Name Brand vs. Crown Brush – Coincidence?
Lately I have been looking for a mini travel set of brushes for use when I am going to the BF’s for the weekend or for other traveling purposes. I was looking at brush sets in Sephora as well as other places, and I found some very very striking similarities between name brand brush sets and those sold by wholesalers like Crown Brush. I mean it’s understandable since Crown Brush probably supplies to a lot of brands, but I just think it’s interesting how the products are literally exactly the same except without the brand on the handles, but selling at a much lower price, plus it’s accessible to the public so why would we fork over more money just for that little branding?? Check it out.
Sorry some of the pictures are so small! Sephora wouldn’t let me link to their pictures…but click on the links to get a closer look.
vs.
Crown Brush Amour Mineral Set: $14.95
Are my eyes deceiving me?? Even the little mesh bag is the same! The zipper, everything! So the Bourjois one comes with a sharpener, is that worth the $30 premium? hrmmm I don’t think so.
Sephora Brand Two Tone Portfolio Brush Set: $44
vs.
Crown Brush Belleza Set: $16.95
The bottom two sets. I have seen the Sephora set in person and trust me the pouch it comes with looks exactly like the Crown Brush pouch except the buckle is square instead of circle, but who cares. The brushes look exactly the same, except maybe the angled liner brush in the Sephora set is different, but that difference certainly does not warrant the $30 premium.
Bare Escentuals Double Ended Precision Brush: $28
vs.
Crown Brush C163: $3.99
Bare Escentuals Kabuki Brush: $28
vs.
Crown Brush KBS $5.99
Bare Escentuals Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush: $20
vs.
Crown Brush M10: $3.25
Bare Escentuals Angled Face Brush: $20
vs.
Crown Brush M12: $4
Bare Escentuals Flawless Application Retractable Brush: $30
vs.
Crown Brush M3: $5.25
I’ve seen the BE one in store and have felt it, and it is the roughest cheapest brush ever! It was so scratchy and felt like sandpaper on my face. So not worth $30!
Stila #24 Double-Sided Illuminating Powder Brush: $50
vs.
Crown Brush M11: $5.89
I can’t believe the price difference!!!!!! I felt the Stila one in person and it was SO HEAVENLY SOFT. I’m very tempted to order some brushes right now…just to see if they are actually the same things.
It’s interesting that the Stila brush handles are all this shiny lacquered black, exactly like this Crown Brush one, which is kind of weird since this is the only Crown Brush brush I have seen that has this shiny black handle instead of a matte black handle.
That’s all the ones that I could find, but I am sure there are tons more! All this has made me want to place an order on Crown Brush…hmm maybe I will go do that right now.
WOW. They do look like the same brushes for SIGNIFICANTLY different brushes. Hmm… if I ever need to get new brushes… I guess I’ll be going with Crown Brush. LOL. Thanks for sharing.
On one hand, there are only so many brush variations. On the other, they do totally look like knockoff sets, lol!!
If you do end up putting through a Crown order, please let us know how they are – I need new brushes, but I’m kinda wary of buying-without-trying.
Yea they definitely all look similar to me… but it’s very important for a brush to not hurt your skin when you use it! :]
these seem really similar to coastal scents brushes also (even the price)
I know cs ones are really soft, crown is probably the same
I love cheap brushes now.. so over MAC and stuff hehe
Christiana: No prob. It’s my duty to expose the greedy beauty giants that are out to rob us of our hard earned cash. just kidding, but it was a fun little project for me.
Rae: I’m still thinking about putting that Crown order, I mean do I REALLY need any more brushes? I already have a list of what I want in mind, it’s just a matter of sending that email to them…I’ll let you know if I do though!
fuzkittie: Yea definitely, I hate scratchy brushes! Which is why I stay far far away from BE brushes, they are the scratchiest things ever.
lilsweetkaz: Yes they do! I believe Crown Brush is the supplier for Coastal Scents so their brushes are exactly the same. Yea seriously, looking at these ridiculously cheap prices makes me unwilling to shell out 20 or 30 bucks for a name brand brush.
