♕ Preview ♕ Spectrum Collections ~ BombShell Brush Set ♕{Overview, Comparisons, First Impressions}

[Nota per le lettrici italiane: questo post è esclusivamente in lingua inglese, la versione italiana arriverà a breve!]

{Disclaimer: this post is a first impressions about a product sent for free to me by the brand. I'd like to thank Spectrum Collections for the opportunity, anyway my evaluation policy doesn't change and is always based on real usage of the product(s)}

When Spectrum Collections, back on July, hinted that a new mermaid inspired brush set was on its was, the hype went sky high right away. This brand is well known for its 

glamorous, stylish and overall beautiful designs - so everyone (me included) literally went crazy, knowing that something really amazing was about to be revealed.
And, of course, it totally was.

After the mermazing Glam Clam the darker Siren Set and the pure Marbleous set, Spectrum Collections created the chic and classy BombShell Brush Set - which I'm really thrilled to show you today!

This new set was revealed on July 21th in a mermaid themed event that took place in Soho, London. Sadly, I live way too far to be able to attend - but I was so luck to be given the opportunity to try them in order to write a preview post! *_* 
I've waited for the launch date to be disclosed to publish this post, and we're actually sooo close to it: this beauty is launching on September 23rd! Who's excited??
Meanwhile, I really hope you'll enjoy this preview! ♥

Oh my Gosh! Have you ever seen anything so wonderful in you entire life? 

(Sorry, I really couldn't help but use this quote XD)

Let's start with the new colour way: this set features pink handles, light pink/cream bristles with bright fuchsia tips, rose gold handles with matching serigraphy. Overall, this design gives them the most classy, precious and princess-y look ever. If the Glam Clam represented a bright, colourful, lively mermaid, and the Siren Set the dark, mysterious sirens of the depth - to me, the new Bombshell truly embodies a mermaid princess that lives in her royal underwater castle. 

This is how we mermaids store our brushes!

No need to say, the bristles are unbelievably soft as usual. And sintetic, which means that this brushes are Vegan approved and cruelty free. Since I've been using these babies for about one month now, I've already washed them several times (I mean, both spot cleaning and deep cleaning) and never experienced colour fading, or falling bristles. Not even once. Some of you might be intimidated when it comes to use these beauties for the very first time - I read everywhere things like "I'm not using them because I'm afraid of ruining them". Well, I've been using them even with the darkest product (such as eyeliner and dark eyeshadows) and no one stained the bristles. Just wash them (deeply, if you feel like the spot cleaning wouldn't be enough - it's up to you) and that's it. No need to worry, go ahead and enjoy them ;D

Let's talk quickly about the handles. This time Spectrum decided to go for shorter handles, making this set perfect even for traveling. I took a picture with some of the brushes from each set to make a comparison (above). As you can see, the Siren Set brush has the longest handle, the BombShell one has the shorter while the Marbleous and the Glam Clam ones have an in between handle size. 

Mind you, this is not really a travel set. In the picture below I did a comparison with some real travel-size brushes (the Bamboo one and the littlest one on the left). The other two weren't meant to be travel size, but were way too little for everyday use. As you can see, the BombShell one has the perfect size, both in terms of handle and bristle. Usually travel sets feature really small brushes, but that's not the case. You basically get a full size brush with a middle size handle: perfect for both traveling AND everyday use.

Let's talk about the case. When it comes to Spectrum, you can expect not only the most beautiful brushes - but also the most beautiful brush case.
The most exciting thing about this set is that you'll be able to choose between two different case options. Absolutely brilliant - I'll tell you why later!

The first option (the most mermazing, in my opinion) is the Bombshell case, clam-shaped - similar to the Glam Clam's one. This time, this clutch features a goldish pink holographic fabric on the outside, and a pale blue fabric in the inside. Instead of only 10 brushes, this case can contain 12 brushes. The new Bombshell brushes have slightly short handles, yet the clutch still looks the same size as the original one. (I don't have the new clutch so I'm not able to do a comparison. So I'm just guessing!). Also, as you can see in the picture, a chain was added to the original design - meaning you can really use this beauty as a bag *__* How cool is that?!

