All of you are probably already familiar with the Shiseido Perfect Foundation brush. Everyone has been raving on and on about this brush, because it is supposed to buff your liquid foundation into your skin just the right way and give you perfect, flawless coverage. I ordered this foundation brush from Tina (who has a shopping service that ships cosmetics and such from Taiwan. You can contact her via email) after hearing and reading about it so much, and tested it out for a couple of weeks to see if it really does do what everyone says it does.

Then came the launch of the Dior Full Coverage Foundation Brush, to complement the famous Diorskin Nude foundation (review here). It bears a striking similarity to the Shiseido brush, and, of course, everyone wanted to know if it could perform as well as the Shiseido.

Here are my thoughts!

Packaging
When it comes to boxes and cases, you already know where I stand. For those of you who enjoy keeping the boxes and paper bags, the Shiseido brush comes in a clear plastic box with information printed on it, plus an instruction booklet. The Dior brush is packaged far more luxuriously, with the signature silver Dior box, a velvet brush pouch, and a printed booklet with instructions on how to use the brush.

Product
Firstly, the similarities. Both brushes are beautifully made, and I haven't noticed any fall out from the bristles at all (both have been deep-cleaned twice and spot cleaned 2-3 times). They are both angled and small, so they can really get into the smaller areas on the face like around the nose and eyes.

An obvious difference is the length of their handles. The Shiseido one is a short plastic, which I hear is good for people who like to get right up close to the mirror when they do their makeup. I personally prefer the longer Dior brush (with a wooden, matte finish handle), because I like being able to hold the brush at different places on the handle depending on the area of my face to which I am applying my foundation.

The bristles on the Dior brush are unique in that they have never been cut, so as to preserve the overall softness of the brush. This earns brownie points with me as well because I love my brushes soft and smooth on my face.

Here's an important point for you:


The Shiseido brush is more densely packed than the Dior brush. This means two things:

1. It is slightly more difficult to buff your foundation into your skin with the Shiseido brush. The sheer amount of bristles on this brush creates a heck of a lot of friction, so that buffing foundation into my skin actually gets quite annoying. I can't complain about the finish though - it is flawless!
2. If you're the type who wants the fullest coverage you can get out of your foundation, without it looking cakey, the density of the Shiseido brush can do just that for you.