I looked at the site and they carry some of the same brushes as coastalscents.com each are cheaper on different brushes, so you can compare which one you want to buy from. although crown brush has a lot more selection
wow you have a good eye for noticing the similarities, they do look very alike I wonder how the quality of the brushes are though (like are the brush heads just as dense). but overall, wow I’ll def be looking into them
thank you
This was definitely an eye opener on “high end” brushes! The most shocking had to be the Stila brush. I can’t wait to see the reviews on the Crown Brushes, if you ever buy them
Yeah i noticed all these similarities between different company brushes with crowns brushes too. apparently, they also get paid by companies to inscribed their brand name on Crown brush for a price too!!
Crown sold a buffering brush for i think £5.99 or 7.99 and I saw coastal scents selling the same looking brush, only cheaper! so thats why ive resorted to buying from CS lol, otherwise i wouldn’t have bother. Crown brushes are actually really good.. some shed but the quality are still there. I’ve personally bought from there before, although the p&p is expensive, at least they’re quick with the service. Somehow the british website looks way better than the american one! Have a look for yourself, http://www.crownbrush.co.uk!
I think I remember somebody mentioning that the Crown brushes were really good quality for the price, so it might not be so bad.
Keen eye!
Holy moly, Petitebelle! That’s really cool I wonder if they just look the same or if they actually ARE the same xD You’ve got a GREAT eye nonetheless. What an awesome post
wow this is great thanks so much
but do you know where i can go to get the crown brushes?…
familiacarballo1@hotmail.com
please & thanks
THANKS GIRL!
just when i was about to place an order with coastal scents, i found your blog entry. crown has a ton of brushes, as well as many varieties of the crease brush! think im gonna order from them instead =)
I placed an order with Crown Brushes after I heard the interview by Enkoren on youtube.com. The brushes are soft.. I didnt get sets, but got different brushes from different sets. I got 11 brushes and it came under 40 bucks. Thats the price of one MAC brush!!!
I love the brushes and they ship using UPS for 5.00 bucks. You need to buy above above 25.00 though while ordering which kinda makes sense for business and since they are dirt cheap!!
I LOVE makeup brushes – thanks for this!!
I just wanted to jump in and say that I have placed many orders with Crown Brush, not only for me but for my clients. I love the quality and the weight of the brushes in my hands. They are just as good as the ones they sell at department stores, but of course, much better prices. If anyone is still on the fence about placing an order with Crown Brush, just do it. You will NOT regret it. I have been a makeup artist for almost 20 years and I have worked for most all of the big cosmetics companies…….Crown Brush makes a better brush, period!
I’ve noticed the same exact thing and i’m glad im not the only one that noticed!! I sent an email to Crown Brush a few days ago asking if they manufacture for Bare Escentuals because i own a TON of BE brushes and feel kinda ripped off for paying a lot for those, but my response was:
We cannot answer questions of that nature….so i am taking that as a yes. I ordered 10 brushes anyway just to see if they are the same exact thing, but my order process is taking very long.
I sent my order, but they take it only as a request and they sent me a form of what i ordered, but they didn’t bill me and ship the products, I was never sent a bill or anything and this was 3 days ago…i sent an email asking when im going to pay? Still no response…this is making me really disappointed since im so eager to have these brushes at such a great deal. I was going to become a loyal customer, but im not liking this order process…it’s super slow and not automatic..i don’t get it.
i’ve bought crown brushes at trade shows before, and i can tell you they definately offer professions brushes at discounted rates. truely the only difference is the label. their brushes are comparable to MAC’s and those of B.E. crown has a good variety between natural and synthetic bristles.
OMG.. girl you are genius!! excellent job on this name brand vs crown brush review. I’m becoming more and more impressed by you!
Hey,
can anybody recomand a specific serie of crown brushes? Which ones are the best (natural)