It Cosmetics Brushes for Ulta - No. 217 Angled Liner / Brow [review]

I can't help myself when I see a new brush line! I picked up a brush from the new It Cosmetics for Ulta line the other day and wanted to share pictures and my thoughts so far. I chose # 217, which is a synthetic angled liner and brow brush with a silver handle and ferrule. Angled brushes are a must have for me and I use them daily for tightlining and filling in my brows.

Brush Details:

• Price - $16
• Location - Ulta exclusive, made by It Cosmetics
• Collection - Live Beauty Fully
• Hair - Synthetic
• Ferrule & Handle - Unknown material, feels light, maybe aluminum?
• Length - 6.25 inches total length, brush head is .25 inches at the longest
• Extras - Comes with a plastic protector cap for travel

The line

It Brushes for Ulta is a line made by It Cosmetics exclusively for Ulta. The brush line contains three collections: the Airbrush Essentials Collection, the Live Beauty Fully Collection, and the Velvet Luxe Blurring Collection. The Airbrush Essentials brushes come with matte silver handles and a shiny silver ferrule, the Live Beauty Fully brushes come with a shiny silver ferrule and handle, and the Velvet Luxe Blurring brushes come with a matte black ferrule and handle. All of the brushes are synthetic.

From what I saw in the display, the collections all feel pretty similar. They are branded differently to justify different levels of pricing, but don't think the brush head quality changes with each line. The Live Beauty Fully line is branded as a charitable line - they donate a brush for every one purchased. The Velvet Luxe collection is branded as a luxurious high end line.

Comparisons

It is a little unfair to compare a new angled brush to older ones in my collection because you really see the splayed bristles and shape issues in the well used brushes, but I wanted to show you shape and size comparisons.

Left to right, Wet N Wild angled brush (comes with their gel liner), Sigma E65 small angle brush, It Brushes for Ulta No. 217 angled liner / brow brush, elf studio small angled brush (old style), elf studio small angled brush (new style)

My thoughts

It feels like cheating for a brush brand to name a brush with the number 217!

As always, I compare brushes to my two long time favorite brands - Real Techniques for synthetics, and Hakuhodo for natural hair. The biggest two limitations to the Real Techniques line are the limited variety of brush shapes and the juvenile colored ferrules. The It Brushes line answers both of those concerns, but at a higher price point. If you want natural hair brushes instead of synthetic, look to Hakuhodo instead.

I have been very spoiled with my recent Hakuhodo brush purchases, so now when I purchase a brush of any other brand I am clamoring for more information. Thanks to Hakuhodo, I expect manufacturers to tell me the type(s) of hair, precise dimensions, ferrule material, and handle material. This brush line is synthetic, but I haven't been able to find other information about the construction.

It Cosmetics calls this hair "heavenly luxe", and it does feel nice, but not any more or less nice feeling than comparable Real Techniques brushes. For me, the handle is a little light, but I do enjoy the slight tapering in the handle. The shape of the handle feels nice in my hand and is easy to hold. The shape of the bristles is very standard for an angled brush - I find the width of the brush head and angled cut of the bristles easy to work with. I like the little travel protector cap the brush comes with. The brush head is also thin, which is a plus.

Overall, This line is worth checking out next time you are at Ulta.

P.S. This is more of a first impression - I have used the brush a few times and washed it once, so I will update this if my opinion changes.

Edit: A full 6 months later (February 2015) with regular use, I have experienced no bristle splaying or shape issues. This brush has held up as well as anticipated :)