I first heard of ZOEVA in 2013, when YouTubers started talking about the brand. That was the year the company started shipping internationally, having begun operations in Germany in 2008 and spreading slowly into other EU countries by 2009. They are exactly the same age as Sigma Beauty and both companies offer makeup tools at affordable prices, with smaller ranges of colour makeup on the side. Sigma undoubtedly had a head start on the international exposure front (being based in the US and using their affiliate program to spread their ads like wildfire definitely helped), but ZOEVA has come up strong this past year and a half and I have heard only good things about their products so far.
I reviewed the 7-piece Sigma Performance Eyes Kit (here) back in 2012 and gave it pretty good marks. What you’ll notice from that review (as well as this one about the Real Techniques duo fibre brushes) is that I like to go into detail when it comes to brushes. I own over 50 brushes, 20 of which I use regularly, and these ZOEVA brushes have displaced about half of that 20. So, brace yourselves, because these brushes deserve a comprehensive review. It’s going to be photo-heavy and lengthy, but hopefully it will be of help to anyone looking to buy the set or any of these individual brushes.
I was able to grab my ZOEVA Luxe Complete Set (6,274.00 Php regular price) on Luxola when they were having a site-wide 40% off promotion, so I saved quite a bit of money and didn’t have to worry about international shipping. ZOEVA does ship to the Philippines, but I’m not sure how much that might cost in total. Since I bought my set, ZOEVA has sadly become a non-discountable brand on Luxola. That means the brand will no longer be included in site-wide promos unless specified or if there is a ZOEVA-specific promotion going on.
Even without the discount, ZOEVA brush sets are affordable. Individually, the prices range from 371.00 Php to 1,225.00 Php (also rather reasonable). At regular price the 15 pieces in the Luxe Complete Set come out to approximately 420 pesos each which, if I have to spell it out for you, is ridiculously cheap. That’s not even counting the pretty faux leather pouch, which adds such a nice, elegant feel to the kit.
Of all the sets they have to offer, I chose the Luxe Complete Set because I thought the ratio of face to eye brushes was perfect and also because the “luxe” sets, while pricier, include the best brushes ZOEVA has to offer. There are 5 face brushes and 10 eye/detail brushes, all of excellent quality. There are some I would probably switch out for different brushes if I could, but I think it is a beautiful set regardless.
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