The Menu - My favourite Elf Brushes

Budget brushes get a bad rep, and I understand why, a lot of them are scratchy, shed easily and are not durable at all. But ELF (Eyes Lips Face cosmetics) brushes are different. I have only tried a handful but most of the ones I have tried have been a huge hit and have turned into my every day brushes.

All the brushes I have tried are from the ELF Studio line and they were all $3 each!! Bargain. ELF recently started trading in the UK too, so I feel less guilty recommending their products, knowing that more people can get hold of them. Here in the US, Target actually stocks some of the ELF line in store so you can see before you buy, but I have only ever ordered from their website as the products are so cheap that if something doesn't work for me, I can always give it away or just chuck it. Thankfully, there have been very very few misses for me.

So today I am going to review and recommend, (because lets be honest - I love these puppies!) 5 ELF brushes. I must apologise for some of the brushes being dirty, Sunday is my brush washing day but I didn't want to wait until then :)

The first is my all time holy grail ELF Studio Kabuki Face brush. I bought this brush in November last year and I have used it almost everyday for almost a year! In that time I must have washed it about 40 times and it has shed maybe 3 or 4 hairs. Apart from the writing on it fading off, little about the brush has changed. The bristles are incredibly soft, like petting a bunny. It is a very dense Kabuki but due to the length of the bristles, there is enough give during application. My favourite purpose to use this brush is to apply powder and to blend out any powder products (be it blush or bronzer). If you have one of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders but don't want to fork out $35 on the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder brush, you definitely could use the Elf Kabuki brush for gently applying the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders. My verdict - a MUST have. In fact, I am so tempted to buy a back up but since this brush just lasts and lasts I don't need to.

ELF Studio Kabuki Face brush

ELF Angled Blush Brush

The ELF Angled Blush Brush is another one of my holy grail brushes but I don't use it to apply blush. I use it to apply a powder foundation as this brush picks up a great amount of product and allows for precision placement. If you do use it for a blush, be careful to pick up the smallest amount of product. This is no stippling brush. I bought this brush at the same time as the Kabuki and this has not shed on me at all. The bristles are not as soft as the Kabuki but are still really soft. The shape of this brush is interesting. It's cut at an angle so that there is a pointy bit that allows you to get into all the nooks and crannies of your face. I also think the shape would make it a great brush to set your concealer under the eyes. The density of this brush is similar to that of the Real Techniques Blush brush.

ELF Angled Blush Brush

ELF Angled Blush Brush

ELF Flawless Concealer Brush

The ELF Flawless Concealer Brush is a brush I use absolutely every single day. I used to use it for its stated purpose, to blend out concealer, but I now use fingers to apply and blend out conealer. Instead, I use this brush to blend out eyeshadow. It's the perfect size if you don't have hooded lids or small eyelids. I have compared it below to my Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush. I find that the ELF Flawless Concealer Brush is much better than the Real Techniques brush! It's softer for sure, the Real Techniques brush is a bit scratchy for me. In the pictures below, you can see that the ELF Flawless Concealer Brush has longer bristles than the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush and I find that due to its longer bristles it blends eye shadows really well and more efficiently. The density and circumference of the ELF brush is very comparable to the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush. Another bonus is that you can buy the ELF Flawless Concealer Brush on it's own without having to buy an entire brush set.

L to R - ELF Flawless Concealer Brush and Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush

L to R - ELF Flawless Concealer Brush and Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush

The last two brushes are sol

L to R - ELF Small Smudge Brush and ELF Small Precision Brush

d as eye brushes. They are the ELF Small Precision Brush and the ELF Small Smudge Brush. Both are great staples of any makeup kit. They are both versatile brushes. I like to the use the Small Smudger brush for applying gel eyeliner, it's the perfect size and is not too long or bendy.  As you can see from the comparison pictures below, the Real Techniques Accent Brush is wider and shorter. I find that the Real Techniques brush is better for smudging but I don't think it small enough to use apply gel eyeliner. The ELF Small Precision Brush is great for using to apply eyeshadow to set the liquid or gel eyeliner. I think you could use it to line lips or even to precisely apply concealer onto spots etc. I use it for setting my eyeliner. It's shorter and smaller than the Real Techniques Detailer brush, but has the same shape.

L to R - ELF Small Smudge Brush and ELF Small Precision Brush

L to R - ELF Small Precision Brush, Real Techniques Detailer brush, ELF Small Smudge Brush and Real Techniques Accent Brush

The last brush that I don't have any more as I threw it out was the ELF Studio Powder Brush, it's the flat buffing brush that is a huge hit with bloggers in the US. But I found it really scratched my face and I just couldn't bear using it. So it's gone.

Hope this post helped you pick the right brushes for you. Overall I think the ELF brushes are great in quality and value for money. They are all durable and since they are synthetic bristled brushes, they are cruelty free too.