Review: Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Set

Doing a review for Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Set.

I bought this brush set earlier from a local blogshop because I really wanted another concealer brush. Not going to mention the name of the blogshop because wasn't too pleased about their service.

Photos Obtained from Google Images

The Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Brush Set contains 3 duo-sided brushes. It comes with a travel-size ziplock bag.

From top to bottom: Blending and Eye Shadow Brush, Blush and Powder Brush,
Foundation and Conceal Brush

The brushes are rather soft and nice. First impression was that I really liked the Foundation and Concealer Brush because it was the most well made out of all. The others just don't look as nice.

Blending and Eye Shadow Brush
This brush has brown bristles that are quite soft. The blending brush is a flat topped brush. It is really big for my eye area. I wasn't too sure what it was for initially because it's just too big. It can be used for applying all over eye lid colour for people with bigger eyes. It can also be used for blending out harsh edges around the crease area. I just find it to be too big for me. Doubt I'll really use this much.

I really like this eyeshadow brush. It's very soft like E.L.F Eyeshadow Brush. E.L.F's regular eyeshadow brush is rounded at the top but this is angled. I like that it's angled because it goes in the crease areas so well and blends out really smoothly. Makes eye makeup such a breeze. Definitely one of my favourites.

Blush and Powder Brush
This brush has soft white bristles at one end and coarser black bristles at the other. The blush brush is small and fluffy and slightly angled. It's too small for blush application but maybe fine for precise blush application. I thought it was really nice to use this for maybe contour work. However one thing I really hate about this brush is that it stinks like crazy after washing. (Maybe I didn't dry it properly) I think the blush brush is made of animal fur. Not 100% sure but it sure smells like it. I really like this brush but it just stinks too much for me. Am not against animal hair brushes or anything but I don't really own any and have no idea how to make it not stink. Sorry if it sounds stupid. It doesn't help that it's duo-sided so it makes brushes harder to dry.

The powder brush is a small domed shape brush. This side leaks dye like crazy when washed so definitely wash all your brushes before using it. It is really small so I wouldn't really use it as an all over powder brush. It is probably good for you to dust a bit of powder to set your undereye concealer or other concealers where you need setting.

Foundation and Conceal Brush
This brush comes with yellow with brown tipped bristles. It is good for creme and liquid application. Both sides are similiar, just difference in size.
The foundation brush is big and nice tapered brush. I like that it's really thick at the sides. I don't really use liquid foundation but after testing it out, it really makes applying liquid foundation a breeze. You can get into corners around your nose and the foundation blends out really well. Would recommend this if you need a cheap and good liquid/creme foundation brush.

The concealer brush is the same except it's smaller. I really like how tapered and thick it is. Really wanted to get this because of that. I have the E.L.F Studio Concealer Brush which is rounded at the top and good for cream concealer application too. But I like the Essence of Beauty Concealer Brush even more. It smoothens out liquid or cream concealer around the undereyes really nice and makes it not as cakey. You get the concealing job done so much faster too. Just dab your concealer on. You can conceal a bit first with your fingers to slightly warm it up. After that use the concealer brush to go over the area and buff it out. It softens the edges of the concealer patch hiding the dark eye circles. The same thing applies to redness around the nose, mouth so on and so forth. One of my favourites from this set.


Overall I'm liking only half of the brushes from this set. The Blush and Powder Brush is my least favourite duo-sided brush out of the 3. Am prepared to throw it away because of the crazy problems it gives me. The eyeshadow and concealing brush are my favourites currently. I think this brush set's worth considering if you want to find cheap and good brushes. It's pretty decent. Maybe you can choose to buy the brushes seperately and not this particular set but am not too sure if their brushes are consistent. Duo-sided brushes probably save a lot of space but I find it kind of hard to dry them properly. Really not a fan of it.

The Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Set retails for USD $14.99 on CVS.com.

Reviews: E.L.F Studio Brushes Part 2

I can't sleep.

