Beauty Problems! - Sigma Stained Brushes! (RESOLVED)

Shortly after receiving my much-wanted Mrs. Bunny Brush Set from Sigma, I washed them with some soft baby shampoo and dried them completely. The day after they had dried, I used these brushes for make up application for my little sister's formal.

My Sister's Teal Eyeshadow look! :)

It suited her dress very well and these photos really don't do it justice! :(

Now here's a little fact about Synthetic/Vegan brushes, they are incredibly multi-use because they do not absorb product into the actual brush bristles, especially when compared to animal hair brushes (even high quality natural bristles have a higher rate of product pigment absorption). After using a brush for an extended period of time (usually this means years), the staining of a make up brush is basically inevitable (there are many methods to prevent this for many years though which I will explain in a future blog). Cream and liquid products are a lot more likely to stain bristles then powder/dry products. Therefore, synthetic bristles are well-suited to being used for all types of products (cream, powder, liquid, etc.) without the same risk of staining as natural brushes.

Anyways, back to my Sigma brushes. I used a lovely teal blue colour which suited my sister's dress as an powder eyeshadow for her look that night. It turned out beautifully and I immediately spot cleaned all my brushes including my F70 Concealer brush. After an hour, I went to deep clean my brushes and the F70 was stained. It didn't matter how much I deep cleaned that brush, the stain would not budge! I owned multiple make up brushes at the time and I had never had a problem with staining or the eyeshadow which I had used. I had also used that exact powder eyeshadow with my other brushes from the same kit and there was no staining. I am aware that this brush is intended for concealer use but the beauty of synthetic brushes (or any kind of make up brush) is that you can use it for whatever function you want! This rule applies more  with synthetic brushes!

Brush after several deep cleaning sessions, the bristles are clearly stained with a deep teal colour! >:(

My biggest frustration with this is: a synthetic brush which I used for the first time after cleaning with a powder eyeshadow managed to stain, an hour after usage and spot cleaning, when other brushes from different brands and even brushes from the same set resisted staining.

Now don't misunderstand: the F70 brush applied product like a dream and was incredibly soft and precise. Also since staining is inevitable over time, it doesn't matter how "pretty" a brush is, as long as it does an amazing job, it should not be thrown out. However, I was still frustrated so I emailed customer support at Sigma and received a reply within 24 hours offering support with the situation. Once they realised that the brush was clearly stained, they sent me a new one which arrived today!

Aaannnddd... you're officially forgiven. :)

Now I'm not sure if I had received a faulty brush (considering synthetic bristles should not have stained that easily/quickly), or if it was to do with the white bristles (despite the other brushes with the white tips being stain-free after using the same way), or that the brush is really not for eyeshadow (concealer can stain too! So I'm not entirely sure what this brush is 'for'). After much searching and asking around I found that a lot of people have had the exact same problem with teal blue powder shadows staining! So it may have been the colour selection and I just got unlucky.

Anyways, the lesson is:
> Be careful with using white tipped bristles with pigmented shadows.
> Be wary of the beautiful vibrant teal blue colours as they are the colour which is most likely to stain even the most expensive of brushes (e.g. MAC).
> Sigma has good customer service and will graciously offer a replacement brush.

Stay Beautiful! xx