Sigma Tapered Highlighter and Face Brushes Review!

Sigma F25 Tapered Face Brush & F35 Tapered Highlighter Brush

You might remember me talking recently about wanting a domed shaped powder brush, and how I've had my eye on the Sigma F35 Tapered Highlighter Brush. I'm not sure if it's the unique shape of the brush head, or the fact that you don't see them around too often and I wanted something different (you mostly see the regular, standard, boring brush shapes) - All I knew was that I needed one (or two) in my collection even if I don't really need it.

So, I went ahead and ordered both brushes after not being able to choose one over the other.

F25 Tapered Face Brush - Designed for precise product placement of powder, blush and contour shades to the face. ($22)
F35 Tapered Highlighter Brush -Designed for precise product placement of highlighter to the face. ($16)

Upon waiting for my order, I was a little nervous that the brushes wouldn't be soft. I own a few sets of Sigma brushes and they are for the most part very soft, but I also have a couple duds that aren't very soft at all (F50 Duo Fiber and F05 Small Contour).

I was really excited to see that these brushes are ultra soft and luxurious.

As with all of my other Sigma Brushes, they are of great quality. You can tell just by holding the brush in your hand that it's a well made brush. They feel very sturdy and are comparable to higher end brushes.

The handles are a shiny black, and the lettering has changed from their previous plain silver to holographic silver lettering - a nice touch that makes the brush look additionally attractive.

A few people told me that they don't find much use for the F25 Tapered Face Brush because they find it too large, so I was expecting an awkwardly large brush - but it's actually the perfect size for a powder brush.

I've been using the F25 mostly for applying bronzer all over my face, as well as using it for setting powder. It works wonderful for both, especially since it's not too dense where it's going to deposit too much color in one spot, and it's super soft so it glides like a feather across the face. The pointed tip is great because it allows me to reach small areas (under my eyes, corners of my nose, etc) and around the frame of my face. I can see how some think it's too large to work as a contour brush for the cheeks - if you want really precise application of your contour powder or bronzer, you may want to opt for the smaller option - the F30 Brush.

The F30 works great for very precise application of contour powder in the hollows of the cheeks. The size is absolutely perfect for it - it's not too small or too big. It also works wonderfully for powder highlighter for applying the product precisely across the highest point of the cheeks. Lastly, it's also very useful for setting the under-eyes with powder as it can reach small areas with it's domed tip.

As with many brushes, with daily use, they can start to lose their shape, and expand outward. Of course it hasn't happened to mine yet, but to keep the bristles together, I like storing them in Coastal Scents Brush Guards. Sigma also has something called the "Dry'N Shape" that is also used to keep the bristles together once they're washed.

As far as shedding goes, they both shed a few bristles during washing, but I haven't noticed any since. Also, neither brush released dye when washed which really surprised me - till this day the water still runs gray when washing my F30 and F50 and I've had them for one year.

Here's a photo of the brushes against my face for scale.

Overall, I'm really happy with these brushes and I'm sure I'll be using both on a regular basis. If you're in a rut and don't know which one to choose, I'd recommend the F35 as I think due to it's smaller shape, it applies product more precise and is a little more versatile than the F25.

Sigma Brushes are sold exclusively on their website, at http://www.sigmabeauty.com.

Sigma Mr. Bunny Travel Kit Review!

Sigma Mr. Bunny Black Travel Kit

The Sigma Mr. Bunny Brush Sets are Sigma's synthetic, or vegan version of their Make Me Up Brush (which I own and love) Collection.

If you're familiar with Sigma Brushes, this set uses the same "Sigmax HD Fibers" as the popular F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki. The bristles are super soft and fluffy, and although they are synthetic, the bristles higher quality than synthetic brushes you may find at the drugstore (Ecotools, etc).

This set includes:

Pencil E30 - Precise application of color on the crease, outer corner, upper and lower lash line.
Tapered Blending E40 - Rounded and tapered top. Specially designed to apply and blend color on the crease.
Eye Shading E55 - Soft and dense with a rounded finish. Can be used to apply pressed or loose eye shadows and pigments.
Small Angle E65 - Essential for the application of gel or cream eye liner on the upper and lower lash line.
Large Powder F30 - Very dense with a rounded top. Ideal to apply powder products on face and body.
Large Angled Contour F40 - The angled shape makes this brush ideal to apply blush or contour shades.
Foundation F60 - Can be used to apply liquid or cream foundation. Recommended to apply moisturizers and conceal large areas.

All of the brushes have the same name as the regular Sigma brushes, so it might be a little confusing, but you can't actually order these brushes separately, which may be the reason.

Sigma Mr. Bunny Black Travel Kit

Sigma Mr. Bunny Black Travel Kit

I've been using these brushes all week, and I'm excited to share my thoughts with you!

Firstly in most brush sets, I don't care what the brand is, there's always a dud in the brush set - meaning there's usually a brush in the set that doesn't perform as well as the others, the quality isn't as good or it's just a brush you wouldn't have much use for. I'm really pleased with this set as every single brush is useful and they are all of very good quality.

I've had lots of experience with Sigma Brushes and I'm really happy with the quality of the handles. With many lower-end brushes, the ferrules (metal part) will come loose, or come apart completely. I haven't experienced it with any of my Sigma brushes, and you can tell from holding these brushes that they will last a very long time.

My favorite brush of the set is the F30 Large Powder Brush. So far I've used it for setting powder and for liquid foundation, and I really like this brush for applying foundation. Although it's not very dense, it does a really good job blending in the foundation for a really soft, natural finish. 

I don't really like using synthetic bristle brushes for powder blushes and bronzers - my personal preference is natural bristles, as they typically apply the product lighter and disperse the product more evenly. I've been using the F30 Large Angled Brush for powder bronzer and blush, and it actually performs very well, applying the product evenly. 

I've been using the F60 Foundation Brush for applying liquid concealer and the bristles are very soft and remain soft even after the bristles are covered in product. I've also been using the E40 Tapered Blending Brush for concealer and I absolutely love it. I use to really love using my MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush for concealer, but after having the brush shed each time I used it, I stopped using it for liquid products and now only use it for powder. I'm so happy to have a good quality synthetic brush to use for concealer. The tapered tip works wonderfully for lightly buffing the product in and distributing product evenly on the skin.

As far as the other three brushes, I've been using the E55 Eye Shading brush to apply my eyeshadow base to my lids, or to pack color on the lids (I find synthetic brushes work best for heavy color application). It's also great for applying a wash of color to my lids or for applying my MAC Paint Pots.

The E30 Brush is a bit small and dense for a crease brush (but still works) and I actually really like using it to smudge eyeshadow across my lashline for a "smokey" look. 

The E65 Small Angle Brush is your typical angle brush, and works great for filling in the brows and applying eyeliner.

Here's a comparison of the regular F30 and F40 Brush to see the difference in the size of the brush head and the length of the handles. Because the Mr. Bunny Set is a travel brush kit, the handles are shorter and the brush heads are a bit smaller.

Here's a comparison to the regular Sigma Brush Cup. As you can see, it's about half the size.

The set retails for $59 for seven brushes and a brush cup. If you divide it by the number of brushes (minus the cup), it's about $8.43 a brush. Of course there are other options out there for inexpensive brushes (Coastal Scents, Ecotools, ELF, Forever 21, etc.) but there will definitely be a difference in the quality of the bristles. If you're looking for a basic synthetic brush set, I'd say this is a great set to look into.

Price: $59, Sigma.

Also, I placed an order for the Sigma Tapered Highlighter and Tapered Face Brush, so I should have reviews for those up soon. I used the code 'APRIL2012' for 10% off!