When I heard about e.l.f. brushes, which range from $1 to $3 apiece, I was keen to try them.  I’m down with inexpensive. Brushes don’t have to have a big brand stamped on the handle to be effective. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve laid hands on six different brushes from two of the three e.l.f. lines, with some very impressive results.

The first thing you should know is that there are three different lines of e.l.f. brushes: Essentials ($1 each), Mineral ($5 each), and Studio ($3 each). The Essentials brushes are white handled, Mineral are nautral, and Studio are black. I’ve only had the chance to try the Essentials and Studio lines, so those are the only ones I will review here. (However, if you have used e.l.f. Mineral brushes, feel free to comment below and add some insight!) Today, I’ll be tackling the Studio line.

Pictured above is the first e.l.f. brush I purchased, the Studio Contour Brush. I picked this up on a whim because I liked the shape: I thought it might be good for cutting a more controlled crease. I have a dirty, dirty combo of one eye being slightly deepset, and the other being hooded, so I have to set my crease colours on the edge of the socket… which can be a right bitch with the brushes I already had in my arsenal. This one has a nice domed shape, with bristles soft enough for minor blending, but tightly-packed enough to afford a precise application of colour.  It doesn’t blend as well as I hoped, but if you’re laying  a crease that doesn’t require too much blending (sticking within the same colour spectrum, up to two shades darker than the lid), it does just fine. This brush did not shed after washing, and easily held its shape. At $3, I was extremely impressed, and would most definitely buy again.

After having such a great experience with the contouring brush, I went back to target and purchased the Studio Eyeshadow “C” Brush (shown above).  I had a brush in a similar shape from a giant cheapie Wal-Mart gift set, and I absolutely loved it for its shape. Unfortunately, it was kind of scratchy and had serious shedding problems. So I chucked that one, and brought this one in. The brush head is wide and short, with a healthy tip-area for picking up a lot of product – perfect for applying colour to your lids. What I didn’t expect out of this, however, was that it would also serve as a good crease brush for me, and it blends remarkably well.  This morning, I did my eyes using just this brush. Again, no shedding after washing, and it held its shape perfectly. If you are looking to graduate from those little sponge applicators to brushes, but have no idea where to start, get this one. It’s just $3, and it does everything.  I will most definitely be picking up two or three more of these in the future.

The shape of this Studio Powder Brush just plum danged interested me. When it comes to powder brushes, I’m used to the big, domed, ultra-floofy affairs that sometimes have trouble picking up product, but do a good job at dusting powder around.  I figured a flat top brush like this would do a better job at picking up product without having to hold the bristles together. Hypothesis confirmed! This brush is full o’ bristles, so it has no trouble keeping its shape enough for a swipe over the product for heavier coverage, and the flat top can be easily bapped into a cake once or twice for lighter coverage. It doesn’t splay out in every direction when using it on the face — again, it keeps its shape well. And this little beauty is amazingly soft. I mean, soft like a bunny soft. I couldn’t keep my hands off the brush head, because it felt that nice.  I made my boyfriend try it out, and even he was impressed with how soft and silky it was (and he’s a DUDE!).  Some of the bristles did come loose after washing… all of three needed to be plucked out, so that’s definitely nothing to bark about. Plus, the brush comes with a little protector sleeve to help it hold its shape, which is an awesome little bonus. Again, this brush is only $3 at Target or eyeslipsface.com

The weight on all of these brushes are very good… not too heavy, but definitely not light like other inexpensive brushes. This means that they feel more natural in the hand, and are easy to control. All in all, I would definitely recommend the black handled studio line.  These brushes are simply amazing for the price. I wouldn’t be surprised if they increase the price of these sometime in the future, because honestly, they’re too good to be three bucks.

Have you tried the e.l.f. Studio line of brushes? What did you think?  Would you be interested in purchasing some (more)?

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