(BombShell clutch pic belongs to Dream In Pink)

The second option is a brush roll, similar to the Cute Sushi Roll that comes with the Siren Set. Same design, same scales-like holographic material,  same magnetic shell-shaped closure (again, I don't have the cases so I'm just guessing) but it comes - like the BombShell case - in a goldish pink shade outside, with a pale blue fabric inside.
(Oyster Roll pic belongs to BloggingGals)

Again, brilliant. You can choose the one you like the most, or you can choose the one you know it's more handy for you. If you travel a lot, the BombShell might be a little difficult to pack since it requires more room - but the Oyster Roll looks like the perfect choice for traveling. You want a case you can use as a real bag? Or one you can display on you vanity table? Definitely go for the BombShell.
Will both cases available individually? That's one of the most asked questions.
Well, only the Oyster Roll will be available for purchase individually (just like the Siren Set's one, which you can buy separately). Unfortunately the seashell-shaped case will come only with the brushes! Just like the Glam Clam.

Time to talk about the brushes *_*

First of all, I'm going to show each one individually. Comparisons are below in the next section.

This set features 12 make up brushes: six face brushes, six eye brushes. Perfect balance!

Unlike the Glam Clam and the Siren Set - which contain almost the same brushes - this set offer a totally different range. It has just three brushes in common with the Glam Clam, and four with the Siren Set. And still, I don't consider those doubles - but that's something I'm going to discuss in the comparisons.

Also, a couple of these brushes are totally new, not available individually at the moment. Which makes this set really appealing!

(Small guide to Spectrum brushes' code: the letters indicate whether it's an Application brush, a Buffing/Blending brush or a Contouring brush. Sometimes the brushes' name slightly changes, or some brush is listed differently in the sets - that's why the codes come really handy).

Luxe Powder (A00): New entry, currently not available individually. "Our new A00 'Luxe Powder' has the largest head of the whole range, it's beautifully soft, yet still dense enough to pick up a lot of product, whether you like to finish with translucent powder or a flash of bronzer, this beaut will leave you looking flawless."

This is one of the newest brush in the Spectrum Range. In the other sets the biggest powder brush was the A01 Large Domed Powder, but here it's replaced by the Luxe Powder. It's as big as the A01, more or less, (which is good, I think this is the perfect size for a powder rbush) but it's way thicker, rounder and denser. This picks up a little more product, so it's perfect for stronger applications with no caking effect. Or, you can use it as an all-over brush, or to blend together the face powders. 

Tulip Powder (C03): "Designed for precision application of powder or cream formulas. This brush with it's tapered tip is perfect for contouring around the hairline with a darker shade, and adding highlights to the brow bone, cheek bones, and lightly along the bridge of the nose. Use this little beauty to add the finishing touches to a professionally contoured face, for a flawless selfie."

Finally, thanks to this set, I have a proper tulip shaped brush in my stash! This beauty is a medium sized face brush, which you can use as stated in the description: highlighting the cheekbones, or contour the nose, the cheeks, the hairline. This not a new entry brush in the range, but the first time it has the chance to be included in a set. So happy about it!

Angled Foundation (A02): "The unique angle of this brush applies foundation with ease to every area of the face. The densely packed bristles work best with liquid or cream products and make your foundation go further, giving a slightly heavier coverage than a buffing foundation brush. This brush is also great for applying cream contour products, use the finer angled edge for precise application."

Another new brush for me, part of the individual range but never featured in a set. This is the angled version of the B01 Flat Top Buffer brush, which is contained in both the Glam Clam and Siren Set. While the B01 is meant to buff and blend, this is meant for strong applications. It's thicker and denser, meaning you can get higher coverage results. It's also smaller, so it's more precise - can really reach even the smallest zones. The angled edge really helps when it comes to accurate applications. Since I don't use any cream or liquid foundation, I've tested it only with powder foundation and still, it worked just fine! 

Flat Top Contour (C02): "A new take on our best selling Flat Top Buffer, this beauty will help to really buff and blend your contouring with precision, specifically underneath cheekbones and the jaw. Your selfies will look all the better for it. Suitable for cream, liquid & powder formulas, build for a heavy contoured look, buff for a more natural sculpt"

I have another C02 brush from the Siren Set and it's the one brush I use the less, since I haven't mastered the sculpt technique yet. From what I could see, by experimenting a bit, it's that those brushes grant a really precise application. It doesn't pick up too much product, so you can build the shade as you go. 

Precision Blush (A05): "Create beautifully shaded and highlighted cheekbones with our Precision Blush Brush. This tool is perfect for applying a small amount of product and building to get a natural looking blended finish. An essential piece of kit, this brush will change the way you apply colour to your cheeks for the better."

A classic, one of the few brushes included in every set. Still, they don't really look as doubles (please check the comparisons below) and I prefer one over another depending on my needs. This one in particular is really slender and slightly smaller, great for more precise application or to softly highlight the cheekbones.

