Review of Rite Aid Renewal Eyeshadow Brush

I heard about this line from Nouveau Cheap, who mentioned that the brushes from the Rite Aid Renewal line were soft and very high quality for drugstore, store-brand brushes. Who could resist that promise? So when I visited Rite Aid, disappointed that the Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadows were out in the colors I had been lemming (Tough as Taupe and Bad to the Bronze), I marched over to the Rite Aid Renewal brushes. I already have my HG powder brush from ELF, so I knew I wasn't getting their powder brush. Lash and brow groomer I have 2 of from sets I bought, so that was out. I don't use liquid foundation, so no duofibre stippling brush for me. Smudge brush I felt I didn't need. I didn't wan't the travel kit - I'm pretty happy towing my full size brushes everywhere I go. So my other option was the eyeshadow brush. Now, I usually use my Sephora Double Ended Every Day this-name-is-too-long-to-write-out-every-time-so-it-will-from-now-on-be-called-the-Sephora-Double-Ended-Brush to place eyeshadow allover my lid. But I had never really tried a different one (the Eco Tools one I got in my set was much too large for my half-Asian half-white eyes). This one looked like the perfect size. So I grabbed it and checked out.

I took it home and immediately snatched up my camera to start taking pictures. I took some with the packaging on.

I then took the brush out of its packaging. The first thing I noticed is that one of the brush hairs was loose! It came out shortly after, with a little bit of tugging.

In terms of first impressions, that wasn't a good one. =/  But I scrubbed it on my hand a little, and no further shedding occurred. So I shrugged and moved on. The next thing I did was to wash it. It survived its washing with no shedding at all (whooo!) Here's the brush after its first washing:

I then pulled out MAC Satin Taupe and picked up some color with the brush. It does a very nice job of picking up pigment - the bristles are quite dense, and therefore decently stiff but very soft at the same time.

I then took it and placed it next to my Sephora double ended brush, my usual shader brush, for comparison. As you can see, the Sephora brush is thinner and flatter, and also less dense. The bristles on the Rite Aid Renewal Eyeshadow Brush are also much shorter.

I then used it to apply color to my eye. It wasn't really large enough to pack on the color  allover my lid, and too dense to use it to swipe the color on - it just kind of deposited all the eyeshadow in one place - the first place you touched it to. However, the next day I used it to pack color on in my outer corner, instead of using a crease brush as I usually do. Magic! It packed the color on densely, and it was just absolutely fabulous. Now, whenever I need to pack color on in the outer corner, this is my go-to brush. It was only $3.99, and it was absolutely worth it. I review brushes based on 3 things: softness (this is very important to me), function, and durability. 

Softness: 10/10, this brush is absolutely lovely in that respect!

Function: 8/10, it was meant to place color all over the lid but is too small for this use. However, it is useful for applying eyeshadow to the outer corner of the eye. Still, it would have been nice if I could have used it as intended.

Durability: 9/10, the handle is nice and solid and no wiggly ferrule, but shedding that hair when I first took it out of the packaging was a bummer. It's true what they say, first impressions are everything - it survived its' washing, but I'll be on the lookout still next time I wash it.

Total: 27/30, or 90% (A-)

I might have to pick up some more of these brushes next time I'm at Rite Aid - perhaps they will function better for their intended use than this one did.