Hello! Today I want to talk about the Spectrum Bombshell collection. I have had these brushes for a while, but I wanted to try them out for a while before reviewing them so that I can talk about them properly. As you can see, these brushes are STUNNING, but stunning does not always equal functional, and as these brushes are shorter than Spectrum's usual brushes, I was curious to see how they would perform.
This set comes with two options of brush case - I opted for the clam shell case, although it does also come in a very pretty brush roll if you prefer something more compact to keep your brushes in. Both sets retail for £79.99 and Spectrum have a 10% discount code on your first order, taking it to £72 before delivery. Delivery is £3.99 in the UK and takes 2-3 days.
The case itself is absolutely stunning. It's a very eye catching pale gold and baby pink duo chrome colour with a rose gold zip closure. Unlike Spectrum's previous Glam Clam, this case comes with a detachable chain so you can take this out and use it as a bag if you wish, which I think is an excellent addition as my other case has just been shoved into a drawer since I got it. The case is sturdy and has elasticated holders for each brush. So lets take a look at the brushes!
I'm one of those girls who is in love with pink, so these brushes speak to my soul! Baby pink handles, rose gold ferrules and pink ombre bristles. They look absolutely stunning. The brush handles have "Spectrum" and the brush number printed in gold too. Very pretty, but are they practical?
There are 4 eyeshadow brushes in this set - A13, A07, B06 and A12.
The A13 is a small flat brush designed to be used along the lash lines. It's nice for defining the lower lash line, and as it's quite fluffy as well as flat it blends the product nicely.
The A07 is also a flat brush, but less fluffy and absolutely ideal for packing colour on to the lid. As these brushes are made from synthetic hair they work beautifully with foiled or shimmer eye shadows, I really like this brush,
The A12 is Spectrum's pencil brush. Used in the same way as the A13, but I feel this brush gives better precision and I'd go for this one over the A13. I also like to use this brush on my lids to define the crease. It is an excellent brush for crease definition.
The B06 is a fluffy blending brush, in my opinion you can never have too many of these brushes! It's nice and soft and blends shadows really well. I took a picture of the brush from this set alongside the single B06 brush so you can see how much shorter the Bombshell brushes are.
It's not a huge difference, but you can see that they are definitely shorter than the standard brushes. They did take a little bit of getting used to (for me, anyway!) but they are nice if you want to pop a few brushes in your handbag but don't want to have to deal with those tiny little travel brushes that are no use to anyone/
The set also comes with a lip brush (A15) and a winged liner brush (A14). I don't have a lot to say about the lip brush, it applies product well and isn't super stiff like some can be. The A14 is listed on the Spectrum website as being a brush for creating winged liner. Personally I prefer a very small, fine detailer brush for winged liner but I did use this for my brows and although I do prefer my Anastasia Beverly Hills #15 brush, this one did the job well and was stiff enough to create a precise but natural brow.
The face brushes in this set are the C02, C03, A02, A02 and A00.
The C02 is a flat top contour brush and I really like this brush. It is stiff enough that you can apply your contour precisely, but still soft enough to blend it out effortlessly.
The C03 is a tulip shaped powder brush. I'm personally not a huge fan of tulip face brushes, so I don't use this often, however it does apply powder products nicely.
The angled powder brush is the C04. This brush is super soft and not very densely packed so gives a nice, subtle application which you can build up if you wish,
This set has a brush which is new to Spectrum, the angled foundation brush (A02). According to the website, this is a softer version of the A05, their standard angled foundation brush. I use the B01 brush, which is their flat top version of this quite often so I wasn't sure what to make of an angled version! Unless I am using the Becca The One brush I only use flat topped foundation brushes so I was unsure about this one, but it is really good for getting the nose area, under eyes, between eyebrows - any area that needs a little bit more precision on application. I will be adding some more of these to my kit in the future.
The A00 is a really nice powder brush, It has lots of soft hairs, but not densely packed at all and sweeps powder across the face with ease.
This brush also comes with the set. It is the B05. I'll be honest with you, I have no idea what this brush is for. It reminds me slightly of the Wayne Goss Brush 16, but it's quite a bit wider. The Spectrum website lists this as a "Luxe Blender". I watched a couple of YouTube videos and I came to the conclusion that it may be a concealer brush, so that's what I used it for. I was not hopeful, but actually it applied and blended the concealer really well. I definitely prefer Spectrum's B03 for concealer, but I'd use this if I didn't have one to hand.
If anyone knows what this brush is actually for, please leave me a comment!