Tuesday 7 September 2010

Review: ELF Brushes

I’m not going to go into too much detail with these reviews as I’m fairly sure I’m the last person in the world to discover the joy of ELF brushes but there’s a few I’ve absolutely fallen in love with so I want to share my thoughts about the selection I received over the weekend.

These were all purchased by me from the ELF website.

Defining Eye Brush:

ELF say: The velvety bristles contour in the crease of the eyelid or right underneath the brow bone for added colour


My thoughts: I found this brush really easy to use all over the eye. It gave even coverage and there wasn’t much loose powder under my eyes once I’d finished. Overall, I’m impressed with this one.

Total Face Brush:

ELF say: Soft caressing facial bristles allow for soothing application of facial and bronzing powder and for quick full-face touch ups


My thoughts: I love this brush. The bristles are so soft, like ELF say in the description and the brush gave really smooth and even coverage. The product went on really easily with the brush with very little mess. Sometimes with bronzer I find cheaper brushes can make it appear quite patchy but none of that at all with this brush. Full marks.

Eyeshadow Brush:

ELF say: Expertly blends multiple eye shades while softening dramatic edges and fine lines. Brush can also multi-task, use it to set powder or liquid concealer

My thoughts:
Well, my thoughts about this one are a bit lacklustre unfortunately. It’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with it at all but I didn’t come away feeling excited about the application or the final result. It’s a good staple that I’ll always use but I much prefer the Smudge Eye Sponge.

Foundation Brush:

ELF say: Achieve an ultra smooth, pore-less finish when applying foundation or tinted moisturiser

My thoughts: I’ve only just stopped using a sponge to apply my foundation and started using brushes so it’s still something I’m getting used to. The ELF Foundation brush made the application easy, mess free and I was left with a smooth finish. Not quite as ultra-smooth and pore-less as ELF say but hopefully with time I’ll be able to achieve that finish with this brush.

Concealer Brush:

ELF say: Creates flawless and smooth application with the synthetic bristled brush for wet or dry products

My thoughts: This one is great – it’s probably my favourite out of all the brushes I bought from ELF. I’ve been using brushes to apply concealer for a while now and I massively prefer it to using a sponge. I use far less product and the makeup stays put for much longer. This brush is fantastic – the product went on so smoothly and it stayed in place for hours, even though I hadn’t applied any primer at all. Very, very impressed. I’d consider buying a couple more of these for use with eyeshadow.

Smudge Eye Sponge:

ELF say: Create a dramatic, smokey eye look with this soft tapered applicator that blends liner and shadow perfectly

My thoughts: Oh, yay! I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with eye sponges. Sometimes they work wonders and I love how great they are at blending my make-up. Other times I can’t be bothered and would rather do it all by hand. However, the Smudge Eye Sponge was hassle-free, blended my colours together really well without making my eyes look messy or taking any of the product off of my eyes. A new favourite, I think.

Bronzing Brush:

ELF say: This unique three-in-one brush allows for precision application of blush, bronzer and all other multi-purpose dusts and loose powders

My thoughts: I probably don’t need to use both this brush and the Total Face brush and out of the two I think I’d go with the Total Face brush over this one. This one is a nice brush but the bristles were a little scratchy on my skin and I found the finished result with a little smoother with the Total Face brush. It wasn’t bad though and I probably will still use it from time to time – maybe for my loose powder where I don’t need to be quite so precise.

I haven’t washed any of these yet (naughty naughty) but I’m sure they’ll wash fine – I’ve heard lots of people saying so so I’m sure they’re right. I’m really happy with these purchases. I love having new brushes to use and I’m going to make sure I look after them properly. I will wash them regularly, I promise!

My favourites are definitely the Total Face Brush and the Smudge Eye Sponge so I do recommend them to anybody who hasn’t purchased them yet – they’re fab.

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