I didn't like was the Beautiful Blush & Bronzer (93K). The bristles weren't anchored in evenly, and this results in a patchy application. And, for me, this brush was too packed and stiff to serve as a blush brush...maybe a bronzer, but even then I felt like it was hard to blend out.
These were really the only brushes that were 'duds' for me. The other faces brushes were great. I was surprised to see, in the 5 smaller brushes, a brush that was for primer and shadow (82K). For me, this brush was too large to use in my crease and this isn't the type of brush I like to use to press shadow onto my lid. However, I did find that I liked to use this to cover spots on my face. Not what it's made for, but what I tend to use it for.
Major Likes & Dislikes...
My favorite brushes were the Flawless Foundation (91K), Fierce Foundation & Powder (92K), and the Magic Mineral Blending (90K). All of these were very soft, blended beautifully, felt great on my face, and all around I had no complaints with these. Definitely the highlight of this bundle! Two other notable brushes would be the 82K I mentioned already and the Perfection Contouring (81K). If you want to get a really precise contour in your cheeks, or want to sculpt your nose, this brush works well.
My least favorite part of this set is the inconsistency with the brushes. While some brushes were soft and blended beautifully, the pointed brushes were too stiff and the 93K brush had uneven bristles -- which is a disaster when you go to try to use it. 
Another point I just wanted to mention is that some of the brushes had VERY mild shedding. And it wasn't all the brushes (and, keep in mind, I've washed all these brushes 3-4 times now). That's pretty good in my book, for such affordable brushes. I've had high-end brushes that shed worse.
Final Thoughts...
So, the big question...is this Bellange Makeup Brush Set worth purchasing or not. I would say that it's up to you. If you have zero face brushes and want a well-rounded 'starter set', I think this is worth the price. Out of the 10 brushes, there were only 3 duds for me. Even factoring those out of the equation, that's still $3 a brush. Which is a pretty good price.
I would say the best value would be to get a girl friend to buy this with you, and then you can divide the brushes up in between you. You don't need all these brushes to do a complete face routine, and several of these could all be done with one brush (especially with the smaller brushes. I tend to just use one to conceal the spots on my face, and hardly touch the rest). 

---

I received the products mentioned above from Bellange in the hopes that I would mention them on my blog. I only share information that I think will be useful for my readers and I only review products I have personally tested thoroughly. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.