REVIEW: elf Studio Brushes & Makeup

e.l.f Studio brushes are made of Taklon and claim to be anti-bacterial, which I don't put too much faith in. Everything in their Studio Line costs $3, except for three of their larger items, like their Mini Makeup Collection, which is reminiscent of a Sephora makeup palette.

I thought I would never purchase anything from e.l.f. again because of a previous customer service hassle (they almost ripped me off; it was just a dollar but it's all in the principal of things) and because their shipping used to take 4 weeks. I'm pleased to say that I received these items in less than a week and in a bubble wrapped package instead of a box stuffed with nothing (another previous incident).

NOTE: After using all brushes for at least a week, I have experienced NO SHEDDING and NO DYE BLEEDING after washing. Thumbs up!!! All handles are plastic instead of painted wood like their original $1 brushes.

So on to the review...

COMPLEXION BRUSH
~ Love It ~

If you're going to buy one e.l.f. Studio brush, then this one is it. I was so surprised at how soft and dense this brush is! It's so nicely tapered that it feels smooth on the face without any pokiness or harshness. You can use it for blush, bronzer or any other face powder.

The brush is almost 7" long while the bristles are 1 ³/₄" long & 1 ¹/₂" wide.

The complexion brush also comes with a vinyl cover for the brush head, which helps to keep it clean and also helps to keep the shape of the bristles. This is very convenient for travel!


POWDER BRUSH (FLAT TOP BUFFER)
~ Love It ~

The powder brush is basically a flat top kabuki/buffer brush which is also soft and dense. This is great for buffing in your mineral makeup. I think I heard someone using this with liquid foundation and they loved it. I still heart my EDM Flat Top brush better though. =) But don't get me wrong, this is a really awesome brush for only $3 and I highly recommend it along with the Complexion brush. If you like brushes with longer handles but not as long as craft brushes, then you'll be pleased with the size of these.

The brush is almost 7" long while the bristles are a little over 1" long and just under 1 ¹/₂" wide.

The Powder brush also comes with a vinyl brush head cover like the Complexion brush.


SMALL ANGLED BRUSH
~ Love It ~

This is another brush that I like because it's soft and precise. You can use it with eyeshadow or your gel liners. It might be a little narrow for some people but I don't mind it.

The brush is just under 7" long while the bristles at their longest edge measures ¹/₄" and just under ¹/₄" wide.

CONCEALER BRUSH
~ Meh =/ ~

This brush is not dense at all. It has a very flat edge which is not ideal to use with mineral concealers but better with cream or liquid concealers. It might be a little too wide for spot concealing blemishes on the face but this is probably better for the under eye area. I use it to apply cream eyeshadows to my eyelids. For concealer, it's not narrow or pointy enough in the center for my liking.

The brush is just under 7" long while the bristles are ³/₈" long and a little over ³/₈" wide.

CONTOUR BRUSH
~ Hate It! ~

Finally, my regretful buy, the contour brush which is pictured below in the center. If you see in the picture, the bristles are so short and non-existent. They're even shorter than my two pencil brushes and the ferrule seems to swallow up the brush head. The bristles are so short that when I try to use it, the ferrule sometimes touches my skin. Basically, this brush is CRAP. I DO NOT recommend this but I do recommend the regular $1 e.l.f. Blending Eye brush, pictured second from the left. I don't think they updated the picture of this brush on their site but this is the redesigned one.

I'm not even going to bother to measure this brush. I think I'll use it to dust my computer keyboard.

(Click to enlarge)

BRUSH PACKAGING

All brushes come packaged in a shiny, Zip-Lock sealed packet. It was kind of like opening a package of deli meat. You can pop your brushes back in here if you want.

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EYE PRIMER & LINE SEALER DUO
~ Hate It~

The primer is basically a concealer stick and you can probably just use a regular concealer as your base and achieve the same results. This will crease on you so if you do use it as a base for your eyeshadow, make sure to use TFSI or UDPP underneath it to prevent creasing. (It contains mineral oil)

The line sealer is nothing special either. You can get the same results by using mixing medium, water or a baby wipe with an angled or script brush. It will also ruin your eyeshadows in pan form by making the area you dipped the brush into hard. It works best with darker colors and it's a nightmare to use with loose pigments.

UPDATE: Every time I use this, the next day I get a little bump on my eye skin, like a tiny zit. Thumbs down!

EYELINER & SHADOW STICK
~ Love One Side, Hate the Other ~

The eyeliners (pictured on the right side) are so waxy that they smudge off easily and you'll get raccoon eyes in no time. For me, they work best when tightlining. The shadow sticks, on the left side, remind me of the Physician's Formula Color Eyes Cream Shadow Sticks that are some of my favorite bases. I love the dark gray one, Smoke, as a dark base for smokey eyes. But these are a little inconsistent! The golden colored one, Basic, is slightly less creamy than Smoke, while the white one, Glow, is horribly dry and hard to blend. The tip of the Pearl eyeliner actually broke off when I did swatches. So it's a hit or miss with some of these.

EYEBROW TREAT & TAME in MEDIUM
~ Hate It ~

If you have black eyebrows, do not get this in Medium. It is way too light and has a strange peach undertone to it. It actually lightens my brows and if you get this gel onto your skin, you're left with that ugly, weird peachy-brown color that just doesn't match your brows. This does hold better than their regular $1 clear brow gel though. The other side is a clear gel that is supposed to make your sparse eyebrows grow fuller. I tried it once and didn't think much of it. Personally, I think that side is just a waste of space.

I'm happy to report that I feel so much better than I did in my last post when I had the flu. I haven't felt that bad since the last time I had food poisoning. I still have a lingering cough though but thank you for your comments and I hope you all are doing well.

Related Link:
elf Studio Haul & Review: Pic Heavy! (second haul)