I previously only tried the Sonia G Sculpt Two brush which I initially purchased to use with my Nars Sun Diffusing Bronzer but soon discovered that it also worked fabulously for quick contouring and picked all my harder pressed pans with ease. Having a bit of a soft spot for squirrel cheek brushes while also loving the stiffer powder formulas can be a bit tricky and I thought Sonia G was perfect because the goat hairs were still plush but picked and deposited product really well. I’m not keen on brush sets but I figured I would get use out of most of the brushes in the Pro Face Set and that’s the one I picked up. I’ve had these for a few months now and wanted to give myself a chance to try every single one of them out thoroughly. So was is worth it?
Inochige Pro: dyed saikoho goat hair
This brush is my beloved Hakuhodo B5521 supersized and it is indeed my favourite brush of the whole set. I love teardrop shaped brushes but tended to use much smaller brushes for all over powder application, however, I have mostly switched to this brush since I got it because of how well it picks up the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder and even the extremely hard-pressed Fenty Blotting Powder. I still use B5521 for under the eyes because I prefer the precision but this gets powder on your face in a few swipes. I perhaps wish they came out with a smaller version of it as well but otherwise, it works like a dream.
Cheek Pro: dyed saikoho goat hair
The small flat shape of this brush is ideal for blush application because it fits right on top of the cheek without spreading colour where you don’t want it. This is the only brush I’ve ever found that I could use with my Chanel blush that picked the product well but was also extremely soft. It does definitely give a much softer application than my go-to Nars Yachiyo but is so much gentler on the skin. Still, this is quite a precise brush and will work with softer formulas as well to give you the most diffused blush application without disturbing the product in the pan.
Fan Pro: saikoho goat hair
Unlike Sonia G’s Sculpt fan brushes which are a lot thicker than classic fan brushes, this is very much a classic airy fan brush. Admittedly, I was initially not too keen on this brush because in my eyes, these can only be used for highlighter and I pretty much exclusively use my Hakuhodo G511 for that but actually this brush does what appears to be the theme with Sonia G brushes which is pick up hard to pick products well and since I’ve started focusing on my Fenty Killawatt Highlighter Duo, it’s been my go-to for Lightning Dust. I still prefer the control that I have over G511 but I didn’t think I’d get any use out of this brush and I haven’t put it down for weeks.
Face Pro: dyed and undyed saikoho goat hair
With this brush, my uncertainty about brush sets comes into light because I wouldn’t necessarily run out and re-purchase this brush like I would Inochige and Cheek Brushes. The simple reason is I find this too big for my face and while I get that the bigger the brush, the softer the application, it doesn’t quite work for me. I don’t find this gives me the smoothest application (don’t know if this has anything to do with the mix of dyed and undyed hair) and because it’s angled, it’s then hard to blend the colour out. There are days when it looks soft and diffused and there are days when I get bronzer under my eyes. I have no complaints about the quality of the brush but for my face shape and how I tend to apply makeup, it’s not as effective.
Detail Pro: dyed and undyed saikoho goat hair
Once again, the dyed and undyed combination isn’t my favourite. Now, admittedly I’m not too keen on these big blending brushes for either eye work or detailed face work because of the lack of precision and this isn’t an exception. I wouldn’t reach for this to blend shadows in my socket over any of my eye blending brushes and I find it’s too loose and long to contour and/or highlight with. The only way I like to use this brush is to sweep colour all over the lid on minimal makeup days but otherwise, I’m not a big fan of this shape.
Now onto my final thoughts. First of all, I love the innovation within the Sonia G range both in terms of shapes and hair quality and would go as far as to say, that these are easier to use and take care of that most of my Japanese made brushes. As a face set, this is definitely a great representation of the range and even though, I’m not personally a fan of two of the brushes, I feel like these are brushes most people will love. What you’re getting is supreme quality and frankly, I’m really keen to try the eye brushes next even though I have enough of those in my collection. Have you tried Sonia G? What were your thoughts?
Style On Film 