Brushes 101

Hi guys! I got a request on the budget beauty facebook fan page the other day to do an in-depth guide to brushes. I thought it was a great idea. It can be intimidating when you are first starting out with brushes knowing what brush should be used with what products, etc. The awesome girl that requested that I do this blog post has the 11 piece brush set from the elf studio line, and since I own that and love it as well, I figured I would go over each of those brushes, as well as some of the other brushes that I use on a daily basis.

First I will go over the Elf studio eleven piece brush set. This is a set available at eyeslipsface.com It includes 11 brushes, as well as a waterproof carrying case and can be purchased for 30 dollars.

Elf Blush Brush

The first brush that I am going to talk about it the Elf blush brush. This is a synthetic hair brush with a unique shape. It has a quite small brush head, making it good for precise application of blush, bronzer or highlighter. I do use this brush for blush sometimes, but my favorite thing to use this brush for is actually applying highlighter to my cheek bones. It's the perfect size for that, and since it's synthetic it can be used for powder or cream highlighting products.

Elf Powder Brush

This brush is quite possibly the most "famous" brush from Elf. It's a flat top synthetic brush that is very dense, which makes it perfect for applying a lot of different products. Many people use this brush to stipple on foundation. I, personally, do not use it for that very often (though I have). My favorite way to use this brush is exactly what it says on the handle. For powder. It's great for applying the perfect amount of powder to the face to set my foundation. It really buffs the powder into the skin leaving a beautiful finish.

Elf Angled Foundation Brush

I am going to be honest, I have never actually used this brush. I am sure it's a lovely brush, but I don't use this type of brush for foundation. I prefer a stipple type brush for liquid foundation over this paint brush style. Still, if you enjoy this sort of application for your foundation this is a good one for it. It's quite soft while still being stiff enough to work with. It has a nice angle that would be good for getting around the nose and cheek bones and the like. I can't really think of any other good use for this brush, which is the reason I have never used it.

Elf Complexion Brush

This is a great multi-purpose brush. You can use it to apply pretty much any powder product to your face, whether it be powder, blush or bronzer. I personally tend to use this for blush. I think it's the perfect size shape and density for that purpose. It's an incredibly soft brush, and dense enough that you can control exactly where the product goes. I really love this brush!

Elf Concealer brush

This little brush is a great concealer brush. It's large enough that it can be used under the eye without taking ages to blend the concealer in, but it's small enough for spot concealing. I like the shape of this brush as well as the size and use it for concealing all over the face!

Elf Fan brush

This is another brush that I don't get much use out of. When
I do use it, though, I tend to use it for a couple of different things. I have used this brush for highlighting my cheekbones in a pinch and it works nicely for that. But most often, I use it to wipe away fall out from powder eyeshadows and glitter. It's nice for sweeping that sort of thing away before applying foundation and powder.

Elf Eyeshadow "C" Brush

 Moving on to the eye brushes in this set, we have the elf eyeshadow "c" brush. It's indeed a "c" shaped brush, more commonly known as a shader brush. This is a nice, dense soft brush that I use for packing color on to my eyelids. It can be used in a pinch for blending as well.

Elf contour Brush

The next brush in the set is the Elf contour brush. This is a nice dome shaped brush that is great for working with contouring shades for the eye. It fits nicely in the crease of the eye and works well for adding depth and dimension to the eye. This is also a very nice eye blending brush, due to it's soft fluffy nature.

Elf small angled brush

This is one of my favorite brushes from the eleven piece brush set. Again, like all the other brushes in this set, it's synthetic and soft. The angle on this brush makes it perfect for filling in my eyebrows. It's also a great brush for cream or gel eyeliner, because the angle makes it easy to use on the lash line.

Elf small Smudge brush

This brush has a small brush head on it that I often use for smudging eyeliner or eyeshadow along the bottom lash line. It's also pretty good at smudging eyeliner for a smokey look. In a pinch, I have even used this brush to fill in my eyebrows. because it's so small, and has a bit of a domed tip, it's a very functional little brush.

