The vegan-friendly
EcoTools 6 Piece Starter Set features six brushes that are incredibly soft and long-lasting with a price tag that's hard to argue with.
If animal cruelty is a concern when shopping for beauty products, this EcoTools 6 Piece Starter Set will leave your conscious clear. The hype over vegan or cruelty-free makeup products is on the rise, with enthusiasts rationalizing that if you wouldn't wear a real fur coat, why would you use real animal fur products in your makeup bag?
This set is 100% cruelty-free and vegan (it's PETA-certified). What's more, all EcoTool products are made from recycled aluminum and plastic, the handles are made of renewable bamboo (one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet), and all packaging is made of 20% cotton and 80% bamboo fibers creating a 100% tree-free paper packaging.
The beginner set consists of a blush brush, eyeshadow brush, angled eyeliner brush, concealer brush, lash & brow groomer, and included carrying case. The high-quality brushes feature incredibly soft, hand-cut bristles that glide over your skin for flawless makeup application. They're easy to clean using warm water and a drop of gentle shampoo or cleanser so you can keep them and your face germ and bacteria-free.
I've used EcoTool brushes before and as advertised, they're noticeably smooth as opposed to other coarse itchy brushes you get in the same price category. In my experience, they lasted a long time and didn't shed, even after heavy use. They also blended colors better than other brushes I've used, so, for example, if I wanted to do a soft to deep color transition on my eyelids, the result actually looked natural as opposed to two colors being shoved together. These brushes are also favored by Insider Picks' senior editor, Malarie Gokey.
The EcoTools 6 Piece Starter Set is featured on Urban Vegan, Byrdie's list of vegan makeup brushes, and PETA's list of cruelty-free brushes. The set is a best-selling product on the EcoTools site and has an average 4.7 out of 5-star rating on Amazon based on nearly 1,400 reviews.
Amazon reviewers love the price point, with many stating these brushes are better than more expensive brushes they have used. The EcoTools brushes are also very soft, so using them almost feels like a facial massage. The brushes are long-lasting, too.
Some reviewers claim that certain brushes in the set are better than others, specifically, the smaller brushes work better than the larger ones. Others experienced hassles with receiving the wrong product or say that the brushes are too soft, but we can conclude the latter has to do more with the type of makeup being applied, rather than the quality of the brushes.
Pros: Cruelty-free, environmentally friendly, super soft, high quality, low price, long-lasting
Cons: Certain brushes in the set may work better than others, shipping issues