E.L.F Haul and review: Studio Powder brush.

Ever since I heard of E.L.F. Cosmetics, I’ve been hooked. More so on their professional line (Studio). Most of their ‘Studio’ products are $3.00 and above. The brush line is better than their regular line. I’ll do a review on the regular brush line, as soon as I get all my review notes in order.

Any-who, on with the haul:

The first product I want to review is the Studio Powder Brush:

The brush looks very stylish (as with all the makeup brushes in the Studio line). The construction feels solid. The weight distribution is a bit odd where it’s heavier towards the ferrule. The handle part feels plastic’y and hollow. Not necessarily a bad thing, since I know the black color will not rub off unlike ELFs regular brushes. The ferrule is securely attached to the bristle head.

There is a distinct smell that comes from it prior to washing. It’s a combination of vanilla and ethanol (it has a very chemical odor). After a 4 washes with baby shampoo it went away. A bluish/greenish dye came off during the washings (which also went away after 4 wash/rinses). A couple of hairs also came off.

As for the bristles, it’s made out of taklon (synthetic fibers) which is perfect for people who do not like using animal hair. Also, I’m really impressed with how soft the bristles are. It’s even softer than my POSH kabuki. This brush compares it to the Everyday Minerals flat top brush. However, it’s not as dense. Not to say it’s not flimsy, but will be good enough to pick up a good amount of product.

It comes with a plastic brush guard. This is good thing because it will help keep the brushes shape.

As for application, I find it works decently with mineral makeup. Since it’s not as dense, it will go on sheer. I still prefer using my Everyday Minerals flat top brush for minerals. In my opinion, the best product for this brush is liquid foundation and I find it applies a medium coverage. Some people say it’s a dupe for the MAC 187, but I think its bristles are too close together get the pixelized finish. It will stipple, but you’ll get a heavy application. The following picture will show what I mean:

I don’t have a MAC 187, but a Sonia Kashuk Highlighting brush (hopefully it’ll come close). As one can see, fiber optic brushes are great for stippling because the fiber bristles are spread apart. The foundation on the ELF studio is clumped together while foundation settles on the pointy tips of the fiber bristles.

The pic above shows how it will stipple (I added the Everyday Mineral brush on the right for comparison). The Sonia Kashuk brush gave the lightest application of the three. The Studio gave a medium application and the Everyday Minerals was heavy (which is the reason why I don’t use this brush for liquid foundation).

The way I use this brush for liquid foundation is to lightly stipple and buff it in. I think this approach is similar to how people use the MAC 109. As I said before, it will apply a medium coverage with one application. So, I wouldn’t use too much foundation or it will go on cakey. Also, this approach is waaaay faster than stippling. So, this is the brush to go to if you are on the go.

To sum it up….

PROS:

• It’s a great brush for liquid foundation for fast application.
• You can use it for mineral makeup, but I think the Everyday Minerals brush will do a better job for coverage.
• Won’t put a dent in your wallet: $3!
• Uber soft bristles.
• Brush Guard

CONS:

• It has a weird chemical scent
• Weight distribution is weird

Next review is the ELF Mini Makeup Collection.