ELF Studio 11 Piece Brush Collection

You can now officially state that my newest, favourite beauty destination in Trinidad is at the Chic Clique. What a makeup lover’s paradise!

So another great item if you are now starting off with makeup is the ELF Studio 11 piece brush set. The set includes 11 ELF studio brushes all wrapped up in black brush case. The case is supposed to be water resistant. It comes nicely boxed so it’s great as a present. What I like right off about this set is that all of the brushes come wrapped in plastic and the bigger ones have plastic protectors for the brush heads, which is great for helping to maintain their shapes. On opening the case though, it does have that synthetic plastic smell. 

 

Now the brushes are made of antibacterial, synthetic Taklon and are pretty soft. ELF really impressed me with including a small printout in the case which explains what the uses of each of the 11 brushes are as well as brush care! They also have the names of the brushes on each brush. This kind of information is really great for makeup newbie’s. This is my take on these brushes.

1. Complexion brush:

Mainly used for applying powder. You can apply blush or bronzer as well by just holding the bristles together a bit. 

2. Powder brush: 

ELF suggests this one is perfect for sculpted looks and can be used for contouring. I prefer to use this one as a stippling brush or for buffing in foundation. 

 3. Angled foundation brush:

Well the name says it all really. But the angled shape really helps you get into those corners around the nose. 

 

4. Fan brush:

I’m not a big fan of fan brushes yet. But if you want to know fan brushes can be used to wipe away eye-shadow fallout or you can add a soft application of blush or highlight. This one even though it came with the plastic head protector had a few bristles that poked out of the fan shape. 

5. Blush Brush:
Oh I really like this one! Yes you can use to apply blush, bronzer & highlight. The pointed tip really helps to create defined looks. Most blush brushes are more rounded on the top. 

 

6. Concealer brush:

Well since concealer is not a regular man in my makeup arsenal, I normally use this to apply primer onto my eyelid. It’s great for use with creamy products. 

 
7. Contour brush: 

They call it contour brush; I call it dome shaped blending brush. I mainly use this one for sweeping darker colours in the outer V. Side note: Can you see the slightly bend out of shape handle? 

 

8. Eye-Shadow C brush: 

This one is really unique! As the name suggests it has a C shape and its use is for creating the perfect smoky eye. Of course feel free to use it just to apply or pack colour onto the lid but it really is great for moving in the C shape or windshield wiper motion. 

 

9. Small precision brush:

Make thin lines baby! This one is like a flat pencil brush so it’s great for applying colour to the lash line. It not super pointed enough for a lip brush but can work if needed. You can also use for spot concealer treatment. 

 

10. Small smudge brush: 

This one is smaller than the small precision brush, about 2/3 its size. So basically it can be used for the same purposes. 

11. Small angled brush: 

Used for applying liners or eye-shadow/ brow powder to eye-brows.

 

Even though these two brushes don’t come with this brush set, I thought it was appropriate to share them with you here. The stippling brush which you can use for well, stippling. I feel it is a bit too soft for stippling foundation but of course you can use it for that light, airbrush finish.

The kabuki brush is extremely soft and can be used for buffing out the foundation or powder also for that light airbrush finish. These two though I bought online. 

 

Of course there is also the ELF essential line of brushes (US$1 each) which also has some pretty good ones there as well. My experience though is that some of them are a bit scratchy and you get bristle fallout along with dust in the bristles even before using for the first time (perhaps due to packaging and transport).

I really hope this post makes it easier for you to understand what this brush set is all about or generally how brushes can be used. I really feel it is ideal when you are starting out in makeup or just a brush hoarder like me!

XOXO

Naomi