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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Review + Comparison: ELF Studio Brush Collection


I've been wanting to purchase the ELF Studio Angled Blush brush, Mineral Powder brush, Small Tapered brush, Flawless Concealer brush and Small Stipple brush ever since their release, but a few of them were always out of stock. I finally got the chance to purchase all 5 of them at the same time during the holiday season when they were half off! They're already so affordable at retail price. I can't believe I paid $1.50 each plus $6.95 shipping. ^_^

Pros:
  • synthetic bristles feel very soft
  • bristles are not flimsy at all
  • ideal for applying liquid/cream products
  • no shedding
  • affordable ($3 each)
  • no funky smell after a few washes

Cons:
  • currently sold only online (now widely available) 
  • dye bleeding during the initial wash (no dye bleeding afterwards)


ELF Angled Blush Brush is ideal for applying cream products and highly pigmented blushers. The synthetic bristles feel very soft and are more densely packed than the MAC 168 (review), but not as stiff as the Sigma F84. The ELF one is more flexible, but is by no means flimsy. I personally use it to apply highly pigmented blushes because the bristles disperses powder product lightly and evenly without leaving a clownish finish. I also use it to apply my Chanel cream bronzer (swatches) because the shape of the brush fits nicely on my cheek area and it doesn't leave any bristles on my face to clean up afterwards. (It measures 6.25 inches in total length.)

MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush ~ ELF Angled Blush Brush ~ Sigma F84 Angled Kabuki

Sigma F84 Angled Kabuki ~ ELF Angled Blush Brush ~ MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush



MAC 109 ~ ELF Mineral Powder Brush ~ Sigma F35 ~ ELF Small Tapered Brush
Real Techniques Contour Brush (available in the Core Collection set) ~ Real Techniques Setting Brush

ELF Mineral Powder Brush is ideal for applying cream products, such as blushers and bronzers. The synthetic bristles feel very soft and are not too flimsy or too densely packed. The Real Techniques Contour brush is slightly smaller and more tapered, which makes it more ideal for applying concealer and setting powder under the eye area and for highlighting the cheekbones. The ELF one fits better on the cheek area and it blends cream products onto my skin flawlessly when I use it in a tapping motion. I also like using it in a buffing motion when I apply liquid foundation because it gets into all the crevices of my face really well, but I just wish the brush was a little bigger. By the way, their stock photo looks bigger than the one that I received. (It measures 6.25 inches in total length.)

ELF Small Tapered Brush is ideal for applying setting powder, highlighting, and contouring. The bristles are slightly denser than the ELF Mineral Powder brush and slightly bigger than the Real Techniques Contour brush. Due to its tapered point, it fits very well on top of the cheekbone area, on the hollows of the cheeks, around the crevices of the nose, and underneath the eye area. I have been loving this for applying setting powder in the "hard to reach" places of my face. (It measures 7 inches in total length.)

MAC 109 ~ Sigma F35 ~ ELF Small Tapered Brush ~ ELF Mineral Powder Brush

MAC 109 ~ ELF Mineral Powder Brush ~ Sigma F35 ~ ELF Small Tapered Brush

Sigma F35 ~ ELF Small Tapered Brush ~ Real Techniques Contour Brush ~ Real Techniques Setting Brush

ELF Mineral Powder Brush ~ ELF Small Tapered Brush ~ Real Techniques Contour Brush ~ Real Techniques Setting Brush

Inglot 4SS Brush ~ ELF Flawless Concealer Brush ~ Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush ~ Sonia Kashuk Small Multi Purpose Powder Brush

ELF Flawless Concealer Brush is ideal for applying setting powder, spot concealing and blending. The synthetic bristles feel very soft and are more densely packed than the Inglot (review), Edward Bess (review) and Sonia Kashuk brush pictured above. I personally don't like using it to apply concealer underneath my eye area because I find that it takes to long when I use it in a tapping motion and it doesn't give as much coverage when I use it in a buffing motion. However, I love using it to blend my cream eyeshadows when I'm applying an all-over-the-lid shade. It's also  excellent for setting concealer because the brush can reach in the small crevices of the face. Also, you don't have to worry about it leaving a cakey finish because the synthetic bristles lightly disperses product. (It measures 6.50 inches in total length.)

Inglot 4SS Brush ~ ELF Flawless Concealer Brush ~ Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush ~ Sonia Kashuk Small Multi Purpose Powder Brush


ELF Small Stipple Brush is ideal for applying cream products and highly pigmented blushers. The synthetic bristles are not as dense as the Real Techniques and MAC 130 brush, but is slightly denser than the MAC 187 (review). Keep in mind, it is by no means flimsy. It stipples and buffs foundation into the skin really well without leaving a streaky finish. I just wish that the brush head was bigger. Because of the size of the brush, It's more suitable for applying cheek products, which it does flawlessly. (It measures 6.75 inches in total length.)