On to part 2 of the review for E.L.F Studio Brushes. (Oh my god, E.L.F studio has new stuff again. :( )

Kabuki Face Brush



The E.L.F studio kabuki is quite big and fat. The bristles are really soft to the touch. It's not dense but still well packed. Love the brush on the face because it's just so soft. Had been using it for quite a while and I really like it. Would prefer it for buffing finishing powder instead of powder foundation cos the coverage it gives is on the sheer side since it's not dense enough.

Blush Brush



I totally adore this brush now. Didn't try it for the longest while since I was hooked to the Powder Brush for blush application. Wished I did so earlier soI could order more. The E.L.F Studio blush brush is quite a tiny brush (for a blush brush). It's really small with a rounded head. It's a flat brush. This brush is really good for precise blush application, when you just want the blush to go on the apples on your cheeks etc. I tested it with mineral blushes and pigmented blushes and it picks up just the right amount without making the face overdone. Love it to bits. However I don't like to use the brush for blending. You might want to use any brush to blend out the brush as it gets it done faster. Have yet to use this brush for applying contour. I should be trying soon.

Contour Brush



This brush is really soft. I really like the touch of it and how cute the head looks. The head is dome-shaped. Ok, as a contour brush, I find it's only all right. The bristles are too short if you want to use it for defined crease application. The ferrel, on the other hand, is too wide and circular for the bristles so they protrude out a little more. When applying eyeshadow in the crease, the ferrel can be kind of scratchy, especially if you are planning to dig the brush in deep to the socket and blend.. It's not very pleasant. If you want to use it blending, it doesn't do as good a job as the E.L.F blending brush from their regular US$1 line. The feeling of it brushing to and fro feels spongy.

However, I think it works well as a pencil brush. It's good for applying eyeshadows precisely in corners, on the lid, or under the lash line. Light blending is all right, just not when you need to blend at the crease line to get a defined crease. They should change the name of it.


Read Part 1 here.

Review: E.L.F Studio Brushes

I've gotten a couple of the E.L.F Studio brushes and I've tried my best to take pictures. As they are black, it's really extremely hard to capture any details. I'm skipping photos for these. I think they show up better on E.L.F site. :(

Overall, I really like these brushes. They are made of taklon and I think they're really neat and not poorly made. They're worth every penny paid. (Oh my god, I just realised they have new brushes again! -.-) So if you have a chance to pick them up, don't hesitate. At least pick up the first two brushes mentioned below. The Complexion brush and Powder brush are must-gets. They are so cheap and so useful.

Powder Brush
This is a flat-top brush that's slightly flared out. It's very soft and dense. It's very good for applying mineral foundation and very easy to buff it out on the face. Also good for anything that needs blending. I find it similiar to Everyday Minerals Flat Top brush just that EDM's brush is more dense and it isn't flared. Personally I prefer ELF's version as EDM's flat top brush has been irritating my skin. This has taken over as my favourite flat top brush after using it.

Complexion Brush
Oh. This is one of my favourites too. It's a dome shaped fluffy brush. It's not a rounded brush if you look at it from the top. It's just a flat brush (from the sides) like The Body Shop blush brush, but more fluffy at the top. It's super soft on the face and I love it. I find it good for when you need a light dusting of loose powder all over the face or when applying blush or bronzer. I like using this, especially for pigmented mineral blushes (mineral blush that comes in loose powder form which can be a pain to work with if I use the TBS blush brush, as the brush is slightly flatter and would cause all the blush powder to stick together). It'll go onevenly on the brush and go on light-handed on the face like a sheer blush. Perfect!

Concealer Brush

The ELF Studio Concealer Brush is just flat and dense. I find it really good for applying and blending creamy concealers.

Small Angled Brush
This brush head is really small. I think it's half the size or maybe two-third of the size of a normal small angled brush. It worked decently in applying gel-liners or for using it to apply eyebrow powder to the brows. It can also be used to line eyeshadow along the corners or along the lower lids. I really like it for applying gel-liners. What I hate about this is the handle is really long so it's a hassle to keep.


I still have a couple more brushes which I haven't tried. Will get to it and continue with part 2. ;)