I’ll be honest, I was not and still am not super impressed by Stage Cosmetics makeup brushes. But I’m always more forgiving when it comes to travel sized brushes or brush sets because no brand I know makes wonderful travel sized brushes that rival the quality of the full sized brushes. They are all lacking something…
So, when I found that I was going to be doing a bit of travel and needed to travel light, I put the Stage Cosmetics Trio Traveller brush set to the test. I already own a few travel sized brush sets but in every set I own, there are either so many brushes in there to make the pouch a tad bulky and I only ever end up using one or two brushes (Momo Minerals) or the pouches and brushes are too large – see Shu Uemura.
The Stage Trio Traveller comes in a very slim compact case with just 3 brushes – face/blush brush, and 2 eye brushes. What I liked about this set was the face/blush brush. It is soft on the skin and firm enough to double up for powder and blush which is great for travelling light – just make sure you clean it off on a piece of tissue after using blush. The 2 eye brushes are decent – 1 angled eyeshadow brush and 1 basic shadow brush. Both are good for blending hard edges of shadow and for light eye makeup. When I travel, I don’t use a lot of makeup and even then, I still prefer to use my fingers 😛 So my eye brushes are mainly just for blending.
The brushes slot into elastic holders and the whole case closes with a magnetic clasp. The case just holds the brushes and nothing else so they don’t get squashed in transit and is barely larger than my mobile phone! Perfect!
I’ll need to pack light soon so this will be the only brush set I’ll take along with me. Its not the best brush set in the world, but its certainly one of the most compact and utilitarian I’ve seen to date.
It helps of course that I don’t do complicated makeup while on vacation or when I travel – I keep to the basics of powder, light blush and very light eye makeup so this set fits the bill.
The Stage Cosmetics Trio Traveller brush set retails at a pretty decent price of RM90 (thanks for spotting that Ann!)
Pros: Useful face and blush brush, Compact packaging, Stiff case protects brushes from getting squashed yet is slim
Cons: Only useful if you don’t do elaborate makeup while travelling
Do you carry travel sets of brushes when you travel or do you travel with your full size brushes? Do you find yourself using them all on your holidays/travels?
Stay beautiful,
Paris B
Jenn says
September 30, 2009 at 9:46 amI usually travel with my travel-sized brushes from MAC! But then again, like you, i don’t usually put on makeup when i travel (usually just eyeliner and liquid blush and a dab of the magical Pond’s Magic Powder to keep my face matte the whole day! :D)!
The Stage clutch is pretty! 😀
ParisB says
September 30, 2009 at 9:51 pmHi Jenn
I had a set too but the brushes all turned scratchy 🙁 I don’t travel well with makeup – I prefer going au naturel 😉
geekchic says
September 30, 2009 at 9:49 amI don’t really bother with brushes when I travel too. I use my Stila convertible colour in gerbera for cheeks, concealer is YSL Touche Eclat which I dab and blend with fingers and set with just 1 small brush dabbed with powder to set it. The rest are pencils and if i need to use eyeshadows, I’ll use my fingers 😛
ParisB says
September 30, 2009 at 9:51 pmHey Geekchic
Cool! the only thing I really need when I travel is a blush brush because I use powder blushes. Still cannot get the hang of cream blushes.
Nikki says
September 30, 2009 at 10:35 amI never do elaborate makeup when I travel, so this is a good brush travel set. But you’re right, for someone who wants to full makeup, this won’t work 🙂
ParisB says
September 30, 2009 at 9:52 pmHiya Nikki
I just find it a waste of time putting on makeup when I’m supposed to be relaxing on my holiday! LOL… 😀
Synaesthesia says
September 30, 2009 at 1:12 pmI’m too lazy to bring any tools when I travel or working outstation. Hahaha… I never thought of buying travel set too for that reason… Even if I really feel wan to doll up myself, I’m still prefer use my fingers.. hahaha…
ParisB says
September 30, 2009 at 9:53 pmHi Synaesthesia
If its for work out of town, I definitely bring the tools for war paint for image purposes. If its for holiday, I hardly even wear powder 😉
beetrice says
September 30, 2009 at 4:11 pmhmmm….looks quite nice – I’m liking the case I bought a while back too… 😀
ParisB says
September 30, 2009 at 9:53 pmHiya Beetrice
Ooh that case is pure lux!
