Royal & Langnickel specializes in a wide range of makeup brushes and sets for every level of makeup professional and consumer. I recently had the opportunity to try out the Kabuki Fan Brush C195 from their most popular line SILK Pro. This fan brush is made of natural hair that has a really soft feel. The fanned bristles spread out about 3 inches, and the bristles are around 1.5 inches long. The size is perfect for quick and even coverage of blush and contour powder. It’s also great for buffing mineral foundation and setting foundation with powder as well as removing excess powder and eye shadow fallout!
My favorite use for a large fan brush such as this is to achieve a light, subtle application of vibrant blushes! Once you get the hang of light blush application, bold blushes (such as MAC “Dollymix”, MAC Pro blushes, NARS “Exhibit A”, etc.) can be the best colors to buy since they are the most universal (they will show up on any skin tone) and they will last longer (they require much less product per use). Lighter, muted blush colors may require a few layers for color to show up, whereas you only need a very little amount for more vibrant blushes. Regardless of what blush color you use, this Kabuki fan brush makes applying blush a cinch! Here’s a step-by-step tutorial of how I use this brush with vibrant powder blushes:
STEP 1
When applying bold blush colors, you want to use a very light hand so that you don’t over apply it (it’s always easier to build up color than it is to tone it down!). This Kabuki fan brush makes light/buildable application of powder blush very easy to do.
Touch the blush very lightly, starting at the center of one side of the brush and then lightly patting the blush towards each end of the fan. The brush will pick up a small amount of product, as pictured on the right. Then tap the brush so that any excess powder falls off.
The blush I’m using here is MAC “Breath of Plum”.
STEP 2
Lightly dust the blush along your cheek bones with a gentle sweeping motion. As you can see in the picture, the width of the fanned bristles helps provide even coverage very easily! 
STEP 3
This should be enough to achieve a subtle flush of color on your cheeks! If you want to build up the color, repeat Step 1 and 2 until you get your desired amount of color.
I only had to do Step 1 and 2 once to get the results that you can see in my before and after blush picture on the right.
Cleaning this fan brush is simple — just wet the bristles with luke warm water, and gently work some shampoo into a lather (see picture below). After thoroughly rinsing off the shampoo, reshape the fanned bristles and lay it flat to dry. My only issue with this brush is that it does have a scent to it when it’s wet (like a wet animal — it is made out of natural hair after all). I’ve found that the smell is slowly fading after washing it each time after use. I don’t see the smell as a big issue anyway, since the brush doesn’t smell once it’s completely dry. However, I thought I should mention it in case you are really sensitive to scents.
This SILK Pro Kabuki Fan Brush is available for purchase online for $17.99. Royal & Langnickel is also an exhibitor at IMATS (International Make-Up Artist Trade Show) if you happen to attend one! I find myself reaching for this brush quite often now (and I have quite a few brushes!). If you’re looking for a large fan brush or any other makeup brush for that matter, definitely check out Royal & Langnickel’s website — there’s a good chance that one of their 12+ brush lines will have something you’re looking for!
Disclaimer: Products in this review were given for consideration by Royal & Langnickel. Nerdy Girl Makeup does not represent any advertiser, affiliate, organization, public relations firm, or company. Opinions expressed are based on the author’s personal experience and research, without influence in any way. Nerdy Girl Makeup does not accept compensation for product reviews and does not guarantee reviews.
I don’t even own one fan brush yet. I was surprised when testing them out at Sephora and Ulta … they are so much denser than I thought they would be! I’ll put this on my consideration list and thanks for the tips!
Hi Eden-Avalon,
I love dense fan brushes like the one I wrote about here. They’re really great with powder products!
Now that’s a brush!
Hi Jane,
Yes! I think it’s great — I find myself reaching for it every day.