Makeup Brush (puff)

This soft and velvety gilded puff is a glow-giving, extra-large makeup brush for face and body that is used to smooth foundation or fake tan into every pore. This brush is designed by Iconic London and manufactured in China, where many of today’s synthetic makeup brushes are made. Its bristles are synthetic, and given how soft and tapered they are, are mostly likely made from a polymer like taklon (otherwise known as PBT or polybutylene terephthalate).

Historically, animal hair would have been used for all sorts of brushes, including paintbrushes, makeup brushes, shaving brushes and toothbrushes. The most appropriate animal bristles would have been chosen for the job: stiffer, and durable hog hair would have been used for cleaning hard teeth, combing hair, or for splodging and spreading around thick oil paints, whereas softer and more supple sable, squirrel or mongoose might have been preferred for fine-tipped watercolourists’ and calligraphers’ brushes.

Animal fibres have proven very difficult to replicate with synthetic alternatives. This is because many animal hairs naturally taper at the ends because of wear and tear, allowing them to be formed into fine points. They also have a hollow down the centre and cuticles all along their surface that make them the perfect material to suck up watery inks, sticky paints and powdery pigments before releasing them at their final destination (e.g. your paper, canvas or face).

After decades of development and a lot of investment by fibre manufacturers around the world, synthetic brush fibres are finally starting to equal their animal counterparts. Taklon, for example, the material we think this makeup brush is made from, is a derivative of polyester that is renowned for its ability to be formed into very soft tapered bristles that mimic the finest animal hairs. Because it is not derived from animals it also has the added bonus of being vegan, hypoallergenic and tends to harbour fewer bacteria than natural bristles.

Whereas a traditional paintbrush or makeup brush would usually consist of a wooden handle and a metal ferrule that hold the glued bristles in place, this makeup brushes’ bristles are seamlessly embedded into a moulded, rose gold-coloured resin handle.