Luxe Blender (B05): New entry, currently not available individually. "Use the new B05 Luxe Blender to create beautifully blended eye looks, buff in precise contour around the nose, highlight the brow bone, or buff in your concealer, this beauty is multi-functional."

The second new entry in the range. It's like a blender brush meant for the face (in my opinion is way too big to be used on the eye, especially if you have smaller lids). Thus, it's multi-purpose: great for highlighting, to blend sharp edges (or even accidental mistakes, they always happen), to reach smaller zones of the face and contour/highlight/buff them. Endless options! Personally, I really enjoyed it as highlighting brush to use with less pigmented highlighters.

Colour Applicator (A07): "The bristles on this brush are still soft and fluffy for blending, but the stubby shape means you can really pack on the colour. This brush is the perfect starting point for creating super smokey eyes or very pigmented colour."

Let's move on to the eye brushes. This brush was previously named "Stubby Shader" but the code A07 is the same. It replaces the Large Fluffy Shader, which was included in all sets - a really good brush, but too big and fluffy to be a real eyeshadow brush. I feel like this is a step forward, because it's smaller and thicker - yet it lacks the flatness, essential when it comes to eyeshadow brushes. I use it to apply my brow bone colour, or to blend the edges. 

Short Smudge (A13): "This beautiful brush is the perfect tool for applying powder or cream eye shadow around the lash line, to get a soft & smudgy effect. The short bristles are feathered, so you can build the colour to be as intense as you like."

I have another one from the Marbleous Eye Set 1.0 and it's one of my most used eye brushes. Unlike the big brother A07, this is perfect to work on the lower lids, for small lines & detailing, both as an application brush but also as a teeny tiny blender brush. So glad to own a second one now!

Fluffy Pencil (A12): "This small but perfectly formed brush is the best tool for adding the finer details to your eye looks. Use to highlight the inner corners, add depth of colour to the crease, or smoke and blend out the upper and lower lash line. This little beauty gets in all the right places."

Another most loved and most used brush from the Marbleous Eyes Set! This small pencil brush allows the most precise application everywhere on the eyes (inner or outer corners, crease, lashlines, brow bones, and so on). Works as a small blending brush too. Must say, I like this new one more than the Marbleous one! (I'll tell you why in the comparisons section)

Tall Tapered Blender (B06): "Our most popular eye blending brush, this is the ultimate tool for creating all kinds of make-up looks, from soft and romantic to full blown sexy and smokey. Use to blend out colour or build up shade in the contours of the eye, this brush can do no wrong."

Another great classic and 100% must have, featured in each and every set - obviously, because you can't put together a proper set without a good blending brush in it!
So far I have four of them, and I love each one - perfect blending brush in every way: size, bristle density, bristle length, cut and shape. 

Winged Definer (A14): "This beauty is perfect for those with fuller brows who want to keep them in check...the larger head and firm bristles make applying gel, wax or powder products easy peasy, perfect application every time, after all....never trust anyone with bad brows. Or for those who love a defined eye, this little beauty gets right into the lash line for precise and easy application of gel liner, use the pointed edge to get a fierce flick."

When I first got this new set, and went through each brush, I thought this one was the A17 brush, included in both the Siren Set and Glam Clam. But, a quick look to the website to check the codes, and I realized that this was another new entry in my brush stash!

Basically, this is a larger version of the A17 (I'll show you in the comparisons), for those of you who prefer a wider brush to fill in the eyebrows quicker. Works nicely as an eyeliner brush too.

Lip Liner (A15): "The firm, flat bristles of the lip liner brush are perfect for defining and filling the lips. The tapered tip allows for precise application before filling your pout with your fave lip products."

Lastly, another classic: the lip brush! I think it's great that Spectrum includes one of this in each set (except in the Marbleous Eye Set 1.0, but added it in the 2.0 version currently available). Whether you use it for your lips or as a detailing brush, this brush will always, always come in handy. Its small size allows the most precise application ever, no matter the product you use (creamy, powdery or liquid).

As I already said in the Siren Set review, from now on I'm using almost only Spectrum brushes for the comparison pictures. This because I recently did a big selection and declutter of my brushes, ending up keeping almost only the Spectrum ones, a couple of Real Techniques, some new MAC Cosmetics brushes and some old, discontinued favourites from random brands.

Here I compared the new Luxe Powder with the two Large Domed Powder brushes I own. As you can see, the size is more or less the same - the main thing is the bristle density and the cut, perfectly round in the Luxe Powder, flattened in the Glam Clam one and slightly rounder in the Siren Set one.

