Recently, Ulta has come out with a line of "Professional" quality brushes and tools. I suppose this means that their previous line of brushes was not up to a high enough quality standard to compete with professional brushes, such as those by MAC (which are tough to beat, considering their makeup tool line is huge). Anyway, Ulta has decided to give the professional front a go, and so far it seems to be a promising prospect.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the use of a Kabuki brush, they are generally great for applying mineral makeup, powder foundation, and bronzer. They are generally a short, dense but fluffy powder brush that can apply and blend wonderfully. So, when my Sonia Kashuk - Kashuk Tools Travel Kabuki Brush broke on me... (I tried to open it one day like usual and the inner metal came out very loosely... I suppose some Krazy Glue could've fixed it but the hairs started coming out and I just gave up) -- I decided it was time to buy a new brush.

Up until the self-destruction of my Sonia Kashuk... I thought her travel brush was a god-send... and it would be hard to live up to that standard. Regardless, off to Ulta I went, where I stumbled upon their Professional Retractable Kabuki ($30). They had some other professional brand Kabuki options as well, all of which seemed too small, too hard, or too fluffy for my liking. I wanted a really dense semi-big brush.

The Ulta Professional Retractable Kabuki truly fit the bill at first touch. It was larger than my Sonia Kashuk, yet had the same basic principle of a retractable brush in a black tube. The brush was made of hand-tied synthetic and natural bristles which are treated with an anti-microbial formula to resist bacteria build-up. It featured a nice, dense dome of Kabuki goodness and I couldn't wait to get it home to try it out, despite the somewhat-steep $30 price tag. I rationalized this with the fact that smaller, less full brushes like Bare Escentuals Full Coverage Kabuki were selling for $28, and also the fact that I will be using the brush almost every day, so it will pay for itself in a month or two.

So what was the verdict? I LOVE THIS BRUSH. It is fantastic. The fluffy, yet dense bristles are perfect for applying my mineral makeup and bronzer, easily buffing and blending foundation into perfection. It is bigger than my much loved Sonia Kashuk (R.I.P.), and dare I say... BETTER. The only downside, if you want to think of it as one, is that the large size is a bit harder to tote around than a smaller Kabuki. However, since this brush is retractable, your bristles will stay intact and sanitary (well, depending on care of course) in your purse or makeup bag.

If your Kabuki is not performing as well as you'd like it to, or if you are in the market for some new makeup brushes... definitely check out Ulta's selection. Chances are you'll be pleasantly surprised at their quality.