I was in the need of some new brushes, but didn't want to break the bank. I've heard great things about e.l.f.'s Studio brushes, but was always reluctant to try, because I didn't care for the Professional line much, despite the awesome reviews the brushes always got. I decided to take the plunge anyway, and overall, I'm really impressed with the quality of these brushes.
I purchased 6 brushes from the 10-piece brush set, along with the Studio Face Kabuki. They are all $3 a piece, with the exception of the Kabuki, which is $5. You can buy the whole set for $30 [here], so there is not any hidden discount buying them together or individually. What you will get in the 10-piece set [pictured below] includes: Small Smudge Brush, Complexion Brush, Powder Brush, Fan Brush, Angled Foundation Brush, Contour Brush, Eyeshadow "C" Brush, Small Precision Brush, Concealer Brush, and the Small Angled Brush. There is no brush roll or any kind of case included, but you can buy a case for $5 extra. All bristles are Taklon and antibacterial, and can be used with wet or dry products. In comparison to the Professional line, the Studio brushes are about 1/2-3/4 inch longer.
Of the brushes I ordered, the first thing I noticed was how soft they all are. It feels like velvet running across your skin. I was pleasantly surprised at this fact, considering the several Professional brushes I tried felt like straw to me. The black-on-black of the handle, ferrule, and bristles look very sleek and about as professional as you can get for $3 a pop. When I washed these brushes(which was easy, btw), I had ONE bristle shed. There was also no bleeding of dye. Other people have complained of the brushes having a strong chemical smell when opening the individual packages. I think this is the plastic. I didn't smell anything on the actual brushes themselves. If you're worried about this, I'm sure a wash or two would take care of this problem. Here are my thoughts so far about each brush I ordered.
This is my second favorite purchase. The Complexion brush comes in a vinyl package with an additional head protector, also vinyl. It's nice and dense, so it picks up product well and distributes the color evenly. The bristles come to a very nice tapered end.
This is my favorite of the brushes. If you were going to get one from the line, I suggest this one. It is so versatile, so it's a great addition to your collection. Looking at the brush from the top of the bristles, you see a flat, slightly oblong shape. It is perfect for applying blush, highlighting, or sculpting with bronzer. It can even be used as a stippling brush when applying liquid foundation. A lot of people are comparing it to the MAC 187, but wanna hear a shocker? I actually prefer this to my 187. $3 looks a lot better if I want duplicates, too. I've been using this to apply my mineral foundation, then I go over it with a Kabuki to buff it in a little more. Like the Complexion Brush, this came in a vinyl package with a protector.
I was really excited about getting this brush, because I've never gotten a Fan Brush before. Sadly, I was disappointed. This is the only brush that is not densely packed-the picture fools you big time-, and because of this, it's so flimsy I'm not sure I'd even claim its performance as "decent". If you have a [very]minimum amount of fallout you want to brush away, this helps a little with that, or if you want to apply a VERY light wash of color, you may find success with this brush. All in all, I wouldn't even consider it worth the 3 bucks I paid.
A lot of reviews have had people complaining that the heads of the brushes were loose, and the bristles so short they'd scratch their eyelids on the ferrule. My brush, luckily, did not have either of these problems, and I'm actually very pleased with it! The bristles are densely packed and come to a slightly tapered point. The brush picks up a lot of color and deposits it exactly where you want it. This makes crease work easy. On the packaging, e.l.f. claims it can be used to easily blend. It does blend out fairly well, but only to an extent. You may still want to blend further with a fluffier brush.
This is a great eyeshadow brush. I didn't have a problem with the eyeshadow brush from the Professional line, but I'd consider this 10x better. Even though the bristles are short and densely packed, this brush is still very soft. It picks up [and deposits] a great amount of product, and I have actually had less fallout since using this brush. The only thing I don't like is the application of cream shadows. [I tested since e.l.f. says give wet or dry a go.] I think you'd be better off using a brush targeted toward cream shadow application, or maybe even a concealer brush.
If you don't want to buy the full set, this is almost exactly like the Small Smudge Brush, just a tad bigger. This brush is good for smudging out eyeliner, or applying a shadow over it to set. I've also used it to apply concealer to small areas. The end is tapered, so if you're wanting to line precisely, the Small Angled Brush may be better for you, but I find that this gets the job done well enough.
This is not part of the 10-piece Studio set, but can be bought along with it, as well as an additional Blush Brush. Overall, this brush works well. There were a few bristles longer than the majority, but those were easily cut down, and the brush still had a very nice dome shape. The Kabuki is incredibly soft, like the others. It's not quite as dense as I prefer a Kabuki to be, but it still gets the job done, and you can achieve a natural, airbrushed finish. I'd say it's worth the $5.
The bottom line- In the end, these brushes are well worth what they sell for. I plan on trying the last 4, and possibly buying duplicates of a few. Assuming the other 4 match up to these, I would give this set a 4.5 out of 5 so far. For the price, you definitely can't beat the quality.
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