I compared the Tulip Powder to an old tulip-like brush I don't really use (as you can probably see, that tends to be like a rounder brush with a barely hinted tip) and to the famous Blush Brush by Real Technique (which is currently my favourite blush brush). As you can see, the Tulip Powder is smaller, but with a well defined, slender shape. 

Since I don't own any Angled Foundation brush, I just compared it to the Flat Top Buffers. Totally different brushes in terms of shape, size, cut and bristle density - you can quite see how much denser, less fluffy is the Angled Foundation. And that's why it allows higher coverage results, while the Flat Buffers give a lighter effect.

Here are the two Flat Top Contour I own - I don't have a lot to say about this comparison: those babies are almost the same brushes in different colour ways. Same size, same density - the only, tiny difference is in the bristle firmness: the BombShell one feels like having slighlty firmer bristles, while the Siren one has more flexible bristles. 

Now an interesting comparison: three Precision Blush brushes (respectively from the Glam Clam, BombShell, and Siren Set) which look quite different to each other. The Glam Clam one has a barely hinted angle, while the Siren Set is very angled. The BombShell one is like a compromise between the two, in terms of angulation, but it has a smaller cut, while the length is equal to the others. Also, it's the slenderest one.  

For the Colour Application/Stubby Shader comparison I placed, along with the Marbleous one, two of my current favourite eyeshadow brushes - to see what I mean when I mean that we're not there yet. Spectrum one's are so thick and packed, I really feel like the set should include flatter brushes that can really allow to control the product, apply it evenly and also gently blend it out. This stubby shaders are more all-over brushes - eye sized - you can use on you brow bone, to contour your nose, highlight you cheeks. But I wouldn't recommend them as proper eyeshadow brushes. 

(For those interested, the two eyeshadow brushes shown are both by MAC Cosmetics, n° 213 and 239 respectively).

The two Short Smudge brushes I own are pretty much the same - maybe the BombShell one has slighlty (like, 1 mm) longer bristles - which you probably can't see clearly, white bristles are beautiful to see but a mess to capture in picture XD

The two Fluffy Pencils have two major difference: the BombShell one is smaller (in terms of diameter only though) and it's rounded to flat. The Marbleous one, instead, has a slightly bigger diameter but, most importantly, is pointed. (Again, probably you can barely see that in picture). That been said, I tend to use the Marbleous one whenever is pointed tip is required (really precise applications, for example), but overall the BombShell one is the one I use the most, at the moment. I really love the fact that they're not doubles ♥

Blending brush extravaganza, yay!

Family portrait of all my Spectrum blenders, plus a couple of favourite by MAC Cosmetics - just to spicy up the comparison ;D

The BombShell blender looks like it's the one with a slightly smaller diameter, and also the one with denser bristles. It's also the one with the longer ferrule, which is interesting. 

The other two brushes are  224 (far left) and 217 (far right), the first is the wider one I own, while the second is flatter and softer. 

In this picture you can clearly see how different is the Winger Definer A14 from the BombShell set compared to the Precision Angled Brow A17 from the Glam Clam and the Siren Set. It's really wider - double their size, more or less, with a really thin cut.

Lastly, the three Lip Liners all together. I really like how the BombShell one is slightly wider and taller, with a well-defined "c" shaped tip. The other two are pointy and smaller - especially the Siren Set one, which is the smallest ever. Again, all of them are great lip brushes but also detailing brushes. I have been using the BombShell one a lot during the past month, especially to apply top coat shadows on my inner corners, to draw small lines, to apply powders and pencils close to the lashline and smudging them at the same time. 

Name: BombShell 12 Piece Brush Set

Brand: Spectrum Collections 

What is it?: Brush set that contains 12 face/eye brushes.

Price: not disclosed at the moment (will update);

Other: Vegan & Cruelty Free; hand-finished. Comes with two different case options;

Where to buy: Website (launching on September 23rd, so it's not currently available).

~ Final Thoughts ~

So far my first impressions are really really positive! I love the new range, the colour way, and the quality is top-notch as always. I really like the double-case-option thing, which is quite groundbreaking (I'm really curious to see which one will be the most loved! I have a feeling it's going to be the clam one, but I'm biased :p). 

As I wrote in the recap, the only thing I don't know is the price. It hasn't been disclosed yet, but I'll definitely update the post on the launch date with my thoughts about that. (I do have an idea, but I don't feel like guessing at the moment, so I'll just wait and see). 

I really, really hope this preview post can be helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment down below, and I'll do my best to reply you as soon as I can!

Any thoughts about this set? Are you excited about it? Are you going to purchase it on the launch day?

But most importantly... Which case will you choose??

XOXO