35 of 365 - Brush Protector - FAIL

We spend so much money on our brushes, it only makes sense that we want to protect them to prolong their life.

I've seen these online from another company, but didn't feel like spending the money to order online. So when I seen that Sephora had their own, Sephora Collection Brush Protector, I wanted to try them out.

What's it say? "Protects, preserves and extends the life of your expensive brushes after washing and during travel. Allows you to try your makeup brushes the easy and right way" 

I bought a pack for $10 CAD. Each pack contains a protector for 1 Powder/ Kabuki, 2 Foundation, 2 blush and 1 shadow/liner. They look like Chinese finger traps.

Left: Sephora Collection Brush Protector, Right: Chinese finger traps

I'll be honest here, I don't know about you guys, but I don't use two foundation brushes. and the size for the foundation protectors it good for the blush. So, 1 poweder/kabuki - ok. 2 foundation/blush- ok. 2 blush - think these could be slightly smaller for the shadow brushes. That's what most of us use multiples of! That single shadow/liner protector? While my MAC 210 brush doesn't have any damage, I slid the protector on and it wouldn't do anything to the brush as it doesn't really hug the brush part. Fits nicely on the handle, that's about it. It's a smaller/thinner handle than most brushes, so I don't see this one working well with shadow brushes. 

So I tried them anyways. The one nice thing is that once your brush is in the protector, you can stand it up (brush facing down) so that the water doesn't seep into the ferrule (that metal piece that holds the brush to the handle) so that it doesn't loosen the glue over time.

When I clean my brushes, I usually have them sitting on an angle to dry to avoid the water getting into the ferrule.

The outcome? 10 hours later, my foundation brush is still damp and my blush/powder brush is still quite wet. I'd say for bigger/thicker brushes, it doesn't allow proper breathing therefore doesn't dry as quickly.

Protect? Preserve?  See my before and after photo of the crease brush and my angled liner brush below. The bristles are starting to scatter a little and it didn't do anything.

Overall?  I would NOT buy these again. They made no difference, some of my brushes took longer to clean and sizes weren't good for what I have.