Review (4/5): Something very odd
As I wrote elsewhere regarding the Tweezerman brush, I think that I received the Simply Beautiful brush either as a substitute or by mistake. Given that I was charged the lower price of the Tweezerman, I have no complaints.
I knew that something was odd when I opened the package and found a brush with a chrome instead of wooden handle. Honestly, I gave it no thought at the time and started using the brush the same day it arrived.
Now I can't say that I've been using a shaving brush long enough to know the difference between a $20 brush and a $200 brush, but I can't imagine what such a price difference would buy in the way of "real world" performance. The materials are likely somewhat better in the more expensive brush and, I would hope, the assembly would be superb compared to the cheaper one. Yet, I somehow couldn't bring myself to spend even $50 on a brush unless I would have gotten some guaranty of superior performance.
With that said, this brush absorbs plenty of water and, after a good shake, really whips up a nice lather. It's a bit "prickly" on my face which may be a sign of lower quality badger fur, but it certainly isn't uncomfortable.
If you're just starting to wet-shave, you could spend a lot more money and probably not get a brush that's appreciably better than this one. Oh, I'll eventually try one of the more expensive brushes as that's just my nature, but I doubt that I'll be getting a lot more for my money than I've gotten from this brush.