Beauty ponders

It's time for another comparison article, it's been a long time since I've done one... The 2 products I've chosen today, 2 brushes, are amongst my favourites and I use them daily. Surely worth a little comparison then!
Starting with the ferrule, it's obvious that the A'Squirrel one is much larger, but both of them are quite small. The SUQQU one looks and feels luxurious but still light. The Squirrel one is also light but looks a bit cheap, a bit too much to my likings. It's a blush and a powder brush, but this article is mainly to compare the type of hair and my experience with it. And off course then there is the big price difference where the SUQQU costs 3 times as much as the Squirrel one :).
Both of them look very fluffy & soft, and, yes so they are... (both made of squirrel hair, but on the other hand, I know squirrel haired brushes that aren't this soft). When stroking this brush over your hand or face it's as light & soft as a feather. I haven't experienced any softer brushes than these two. They are both divine in usage! Now then... what's the difference if it isn't in the softness? It's in the density: the SUQQU is soft & dense making it easy to control and perfect for application. The A'Squirrel one doesn't have much density and can only be used for a light application of bronzer/finishing powder. It's not suited for buffing in...
Nevertheless I found it worth comparing these two to each other. If you're looking for a softer than soft brush for finishing application & don't want to spend much money, the A'Squirrel is perfect! There are brushes just as soft as SUQQU ones out there, you just need to find them. And oh yeah my SUQQU brush wins heads down favourite blush brush ever, will do a seperate in-depth review soon...

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.

A little while ago I began browsing around for softer than soft brushes - my skin is so sensitive & I just love luxury - so when I ran into this blog I couldn't help but order some A'Squirrel ones as you could see here. Squirrel hair features the softest brushes, my SUQQU cheek brush is also made of squirrel hair and it's just divine... Curious to my thoughts of this eye blending brush? *click on any picture to enlarge them for a better/detailed view*

First up: even though this brush is made of pure squirrel hair it doesn't come with a hefty price tag, it's available at 13.9$ and the shipping fee is reasonable too. It has a long light small handle, lighter and smaller compared to Sigma/MAC blending brush. The ferrule looks a bit cheap but has been solidly glued together.


The brush is very fluffy and a bit tapered as well. It's fuller than the 224 where the 224 is wider. It's so soft and yet dense at the same time. When washing it I'm glad I have my brush guard to help it, as a few hairs tend to stick out. I mainly use it for blending eyeshadow, which it does a perfect job at. But you can also use it for highlight application, a sheer crease application and so on... Here you can see a comparison between the A'Squirrel - Sigma 224 - Sigma 217.


The goods: soft - soft - soft, easy at blending, price, dries easily, no hair loss

The bads: quality could be much better (handle, ferrule), a few hairs tend to stick out after washing/drying

Overall, I enjoy this brush a lot. It's ubersoft and perfect for blending - exactly what I expected from it. It's a bit disappointing that it isn't all quality but for such a price you cannot expect to have everything. Bottom line: a lovely brush for a lovely price, you should get it!

Yes, it does! Especially since this brush above wasn't the one I was talking about... Nevertheless it IS a funny brush but one that I would not use for make-up. For real now: I purchased them from their homepage, they offer a flat shipping rate of 10$ and after 1,5weeks of purchasing they arrived. Here you can see the real ones:

I got the Pure Squirrel Large Powder Brush to use for finishing powder and the Pure Squirrel Eyeshadow Brush to use for blending, alltogether for a total of 62$, with shipping. There's also a blush brush and a contour brush available from the same line. Ever since I bought my SUQQU brush I've been on the lookout for likewise brushes in softness but lower pricing and believe me, these definitely make the cut!! The softest brushes are made of (grey) squirrel hair, keep that in mind while you're on the lookout. These are heavenly soft and so gentle. They don't appear very dense, but I'll have to see how they work with application.

They have a long and light handle with the brands name on them. The bristles go from light to dark at the ends and like I said they are heavenly soft - have I already mentioned how soft they are??? I'm SOOO happy I gave in and purchased them, can't wait to fully try them and put up a review...

If you know this brand, share your thoughts! Or if you don't, you can also share them :)