Tine says
September 30, 2009 at 5:04 pmRM90 for 3 brushes? That’s a bit dear. If I’m not mistaken, the travel brush set from The Body Shop has more brushes at a slightly lower price?
ParisB says
September 30, 2009 at 9:54 pmHey Tine
Not quite the cheapest set in town, I must agree. The brushes are larger than the ones from the Body Shop though and I like the fact its just 3 – less to think about 🙂
Jessica says
September 30, 2009 at 9:09 pmIt depends on what kinda travelling am I goin for..if it’s adventurous kind, say no more, makeup stays home! But if I’m off to somewhere with my other half and involves me meeting someone, i’d bring my quintessentials: my Ecotool 5 piece set, e.l.f e/s brushes(awesomeness at a cheap price!) and makeup wedges. Best thing is, it fits well into my handbag 🙂 And I agree with Tine, RM90 for 3 brushes is quite a bit..
ParisB says
September 30, 2009 at 9:54 pmHi Jessica
If I’m outdoors for my holiday, its no makeup at all! Not even powder 🙂 Glad to know you have a fail proof set to fall back on if you need it
Pauline Tan says
September 30, 2009 at 9:21 pmYes, I agree that this is a fairly good set because I also own the same set. Happy with it.
ParisB says
September 30, 2009 at 9:55 pmHey Pauline
Yay! Glad you agree! 🙂
Shay says
September 30, 2009 at 9:58 pmI only have 1 travel brush set and I wasn’t very happy with it (the momo minerals travel brush set). Mainly because of the cheek and face brushes. The hairs are too compact and the heads too small. I think makes face powder and blush application not too nice for me. I need a fluffier face brush to dust my face with loose powder. For blush, the colour pick up is too much for me.
So, I went hunting for brushes which are small in size, yet big and fluffy for me. The list of brushes I brought for my recent travel:
1. Coastal scents synthetic kabuki
– easy to buffer powder foundation and fast! Small body!
2. Laura Mercier blending brush
– fluffy brush head of decent size, yet has a short handle!
3. Sephora flat blush brush
– great control when applying powder brush. Makes blush application more precise. And the handle is not too long!
4. random brush set’s e/s blending brush
– this one has a long handle from a normal brush set, but its just this one…and the hair is very soft. Makes blending real easy and quick.
5. e/s applicators in my Coffret D’or SA01 palette…since I brought that palette anyway.
Quite happy with what I brought although its not really travelling light. But not too bad. And I use each and every one of them. 🙂
Next time I travel, I will probably bring a BB cream instead of powder foundation. That way, I just apply with my hands and cut the kabuki. And then, I can use my NARS multiple for blush instead of a powder blush, blend with my fingers and cut the blush brush.
Shay says
September 30, 2009 at 10:03 pmOh, the above is the stuff I bring for work travel (with lugguage and comfortable transport).
If I travel for holiday, no makeup (I backpack usually)…maybe just a lipstick just in case…which I didn’t think I ever use. Hahaha….
a.min says
October 1, 2009 at 6:58 pmi take my full size brushes for holiday as the trvel size are quite often like you say: lacking something!
but ofcourse i won’t bring them all, just a face brush, blush brush and 3 different eyeshadow brush. Among them the blush brush is retractable from the body shop, it is quite good and dense!
erin says
October 3, 2009 at 11:52 pmI dislike everything from Stage except the No Smudge Pencil Eyeliner. That’s the only thing worth buying imho. 😉 I kinda feel their products are major con jobs at disgustingly high prices.