So I know everyone says this brush is really hard on the skin. Well I thought so too, but keep reading the review... I bought this with the kit. When I first used it, I was amazed at how soft it was. After I cleaned it, it became really hard and I hated it and saw that everyone else hated it. But one day when I was cleaning my brushes, I realized how much gunk and make up residue I wasn't washing out of my brush as I closely inspected it. I used the bare minerals conditioner and shampoo gel to clean the brushes. I did it about 5 times to one brush because it was SO dirty. There was so much in the middle. It was annoying to clean and I kind of hate that it took so much effort and so much of the gel. HOWEVER! after it dried, I used it the next day and it was super soft again! I never though it'd be so soft again, but now all my brushes are soft. I think it just needed a good deep conditioning. I'm glad it worked out because I don't like to throw away such expensive products...

I have a love/hate relationship with this brush. It's great for applying an overall powder on my face, maybe bronzer, but BE markets this as providing full coverage with their mineral makeup, and I don't really think I was ever able to accomplish that with this brush. I have more success using my $3 ELF flat top brush. It's definitely not as soft as other kabuki brushes. I would not purchase again.

Oh, the mistakes of the makeup newbie. This was one of the first higher end brushes I ever bought, back when the BE craze was fresh and new. I got it home and, oh god, the pain. It felt like rubbing my face with a thousand tiny tooth picks. Just plain bad. As a brush, it works decent enough, nothing special. However, it is triple the price of a drugstore brush that would work just as well and probably feel a whole lot better on the skin. I think I'll try putting conditioner on it and maybe it will make it softer. Regardless, just stay away from this one and get something better for the money.

I have found that this is my HG powder brush. I use it with all things powder (minues blush, bronzer, and shadow). I can't remember what I paid for it, because I got it in the BE starter kit. Whatever I did pay for it, if I lost this one, I would pay ANYTHING to get a new one :)
I must agree with some MUA users in the fact that it does shed when I use it, but the coverage that I get from it and how compact the little thing is, is amazing. I HATE BE makeup, (sorry!) and I have found that with all of my facial powders this brush does the best job of taking powder from compact to face. I buff, swirl, blend, swoosh, poof, glob, tap or whatever else word you want to use, with this. Love it Love it Love it.

If you want a cakey looking makeup applied with a brush that irritates the skin and sheds excessively then this is the product for you. There are much higher quality, softer and longer lasting brushes out there. So if you got this with the kit give it away or keep it in the back of your makeup drawer for emergencies. And don't even think about wasting your money on this brush alone...no matter how much they try and tell you it is necessary for applying BE.

I agree with the previous reviewer. This brush always made me itch. I couldn't focus on the application of the minerals, because I was too occupied with how itchy and red my face got. This brush is not soft, and I would rather use a $1 brush from elf than this one. Opt for another brand ladies and save your money!

Got this as part of my BE starter kit and hated this brush. It always left my face red after applying because the bristles are so rough and hard. It never stopped shedding and I don't think I ever got the coverage I wanted. This and the flawless face brush was the reason I stopped using mineral makeup because I thought I was doing something wrong. Turns out that there are much better brushes out there! So don't waste your time with this brush.

This brush just isn't soft at all and is very scratchy on the skin, only after I used a deep conditioner on it that it was finally usable it is definitely not something I would go out and buy.

I definitely prefer MAC's soft kabuki brushes over this scratch one

I've used Bare Minerals foundation for the past three years and received this brush through the starter kit. Although I am completely satisfied with the foundation, the brush itself isn't the best quality. Although mine has never shed, the bristles are not as soft as other brushes (some that are much cheaper). After the first wash the brush lost most of it's shape. Although I will continue using this brush, I will most likely look for another brush (I've got my eye on the Sonia Kashuk flat blusher brush) to buy next.

I'll probably just echo the previous bad comments about this kabuki brush. Mine is not only scratchy, it sheds, and bristles aren't as dense as my body shop kabuki. that being this BE kabuki doesn't pick up as much powder as my other kabuki. I have to do twice as much buffing compared to when I use my body shop synthetic kabuki brush.
this is a waste of $28.