Tuesday 31 January 2012

My Most Used Make Up Brushes MAC, ELF, Sigma

I use a mixture of different brands of make-up brushes (well mainly MAC and ELF it seems!) and thought I'd share my favourites which I have been using for years now. I do need some more eyeshadow brushes but I'm making use of what I have at the moment.
 Elf Powder Brush and Sigma Flat top kabuki F80
I love both of these, the Elf brush is more affordable at £3.50 whilst the Sigma F80 is $16.00 (about £10.00)
There both flat top and really soft and dense, I'd say the Sigma is softer and denser than the Elf brush.
The Elf brush is bigger than the F80 (both the handle and brush). When I first got Elf brushes I was sceptical as they're so cheap but surprisingly well made and I have had no shedding.
I use these brushes for putting on my MAC Studio Fix foundation/any other face powders and they blend nicely into the skin with them.
Mac 168SE (Christmas limited edition brush set)
I use this for blusher, the bristles are soft and I love the angle on it which gives a more precise application of blusher. I got this brush as part of a MAC Christmas set (which they do every year) years ago and it's still serving me well  minus the odd shedding of hairs.
 ELF Bamboo Angled blush brush
I use this for contouring, it's rather soft and again affordable at £5.50 and slightly softer than the Studio range (Black handled) of ELF brushes. This has Taklon bristles as opposed to the Synthetic bristles the studio range has.
 ELF 'C' brush and Concealer brushes
 The 'C' brush is great for the application of eyeshadow, it's dense, firm but soft. I use it to pack on eyeshadow.
The concealer brush I obviously use for concealer and it helps me get a good coverage over my dreaded dark circles. Again soft, firm and dense bristles.
Both the brushes cost £3.50 each.
 MAC 194SE (Christmas limited edition brush set)
I use this as my blending blush for eyeshadow, not much to say really, a nice brush.
 Mac 190SE (Christmas limited edition brush set)
This one I use for the rare occasions I feel like putting liquid or cream foundation on although the Sigma F80 works great for that too.
 Mac 209 Eyeliner Brush £16.00
An extra fine synthetic tip brush. I use this to put Gel eyeliner on although I'm still not the best at getting the perfect winged look but hey practice makes perfect right?
I must have been on crack when I purchased this as although it's a good brush..for what it is...definitely overpriced. I probably could have got an ELF brush that's just as god for a fraction of the price.

I'm a big fan of the ELF brushes simply because there affordable, good quality and do their job's well. Also I have experienced none to minimal shedding.
Where as the MAC again are good quality however more expensive and I'm not sure if it was an exception to the Christmas range I got but I experienced shedding in the angled blusher brush and paint coming of the foundation brush handle.
I'm also a big fan of Sigma however the price always seems to put me off, I have always wanted to get the 'Make me up 'sets.

What is your favourite brand and what do you use?

35 comments:

  1. I love the the e.l.f powder brush and Sigma brush too :D x

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  2. I love a good MAC brush, but I agree. Recently made my first ELF purchase and eyeing up which ones I want next! I have the C brush works wonders for packing on the shadow! xx

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    1. Defo a good brush for eyeshadow, gotta love some ELF! xx

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  3. I love Mac!!

    run-style-run.blogspot.com

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  4. Thank you for your comment on my blog :) I like your blog and I'm now following :)
    I've never tried Elf before nor actually heard of it, so I'll give it a try when I find it! :)

    ElyAnn
    xx
    TheSpicyItalian

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    1. Oo you are missing out! It's hit and miss with their products but the brushes are good! xx

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  5. This was so useful. Only just getting into using brushes, so I will definitely be buying these ELF ones :) xx

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    1. Really glad you found it useful! I'd defo recommend ELF studio and bamboo/mineral range brushes!
      xx

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  6. I really want the sigma f80 brush, I've heard such good things about it! I really like the elf ones as well, but I mainly prefer their studio ones or the ones that are £3.50+ compared to the ones that are £1.50 as I have experienced shedding with the £1.50 brushes. xo

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    1. I love it, I see ELF have a similar brush to the Sigma one now called the 'stippling brush'. Heard that one is really good too!
      Ahh I thought the really cheap one's might be a bit rubbish so never bothered with them, good job!
      xx

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  7. Awesome post! I was just getting asked what brushes work best and I will have to send this her way! Thanks Love!

    Love & Lollies... Jessa

    Confessions of the Cupcake Countessa

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  8. Sigma brushes are awesome! I like mac ones but they shed WAY too much. The synthetic kabuki brushes from Sigma are my favourite...and they aren't too pricy.

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    1. I do love Sigma, have always wanted one of their sets!
      xx

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  9. i love elf, i made a big order ages ago and i was pretty impressed. i wish i orderd more brushes though, you can never have enough i say :P but oh well i guess that means another elf order will be on its way! im also desperate to try the sigma brushes as iv heard nothing but raves about them. nice blog. x

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    1. Yer a good excuse for another Elf shopping spree :P I could do with some spares and such! I really want a sigma brush set but seems a waste soon as I already have enough brushes!
      Thank you! xx

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  10. your blog is so amazing!
    http://viva-la--jenny.blogspot.com/

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  11. great post miss! i live for MAC! never tried elf products b4 though.... maybe i should!

    now following you, follow back ? :0)


    hugs, xoxo
    *BARBIE-BOMBSHELL.BLOGSPOT.COM

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  12. WOW such a great brush collection! I make do with my Bobbi Brown foundation brush and MAC 109 mainly, plus some other random ones I've picked up along the way. Should really get some good quality brushes though. Great post :) x

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  13. I <3 your blog monika!!!! I've been wanting to give the sigma brushes a try because I heard that they were cheaper than the MAC brushes. Thanks for visiting www.jinfitness.com! I'm your newest follower :)

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  14. Very cool I just purchased some Sigma synthetic brushes not too long ago and I'm loving them I've always wanted to get some MAC ones but they are a bit pricey for me, but they are definitely on the wish list ;)
    -Ash
    Beauty-Flawed.blogspot.com

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  15. Gr8 collection :)....Wanna follow each other with GFC, Twitter and Facebook ?

    ♡ StylishByNature.com

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  16. i need to get some brushes! i just have a brush for my bronzer and eye lines, nothing fancy..some eco friendly one..lol.Hope you can check out my blog for some +vibes and inspiration! XO

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  17. my fav brushes are Bare Minerals but MAC does some great ones too. and totally agree about elf!

    Great photos.

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  18. wow, this looks very porfessional. i am more the basic type ;)

    but anyway: i want to see more, i keep following. maybe you like my blog, too ;)

    la tiquismiquis
    http://tqsm.blogspot.com

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  19. Thank you for this post. I as thinking about buying new brushes (mine are really old and used now) and your post helped me a little to decide what i need.
    Want to follow each other?

    X, Ancia
    http://overdivity-fashion.blogspot.com/

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  20. Great post :) I really need to invest in some MAC brushes! Now following you, really love your blog :) x

    http://bowtiedbeauty.blogspot.com/

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  21. thanks for sharing! the brush I use is fairly new it's by sephora and it's huge!

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  22. This post is so informative & the pictures look great! Thanks for sharing!

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