Elf small precision Brush

This brush is very similar, in my opinion, to the small smudge brush. honestly, I don't see why you need both. They are both tiny little brushes. The only difference is this ones ends in a bit more of a point. I use this brush for all of the same things that I use the other one. I have also used this brush for applying a highlight to the inner corner of my eye, and ecen as a lip brush before. It's another versatile little brush.



So that does it for the elf eleven piece brush set. It's a great little set, but in my opinion, there are a few other brushes that you need to really complete the set. Some of them I have found from Elf, and a few others are from coastal scents. So I will go over a few more that I have purchased, love and use on a regular basis.

Elf stipple Brush

I bought this brush in the hope that it would work for powder blushes. It really doesn't, in my opinion. It's not dense enough for that. I also find that this brush is too floppy to apply liquid foundation with. honestly, I don't really use this brush for much. I wanted to include it because I know a lot of people do find that this brush works for those uses. Just because it doesn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you.

Elf kabuki face brush

I love this brush. It's the perect size shape and density for applying powder, as well as blending out face products. Whenever I have applied my bronzer, I always go back in with this brush to blend out the edges and make it look natural and pretty!

Coastal Scents Powder Buffer Brush

 

 

Most of the brushes that I own and love are from Elf but I also have a nice collection of brushes from coastal Scents. I use them all occassionally, but this is the brush that I use every single day for foundation. It's nice and dense, and makes application of cream and liquid foundations easy peasy. The shape is perfect for getting in around my nose and mouth. The synthetic bristles make it perfect for not picking up and absorbing too much product. This is what I wanted the elf stipple brush to be. Love it!

Coastal Scents Angled Blush Brush

This is another coastal scents brush that I use on the regular. This is also the only natural hair brush that I use on a consistent basis. I believe this particular brush is goat hair. It's amazingly soft. It's dense, without being too dense, if that makes sense. I use this brush most often for contouring my cheekbones with bronzer. The angle makes it perfect for that. I love this brush and highly recommend it!

Elf professional powder Brush

So we're back to elf brushes now, but this and the rest of the brushes I am going to be talking about are from Elf's essential line. Each of these brushes cost 1 dollar and a lot of them are amazing. This is the elf professinal powder brush. It's a small brush. The name makes you think it's going to be a large powder brush, but the head of this brush is actually quite small. I use this brush for powdering under my eyes. I find that it's the perfect size for that, and since I use a lot of concealer under my eyes, I like to make sure that it is nicely set with a loose or pressed powder. This brush is ideal for that. This brush can also be used for contouring the face in a pinch!

Elf professional eyeshadow brush

This is another cult favorite in the beauty community. This little brush only costs a dollar and it rivals so many higher end brushes. It's just a flat shader brush. It's got shirt-ish bristles, and it's perfect for packing color onto the eyelids. It's easily one of my favorite brushes, and I own multiples of it, since it's just a dollar! Love this brush and highly recommend it!

Elf professional defining Eye Brush

I find this brush to be incredibly useful. It has a bit of an angle to it, which makes it nice for applying a brow bone highlight. I also use this for applying an inner corner highlight. It can also be used for creasework.

Elf professional crease brush

This tiny little brush head makes it perfect for applying color precisely into the crease. It's a super precise pencil style brush. You can place color exactly where you want it without having to worry about it going everywhere, due to the density and size of this brush.

Elf professional blending eye brush

This little beauty of a brush is a nice blending brush for the eye area. It's great for going back where you placed the eyeshadow with the crease brush and blending it out nicely. I wish that Elf made a fluffier version of this brush as well for even more blending options, but this one works well, and it's dense so it's easy to keep the eyeshadow exactly where you want it while you are blending.

Elf professional Brow Comb and Brush

I use this brush, along with the elf brow brush (which is just your basic spoolie) for grooming my eyebrows, as well as removing clumps from my eyelashes. It's a great basic brush that everyone needs in their collection in my opinion. And it's a great value at just a dollar.




So there you have it. There is a quick overview of all the brushes that I use on a regular basis, as well as what I use them for. I hope that you found this post helpful! Leave me a comment down below letting me know how you liked this. Do you use your brushes in different ways then I do? Let me know that as well! I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Thanks, as always, for reading!