Elf Cosmetics has a cult following and it’s really easy to see why: they have super affordable makeup and a huge makeup range: blushes, foundations, powder, eyeshadows etc and more recently, they have been dipping their hands in the skincare pool!
They also have an extensive range of makeup brushes from single brushes to brush sets and everything you need for a well-blended, contoured and highlighted face. I purchased the Powder Brush, Highlighting Brush and the Blush Brush which I have been using for the last couple of months and so I thought it was time for a review!
Let’s get right into it
This is one of Elf Cosmetics most popular makeup brushes. The Highlighting Brush has a slim barrel with tapered bristles. I must admit I was very sceptical getting this brush because of two reasons: 1. I am a HUGE fan of using fan brushes to apply highlighters because I find them easy to use and they don’t pick up too much product 2. Although the brush isn’t dense, I was afraid it would pick up too much product and apply it to a large surface area compared to a fan brush. I was wrong on both counts!
The tapered edge allows you to pick up the right amount of product right at the tips and places it beautifully on my cheekbones. It also blends very easily! The brush is very easy to use and I can see why a lot of people may prefer this to a fan brush. The bristles are super soft and I haven’t experienced any shedding with the brush (I have washed it a few times too).
I haven’t reached for this brush as much as I have for the other two but I have used it just enough times to form an opinion on it. This is a good quality brush and I haven’t had any shedding with it. I like the brush more for applying powder contour or dusting away under eye setting powder as its slightly tapered too. I personally prefer fluffier (but not too fluffy) brushes for blush because I like a wash of colour across a large surface area. Because this blush brush is smaller, with a smaller surface area, although it picks up the right amount of product, I feel like the product gets concentrated to one area and I have to do more work blending ( I’m not really sure if that makes sense lol, basically because it’s a small brush it feels like the blush won’t be distributed evenly ).
I also don’t like the fact that it’s very similar to the highlighting brush. At first glance, it’s very easy to confuse the two. It is a good brush and if you prefer smaller brushes for blush you would love this. I personally don’t like it for applying blush. I also find it slightly weird to use.
The Elf Cosmetics Powder Brush is by the far, their most popular brush! I have actually been waiting to get my hands on this brush for a while: it’s always sold out! Although I was very excited to try the brush, again I was sceptical because I like fluffy brushes for applying my face powder but this is a flat top brush. It would be my 2nd flat top face powder brush( my 1st is the Primark Powder Brush, read a review here) but compared to the Primark brush, this is smaller.
Elf Cosmetics put my heart at ease! It’s a very good brush, good quality with soft bristles. I had some shedding, about 2 or 3 hairs fell out the 1st time I washed it but none after that. It’s easy to use and applies powder well. A lot of people also use this brush for apply foundations and they really love it (check out some YT videos) but I haven’t tried it for that yet.
Verdict– it’s very easy to see why the Elf Cosmetics Makeup Brushes are very popular! They look good, are good quality and cost very little! I should mention Elf Cosmetics usually have very good deals going on and at the time of purchase, they had a 50% off offer across the site! (Gurl sign up for them newsletters!) The blush & powder brushes have anti-bacterial bristles which is good.
My favourite is definitely the Highlighting brush. I really like how it applies highlighter and how easy it is o blend it too It’s definitely a repurchase. I would also repurchase the powder brush too. The blush brush not so much but if I did it would be for another purpose.
For more makeup brushes reviews check out previous posts:
sarah fynn 