Benjabelle Mini Brush Tree Review

Some of you may have seen my earlier review of the Benjabelle Original Brush Tree, which I raved about and still adore, here. In that post, I mentioned that very thin-handled brushes don't fit into it well. Benjabelle has clearly shown me that they care about and listen to their customers - after I made that blog post, I received a lovely thank-you email from Jan, one of the creators of Benjabelle. I suggested to her that a mini version to hold smaller brushes would be wonderful, and she said it was in the works (and even gave the helpful suggestion that in the meantime, I try putting a few smaller-handled brushes in each of the larger holes of the Original Brush Tree at once, which worked very well). Now that the Mini Brush Tree has been released, she very graciously sent me one for review. I love a company that listens and acts on its customers' feedback!

There isn't a ton to add to my original review, because the Mini Brush Tree is just as amazing as the original. It actually holds even more brushes - it has 24 holes, vs. the original's 14 - despite being only about 3/4 the size. It does work better for my thin-handled brushes, as I'd hoped! About 90% of them fit perfectly into it with just one in each hole. The only slight trouble I found was with the REALLY thin-handled brushes (such as my MAC 209, 210, and 211). They will stay in holes of the Mini Brush Tree alone, but sort of tilt sideways, which made me worry they would bump into the base of the Brush Tree or other brushes and splay the bristles. However, I was easily able to fix this using Jan's trick and just putting three of those tiny ones in one hole together. Problem solved!

Here you can see my entire brush collection, which is a little over 50 brushes, drying in my two Brush Trees - the Mini on the left, Original on the right. I still double-up on some holes with medium-sized brush handles even when it's not necessary, just because it takes less finessing to get them to stay upright and I can kind of shove them in there (haha) and move on; this also makes it possible for me to dry all of my brushes upside-down at once.

In short, I couldn't be happier with the Mini Brush Tree. If what I wrote above about having to put multiple brushes in some of the holes sounds like a complaint, trust me, it's not. It actually makes these a more flexible product for me - if I could absolutely only fit one brush into each hole for both of these Brush Trees, I wouldn't be able to wash all my brushes at once because I have too many! I just want to make sure you know exactly what to expect before you buy. :)

I highly, highly recommend both of these Brush Trees. They may not be a "must-have" for everyone, but now that I have them, I can't imagine being without them. If something happened to mine, I would absolutely repurchase both without hesitation and with my own money. They are a fantastic and functional tool for any makeup artist or hobbyist. You can purchase these together in a value set (and save $10) or separately on Benjabelle's website. I can't wait to see what Benjabelle will come out with next!

Disclaimer: As mentioned in the earlier review, the Original Brush Tree was a Christmas present from my family. The Mini Brush Tree was provided free of charge by Benjabelle for review consideration.