I recently purchased a Sigma essential brush kit from http://www.sigmabeauty.com costing around $89.00 (excludes worldwide delivery charge). The essential kit contains twelve brushes for the face and eyes.
Brushes included are: (see image below)
E05 - Eye Liner brush
E30 - Pencil brush
E40 - Tapered Blending brush
E55 - Eye Shading brush
E60 - Large Shader brush
E65 - Small Angle brush
E70 - Medium Angled Shading brush
F30 - Large Powder brush
F40 - Large Angled Contour brush
F50 - Duo Fibre brush
F60 - Foundation brush
F70 - Concealer brush
I wanted to find a complete set of brushes that I could use on a daily day to day basis which I can rely on for face and eye make-up and a kit to freelance with. There is not many complete kits you can purchase on the market, you tend to have to purchase each brush individually. I heard that Sigma brushes were a comparison to the Mac brushes so I had to try it out for myself.
I must say, the packaging when it comes is really good. Considering the price, it feels luxurious. It comes in a well packed cardboard box with another box within, each brush in their own plastic wrapping. You also get a free gift for spending over a certain amount. The simple black and silver design makes it look sleek and professional. Here's my review of each brush in the essential brush kit.
E05 - Eye Liner brush - I really liked this brush. The point and thinness of this brush makes it really easy to apply your gel eyeliner with. You are able to get a nice thin line.
E30 - Pencil brush - I didn't like this brush at all I found this brush to be too soft to blend out the eyeliner/eyeshadow. I would need a more harder/more dense top to create a smoked out look.
E40 - Tapered Blending brush - I quite liked this brush because of the tapered top. Tapered brushes are good for adding contour and dimension to the face.
E55 - Eye Shading brush - I really liked this brush as it's a big fluffy brush so it is a lot easier to apply your eyeshadow with. Also the shape of this brush makes it a lot easier to contour the eyelids.
E60 - Large Shader brush - I quite liked this brush as it's really easy to apply the base eyeshadow with first.
E65 - Small Angle brush - This brush is really good for applying gel eyeliners as you can create a thin or thick line depending on your preference and also for filling in the eyebrows.
E70 - Medium Angled Shading brush - I found this brush useful for applying extra colour to the eyes where needed.
F30 - Large Powder brush - I love this brush so much. This brush is my favourite brush out of this kit. I like the size, the texture everything about it. This is a very good brush. This brush can be used for setting the foundation in with either a translucent powder, blot powder or coverage foundation.
F40 - Large Angled Contour brush - I love this brush. I don't like to apply any product to this brush. I just use this fluffy brush for blending out eyeshadow to create a defused/smoky look.
F50 - Duo Fibre brush - This brush is really good. The stippling brush gives your liquid foundation an airbrushed finish.
F60 - Foundation brush - This is one of my favourite brushes at the moment. It is so easy to apply your liquid foundation with this brush. I love everything about it. I like how it is harder in texture than other foundation brushes as I find it locks in my foundation more.
F70 - Concealer brush - I like the size of this brush but I find that the bristles are too soft so when I am applying a full coverage concealer the bristles tend to get heavy and hard to apply. I think this brush only works well with a liquid concealer.
I think some of the brushes you get within the kit are really good and really practical and I would recommend purchasing them as it is affordable and you won't be disappointed for what you are paying for it. But I wouldn't say they are as good as Mac brushes. The quality of the brushes are not as better than Mac but of a better quality than your ordinary drugstore and Elf make-up brushes. I would recommend Sigma's essential kit if you are looking for a complete set of brushes for yourself or if you are looking for a kit to practice make-up with or a complete kit you can rely on to freelance with.
