** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

I love doing nail polish and eyeshadow swatches. Taking pictures of all those colors of the rainbow and posting them up is super fun, especially when you lovely peeps comment on what you like and don’t like. But as you beauty lovers know, makeup isn’t always fun and games and colors.

So let’s get serious here for a second and talk about one of my favorite brushes: the Crown Studio C135 Oval Shadow. To me, having a collection of brushes is just as important and as fun as shadows and blushes and lip colors. In fact, I actually enjoy washing my brushes! Well, not the actual act, but I like laying out all my brushes and looking at them all in one place. Am I weird?

Crown Studio C135 Oval Shadow Pictures & Photos

Claims: TRUSTED

√ Offers precision & durability
√ Professional grade

Key Notes

• Name: Crown Studio C135 Oval Shadow
• What I Paid: $2.87 CAD
• Where to Buy: Crown US, Crown CA, Crown UK, HauteLook (when they have a sale)

Crown Studio Series C135 Oval Shadow Brush Review

Softness & Pliability

Whenever I try a new brush, the first thing I do is run it across the palm of my hand to test the bristles. What I require of my eye shadow brushes is that they have soft bristles that won’t poke my eyes out. But the bristles also can’t be too pliable that they just flop shadow everywhere.

The Crown Studio Series C135 Oval Shadow Brush scores high points in terms of these two things. The bristles have strength but at the same time have the right amount of ‘give.’ And there’s absolutely no irritation on my eye when I use this.

Quality

There’s nothing worse than using a brush and end up with a face full of hair because of bristle shedding. I have washed and used my Crown Studio C135 Oval Shadow Brush many times without major issues. There have been a few sable hairs that fell out, but it’s not going bald or anything. It doesn’t shed on a regular basis. I would say I’ve had 6 or 7 shed hairs in total since I’ve owned and used this brush.

Brush Density

This baby is jam-packed with soft sable hair. It’s not so much so that it’s super dense making the bristles hard to bend. It has a lot of bristles, while at the same time it’s still kind of fluffy. I like this because it allows me to get a good amount of product with one single application. It also makes it easy to apply my shadow smoothly and evenly.

Brush Design

Compared to my other Crown shadow brushes, Studio C135 has a shorter handle. I like this because it makes for wielding it easier. The entire brush measures in at approximately 5.5”, so you don’t have to stand too far back from the mirror to use this properly.

The matte black finish on birch wood combined with the polished chrome ferrule gives it a very professional look.

Brush Shape & Size

I ordered my Crown C135 Oval Shadow Brush online, and when it arrived, I was quite surprised at the size. It’s not as large as the Crown Luna BK14 Deluxe Oval Shadow, which is massive and I can’t find any use for because it doesn’t fit on my lid. The C135 doesn’t work on my lid either as I don’t have a lot of space there.

The shape is good, but it’s wider than what I would need for a shadow brush. But I’ve recently discovered a new use for it, which propels the C135 to my Favorite Brush List. I use it to help create the outer V and add dimension to my crease area. What I do is dip the brush’s edge only in shadow and line it up with the outer corner of my eye. Then I just blend up and into the crease!

Pros  Looks professional Good density Good shape & size for creating dimension in the outer eye area Soft & pliable bristles Feels ergonomic

Cons  Very light shedding Brush size might be too big for the lid

Final Verdict: 9/10

As an eyeshadow brush, it would score a much lower mark. It might just be because I don’t have a lot of lid space. The size is too overwhelming for me. But for the purpose that I use it for, I absolutely love it and would recommend this brush to anyone because it’s such great quality for such a low price!

Have you tried Crown brushes before? What do you think of their quality and price?