E.L.F. Essential Bronzing Brush & E.L.F. Studio Blush Brush

Having purchased quite a large haul from E.L.F. earlier this year, I was really surprisingly impressed with the quality of their products considering the pricing. In the haul I purchased a Studio powder brush (which is the one similar to a flat top kabuki foundation brush) and found it to be dense, soft and witnessed no signs of shedding. 

So in a recent purchase from Beautyjoint.com I decided to try some of their other brushes. These two brushes were a big disappointment. At $1.99 for the Essential Blushing, Bronzing and Blending Brush and $3.99 for the Studio Blush Brush you really get what you pay for. Not much! 

First up, the essential bronzing brush has hair that seems to be made out of hay. The hairs are not soft, not fine and they are certainly not dense. It is very thin in volume and does not make blending an easy job. Frankly, I can't imagine anyone to brush this up against their cheeks. Someone posted on makeupalley.com that this brush gets softer with use, but unfortunately I am not willing to test that theory out.

Next up is the Studio Blush Brush. This brush has much finer and softer hair which is silky smooth to the touch. I would definitely prefer to use this for bronzer than blush as it is quite tapered/pointed. I personally prefer my blush brushes to be more rounded and puffy because for me it blends out the blush more evenly for a natural hint of colour. I will keep this in my collection, however, if you are from Australia and looking for good quality medium price ranged cosmetic tools, i recommend Artiste from Priceline or Real Techniques. They are available from various websites for around $10 each.

Have you used E.L.F. brushes before? Which ones? And how did you find them?

Estee Lauder Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush - Tease

So of course my first blog post would have to be about one of 2013's most famous limited edition blushes. This Blush was released in the rest of the world earlier in the year around March and were long sold out before us Aussies even caught wind this product existed. It has been raved about by the likes of Tanya Burr, Zoella and just about every other Beauty Guru with a Youtube account. So of course, being a religious follower of holy grails products and monthly favourite videos, I HAD to have this blush in my collection.

It was a long wait. It was launched in Australia on 15th September. But of course, if it was on schedule something would be terribly wrong. So most stores didn't received any stock of it until days later and I was finally able to get my hands on the blush after going to about 5 different department stores. The Lauder staff actually used the "this is our last one" sales pitch on me which annoyed me a little bit as I hate sales people who feel the need to say this to push a sale. 

In terms of the product, I think it just might be a little bit too shimmery for me to wear on an everyday bases for just buying some groceries and running errands (in other words, for a housewife). It is just pink and silver shimmer from every angle that you look at it. It is gorgeously soft to the touch and applies like a dream but the staying power is not the best on the market. 

The soft creamy yet powdery texture has me hooked and I will definitely be on the lookout for more of Estee Lauders Powder Gelee products from now on.

This blush retails in Australia for a whopping $75 AUD. For those who don't know, it equals to about $71 USD with today's currency. Which is really, really, extremely unfair as temptalia.com mentioned this product retailed for $40 in America and Tanya Burr purchased hers for 30 Pounds in the UK.

Let me know if you have purchased this blush and how you find it. Do you love it or can you live without it?