Are we not always looking for affordable makeup brushes? I certainly am! Some of my favorite brands to buy brushes from are Zoeva and Sigma, but those can still be on the more expensive side of things. So at times I love looking at brushes by drugstore brands. After my favorite brush for primer by Real Techniques fell apart, I therefore decided to look at a very affordable brand for a replacement: ELF Cosmetics.
ELF Precision Swirl Foundation Brush Review
Why ELF you might say? Because it is one of my favorite affordable brush brands. I already bought a bunch of them a few years ago and I love all of those brushes. My particular favorite: the small stipple brush. I love it for contour either powder or cream and it is great for applying cream blush, highlighter and bronzer too. It is a great little brush that is a great multitasker. So I picked up another complexion brush by ELF when I had the chance. The Precision Swirl Foundation Brush retails for €12 from Douglas, but it is $10 if you buy it from Target which is slightly less expensive. I got mine in the US when I was at Target.
Why did I buy this brush?
I can give you a very straightforward answer to that: I was looking for a replacement and decided to try something new. I love brushes like this for applying primer, which is not the intended use of this brush. However, a few years ago I stopped using my fingers for applying primers. It is one of those things I just decided I wanted to do differently in my routine. So I bought a Real Techniques brush that was created for applying skincare products. However, that has become harder to find and when it started to fall apart, I was in need of a new brush. This looked similar, retailed for a similar price, and I love ELF brushes. So it was worth a shot.
What does this brush do?
The ELF Precision Swirl Foundation brush is one of the more luxurious brushes in ELF’s line making it slightly more expensive then most brushes in their range. It is created for applying liquid foundation: either sheer or full coverage and make it very easy to buff that product in with precision. It has a little cavity in the middle of the brush which allows you to pump some product into it. This little reservoir then holds the product, allows you to dot it around your face and then blend the product in to your desired intensity.
What makes this brush special?
Here you can closely see the little hole in the middle. This brush is not as nicely cut as the one I had by Real Techniques. It is also a fair bit smaller than that. But it still gets the job done. As I mentioned, I love this for applying primer as it really makes it easy enough to blend the primer into the skin. I find that with a brush I don’t get as nice of a even layer as I do with a brush and this brush in particular makes it easy to do so. It just makes the step of applying primer so much quicker to do and you don’t have to wash your hands afterwards. What’s not to love?
What are my final thoughts?
I really like this brush and would definitely repurchase it if it ends up losing its luster. And I think I will have to at some point: I have only been using this for a few months and I am already losing a hair every once in a while. That said, I have had some of my other brushes (much more expensive ones might I add) that have done the same thing and that are still fine after years of use. Brushes simply shed some hairs after a while. In the case of my Real Techniques brush it ended up being the beginning of the end though as that started shedding more and more until I washed it and half the brush head came out. So I hope this will last a good couple of years to come. If it does that than this has been a great replacement brush.
3 responses to “ELF Swirl Foundation Brush”
It’s a coincidence that you posted this because I just bought Pretty Vulgar Detox and Chill Water Lava Primer! I don’t normally wear primer because I have skin that tends to break out but this one sounds promising. I used to use Smashbox Photo Finish primer and I’d put it on with my fingers. Honestly, I never thought of using a brush. This is a great post because I can about never afford the better brushes, but now I think I’ll give the elf ones a try.
ELF has some great affordable brushes. I don’t like all of them, but there are a few that use almost every day.
[…] Primer is one that feels creamy, rich and is easy to apply because of it. I like using this with my ELF brush and it works very well. This has a very pleasant, clean smell to it as […]