MAC 187 ~ Real Techniques Stippling Brush ~ ELF Small Stipple Brush ~ MAC 130

MAC 187 ~ Real Techniques Stippling Brush ~ ELF Small Stipple Brush ~ MAC 130

Bottom Line: I highly recommend checking them out, especially if you're on a tight beauty budget. These brushes feel baby soft, don't shed and work well with both liquid and powder products. 

Note: The ELF Studio brushes can be purchased individually for $3 each at their online store, drugstore.com, and Target


Which ELF Studio brush have you tried?


*This post contains affiliate links. None of the products mentioned are sponsored.

21 comments:

  1. Joyce love the beauty tips. I see you have a lot of talent, so I decided to follow :). I hope you can travel on over to my site: http://theproverbs.net and follow. Hope to hear from you very soon. Thanks for your time...God Bless!

    Steven B. 0:)

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  2. Such an informative review! Thank you for taking the time to show all the comparisons. I've actually been meaning to order the flawless concealer brush for a while. I have the others and really like them. My only drawback was that the sometimes metal part comes off of the handle after a few months, but that's understandable given the price, and I just glue them back together :)

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  3. Thank you for stopping by! I've only had these 5 brushes for about 2 months, but so far, everything's been good. I also have the ELF flat top brush and the ferrule came off eventually, but like you, I don't mind because it was easy to fix with super glue. Also, I really can't complain because it was only $3. =) It was still functional and I didn't experience any shedding at all.

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  4. I totally agree. And actually, when that happened with one of my flat top brushes (I have two or three, I use that brush so much), I put the broken one in the little makeup bag I carry with me... not the most elegant looking item, but I use it all the time when rushing from one place to another

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  5. Awesome idea! You turned it into a travelling kabuki. =]

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  6. Sounds great, especially for the price. I definitely don't need any new brushes, but that doesn't stop me wanting new brushes... :P

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  7. They look great, especially for the price. I definitely don't need any new brushes, but it doesn't stop me wanting them! :P

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  8. Yeah, I really shouldn't be getting any more brushes, but I just had to try them out cuz they were practically a steal at that price. =D

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  9. Great blog!
    Hope you can drop by my blog and join my giveaway! I'm giving away $80 gift voucher from MsDressy and Miss Litratista!
    Chamee

    PIXELS AND TALES

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  10. I wish to have all this kind of brush and learn how to use each of it!

    please check my blog:
    beauty care

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  11. Hi, I was wondering what is the difference between, swirling and buffing? I want to make sure I'm using my duofibre correctly. I didn't realize that swirling caused them to shed.

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  12. Generally, if the brush is made of synthetic fibers, then it shouldn't shed when used to apply liquid foundation. The entire head of the elf stippling brush is made of synthetic fibers, so it shouldn't shed regardless of how you use it (buffing/stippling).

    Traditionally, the white part of stippling brushes is made of synthetic material, while the black hairs on the bottom are made of natural fibers. It's called a duo fiber brush because its made of both synthetic and natural hairs. Also, it's called a stippling brush because it's meant to be used in a stippling motion. Stippling just means tapping. When you use a duo fiber brush in a tapping/stippling motion, then the liquid foundation won't touch the black hairs. Therefore, it won't shed. Natural hairs tend to shed when you use them to apply liquid products. So, if you used the duo fiber brush in a buffing/circular motion, then the black natural hairs will come in contact ith the liquid foundation and therefore will shed.

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  13. Thank you for this comparison! I wasn't too sure which two e.l.f face brushes to go for because of size as I already have two bigger ones and I needed a tapered one for blush and a smaller one for contouring. Going with the small tapered and the flawless concealer one.
    Will blog about my brush collection soon. Don't have as many brushes as you though but I can never get enough so my collection is still building up hahaha :)

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  14. Awesome! You really can't go wrong with these brushes. Can't believe they're only 3 bucks retail.

    Would love to see your brush collection cuz I'm always on the hunt for new brushes! =D

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  15. Thank you for the awesome brush review! I was wanting to get the f35 but I think I will pass on it now since I already have the ELF tapered.

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  16. Thanks for the review and pictures! I love the comparison brush pictures which clearly show their relative sizes.

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  17. Mac 130 is softer than elf small stipple brush?

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  18. Mac 130 brush softer than elf small stipple brush?

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    Replies
    1. Both brushes are soft, but the ELF stippling brush is slightly softer because all the bristles are made of synthetic material. The black hairs on the MAC 130 brush is made of natural bristles.

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  19. I know this review is over two years old, but I found it through a Google search for elf brush comparisons, and it is SUPER helpful! I'm new to your blog, but this was so thorough, I'm definitely a follower now!

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    Replies
    1. Aww, that's so sweet! By the way, the ferrule on my old ELF Studio flat top powder brush came off and I had to super glue it back on. The ones in this post have held up pretty well. I still haven't experienced any shedding and the glue on the ferrules haven't loosened.

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