First Impressions: Sephora Collection Brush Protectors

The brush guard has been circling around the beauty community for a while now...I'm pretty sure that I first heard of them two years ago and I'm positive they were around before that as well...but I never bought into them because I didn't think I needed them.

I deep clean my brushes once a week and spot clean them between each use so I wasn't seeing frays, splaying, or any signs of damage to the actual bristles themselves.  That is, until I looked at them last week and noticed the first signs of wear and tear.  I'd say that considering some of my brushes I've had for about 6 or 7 years, that's pretty good!  (at work, I'm prided on only having replaced 2 or 3 brushes in my belt in almost 2 years!)

I also never really got into them because I don't order a lot of things online (firstly because I'm cheap and secondly I hate paying S&H) so when I saw these in my local Sephora I got a little giddy!

Head past the jump for photos and my thoughts!

Ok.  So.  The premises behind brush guards is twofold.  On one side, they are meant to go over your brushes as they dry thereby holding their original shape and keeping them from splaying out.  On the other side they can keep your brushes safe during travel!

One thing to remember is if you're using these, you slip them on from the bottom of the brush handle, and remove them by taking them off the tops of the bristles.  If you do not do this, the hairs will get stuck in the mesh and will get ruined (which is clearly the opposite of what you're going for haha).  I also noticed it says to dry them bristle side down in a cup - so I did.  I'm sure you could still get away with leaving them horizontally on the counter as well to dry.

the brush guards (a foundation and a blush)

putting them into practice 

I wanted to try several different sizes and brush brands for this test

L-R: Real Techniques Buffing Brush, MAC 208, SephoraPRO Blending Brush, Quo Angled Blush

after removing the guards the next morning

Quo Angled Blush

after a bit of fluffing across my palm

Sephora Blending Brush

after fluffing

Real Techniques Buffing Brush

MAC 208

One thing I want to stress is DO NOT force a brush if it doesn't fit...it will rip the guards down the sides (no, that didn't happen to me personally, but you can feel the resistance if it's not going to fit).

I found this worked for the variety of brush brands and sizes I chose, so you can definitely use them with your non-Sephora brushes (I was worried about that in the beginning when I was looking at them - especially the liner/shadow guard...which I don't feel will work on shadow brushes in my opinion...you may be able to get away with the blush ones for shadow brushes - that's what I used on the blender brush)

Overall I think it's a good price, a good product, and I will be purchasing more of them to have more of the sizes available (I have too many brushes, but having 2 sets will be perfect for my use I think).

Have you tried these ones or the original Brush Guards?  What do you think of them?

Product:  Sephora Collection Brush Protectors

Availablility: Sephora.com, Sephora stores

Price: $8.00 USD