Makeup Brushes: e.l.f Essential Concealer Brush ($1) vs. e.l.f Studio Small Smudge Brush ($3)

One of my must-haves and favorite eye brushes to use is a small defining or detailing brush. Reasons behind that? First of all, it is able to reach into all the weird corners of the eyes, which is very necessary especially if you have narrow eyes. It is also great for lining the eyes, highlighting the eyes and most importantly, it is great at creating intricate designs on the eyes, if you're into that sort of thing. Which in my case, I am.

But do you have to pay a lot of money for such a versatile brush? Heck No!

In this post I'm going to introduce to you to two amazing, affordable such brushes and they only costs $1.00 & $3.00.

Introducing Eyeslipsface (+e.l.f. Cosmetics)'s Essentail $1.00 Concealer Brush & Eyeslipsface(e.l.f)'s Studio $3.00 Small Smudge Brush.

Yes, the e.l.f Essential $1.00 brush is not marketed as an eye brush but a face brush; a concealer brush if you want to get technical. I tried it first as a concealer brush and it turned out to be rather useless for its purpose because it is so tiny, but it works amazing as an eye "Detailing" brush! It is also shaped identical to the e.l.f's $3.00 Studio Small Smudge Brush. 

So do they work the same? Is one better than the other?

The difference between the two brushes are the bristles. The synthetic bristles on the $1.00 concealer brush is a bit more sleek since it is meant for a foundation/liquid consistency. So picking up powder is a bit difficult, but when you use it on a gel or a creamy textured shadow, it works perfectly.

The $3.00 smudge brush is great for everything on the eyes (powder, gel, & cream) since it was made for that purpose. So in versatility-wise, the $3.00 brush wins. 

RELATED POST: e.l.f Beautifully Bare "Blending Brush" Review

However, I say get both brushes because when doing an eye look you usually need to use multiple brushes. If you have all the same looking brushes, things can start to get confusing. Since these two brushes are clearly visually different, you are less likely to be confused on which brush you used on which shadow.

So you can get decent detailing brushes for cheap. If you watch my makeup tutorials on my YouTube channel, you will notice I use these brushes a LOT! A LOT!

Happy Wandering! 

Alice