Beauty ponders

The last couple of months my latest obsession has become brushes, meanwhile I've bought quite a few and have expanded my collection. My biggest interest goes out to squirrel brushes as they have the softest bristles amongst all, but sadly they aren't the cheapest. So one of my first orders was from A'Squirrel -what's in a name- as they offer affordable squirrel brushes and contained 2 of them: their blending brush and this powder brush.
When taking a first glance at the bristles, they do appear very soft and fluffy. And they fulfill their claim perfectly: the bristles feel like silk against your face and are unbelievable soft (you can't compare this to Sigma or MAC at all, it's more like SUQQU-soft). I do have a hard time stop brushing my face with it, it's so lovely. During usage, not a single hair has been shed - which is always my worst fear with brushes. Washing goes easily and the bristles dry nicely into shape, it does take longer to dry than my other pony/goat/etc brushes.
The ferrule is long & small, compared to other ones. Like the blending brush, this ferrule also feels very light and of cheaper quality. While holding it, I'm always thinking it's so fragile. Off course, if you're not reckless it won't break - it's just a thought. The bristles have a nice standard wide but aren't as full as other brushes, it is flatter. Here you can see a comparison between Sigma Powder brush, A'Squirrel Powder brush, Paula Dorf Powder brush. I've been using this brush mostly for setting powder or an occasional light application of bronzer. Because of the softness of the bristles this brush isn't suited for buffing in, only for a light application and it does so perfectly. A point of negative however: squirrel brushes are very sensitive to oily skin and I noticed during summer that the bristles pick up acces oil from the face which makes the bristles more sticky. So if you have very oily skin this might not be the right brush for you, or be prepared to wash it quite often.
The goods: softness all over, price, doesn't shed, easy to wash & stays in shape, perfect for finishing powder

The bads: cheap ferrule, bristles pick up oil and become sticky, takes a while to dry, not good for buffing in

To sum it up: I really like this brush and enjoy using it all the time - I've had it for more than half a year now. So far it's my favourite brush to apply setting powder. It's just a shame that it comes packed in a cheap ferrule, I would be willing to pay more to get better quality. Nevertheless - it's a perfect brush when you're wanting a squirrel bristles brush and don't want to spend a fortune on it.