Sigma Brushes Overview

So I bought the Naughty in Black travel kit from Sigma. I got these brushes because I really wanted to try them out and see how they were because while I love my MAC brushes they are very expensive and I know personally I rather buy makeup then brushes with my money. While brushes are very important to makeup and how it looks buying actually makeup is more fun then brushes in my opinion. So I wanted to test out the Sigma brushes to see if the quality was really the same. I've seen multiple girls try them out but they are all people who have over like 10,000 subscribers on you tube and like 5000 blog followers so lets be honest I wasn't sure how true those reviews were and if there was any compensation involved.


*FYI This is a long post, it is my honest opinions, feel free to post your own thoughts in the comments if you agree or disagree with my opinions.

Now in fairness of disclosure sigma does have an affiliate program anyone can sign up for it, but if you click on the link in my blog and purchase something I would get 10% of the sale but I don't make money off you looking at the site through that link only if you buy something. If however after my review I find that I dislike the brushes I'll take the link down because I don't want to promote something I don't like, but so far I'm loving them I'm however going to give my review time another week to really make sure I like them. I purchased these brushes with my own money, and nothing was given to me because of the affiliate program for this purchase. I wanted that to be known.


Now being in the affiliate program will allow me to possibly get free things to give way as prizes to my followers. So this does benefit you guys as well.


First and foremost the packaging is very nice and pretty and made me excited to open it.

Then the package also came with a little guide type booklet that shows you what each brush is for.













The case that the brushes came in is really nice, it's a nice soft leather, not sure if it is real leather or not the website doesn't say but it is nice either way.











Now on to the brushes that I bought.


These are the travel sized brushes but are they same quality (so I'm told by sigma via e-mail) as the regular brushes. I purchased these because I hate dragging around my full brushes when I go on vacation so this kit was perfect for me, and it was only $49.00 for 7 brushes, which is better then the MAC travel kits.


The Brushes I got are the following:

F50- Duo Fibre

F70- Concealer

F40- Large Angled Contour
F30- Large Powder
E40- Tapered Blending
E30- Pencil
E55- Eye Shading


Now Sigma brushes are very nicely labeled with the name and the numbers on the handle. But in case you were sure they have 3 categories of brushes: F= Face, E= Eye, and L=Lip.


Now below you will find a generaly thoughts on the brush, followed by a review of each brush, and then a comparison to the brush that I have that is similar to it.


Now about each brush:


The F50- Duo Fibre:











This brush did not shed when I washed it but when I attempted to apply foundation it did, but my MAC 187 brush also shed when I first used it as well.


Without comparing it to a MAC 187 it is a nice brush and works to apply blush or powder but it is too soft to apply foundation.


Compared to the MAC 187 it is just to soft these brushes aren't really similar and you really can't apply foundation with it, unless it is a powder foundation and there are better brushes for that.


I would pick the MAC 187 over the Sigma F50 for foundation, but would be ok for Blush or Bronzer.


The F70- Concealer:











This brush had no shedding during washing or use. I really liked this brush for concealer it worked very well. However I really prefer to use my fingers for concealer.


Without comparing it to a MAC 194 It is a nice concealer brush; it is stiff with out being to hard to apply concealer with. Also It is very soft which is a nice combo seeing as how most stiff brushes are not also soft.


Compared to the MAC 194 these brushes are totally different and really can't be compare to one another. The MAC 194 smaller and thinner then the F70 which is one thing I didn't like about the MAC 194 to small to cover up some areas.


I would buy the F70 if you are looking for a good concealer brush over the MAC 194.


The F40- Large Angled Contour:











This brush had no shedding during washing or use. This brush is a nice blush brush, it is very soft and applied color well, However it does not contour very well so I would use this brush only for applying blush, also it doesn't hold it's shape very well.


I do not own the MAC 168 brush so I can not compare the too, but compare to my Sonia Kashuk it is softer and applies about the same.


So if you are looking for a good blush brush I would say buy the F40 brush.


The F30- Large Powder:











This brush sheds not stop during washing and use. I honestly only used it a few times because I got so sick of it leaving hairs all over my face.


MAC has so many large powder brushes if I compare this too my MAC SE129 I would pick the MAC brush with out even thinking about it. They don't shed and they are softer then the E30, oddly it also smells.


Avoid this brush!! Buy one of the MAC face brushes.


The E40- Tapered Blending:











This brush had mild shedding when washed but had none with use. This is one of my favorite brushes out of the set. It is really soft and blends colors out well.


With out comparing it to a MAC 224 it is a great blending brush for finishing an eye look to make sure there are no harsh edges.


Compared to the MAC 224 or the NARS #13 I actually hate the MAC 224 I feel like it does nothing, but the NARS #13 and the E40 are very similar they both blend harsh edges so well.


If you are looking for a great blending brush for blending out harsh lines I would definitely buy the E40.


The E30- Pencil:











This brush had no shedding during washing or use. This brush is a great brush for applying color directly to the crease or to the lower lash line. 


Without comparing it to the MAC 219 it is a great pencil brush that is stiff enough to apply color to the lower lash line without getting color everywhere.


Compared to the MAC 219 I like my MAC 219 better but only because it is a little softer then the 219 and I have really sensitive eyes. By no means is it painful but since I have a MAC 219 I would use it over the E30.


If you are looking to buy a pencil brush but don't want to pay a lot then I would say pick up the E30 as long as you don't have sensitive eyes.


The E55- Eye Shading:











So this brush was the hardest for me to be non bias about. I love my MAC 239 brush but you can't compare this two brushes honestly. The MAC 239 is smaller and it is made with goat hair. The E55 is a larger brush with natural hairs.


Without comparing it to the MAC 239 which was hard because I love my 239, It is a very nice soft shader brush. It is more ideal for people with bigger eyes but works almost as well.


Compared to the MAC 239 it is larger and had different bristles so really I don't feel like I can fairly compare them.


If you are looking for a large eye shader brush I would say you should for sure pick up the E55.


I also got some free brushes that weren't part of the kit.


The F60- Foundation:








This brush had no shedding with wash or use, also this brush is one of the best brush I tried from Sigma. It is identical to the MAC 190 brush. I honestly couldn't even tell the difference if you handed me both brushes with the names covered.


Without comparing it to the MAC 190 this is a fantastic foundation brush that applies smoothly.


Compared to the MAC 190 this brush is almost identical the only difference I could say if I was forced to find  a one would be that the MAC 190 is maybe a little softer.


If you don't already have a foundation brush I would say buy the F60 you won't regret it.


The E25- Blending:








This is my other favorite brush that I got from Sigma. It is a fantastic blending brush. I like it better then the MAC 217 brush.


Without comparing it to the MAC 217 it is a perfect blending brush, it is stiff enough to get a great blend, while still being soft. Best blending brush I have tried.


Compared to the MAC 217 it is just a better version, softer and stiffer, just blends better.


If your looking for a blending brush buy this one!!


Price Comparison:


F50- $16.00
MAC 187- $42.00
Sonia Kashuk Large Duo Fibre $12.99
Sephora IT Stippling Brush- $32.00

F70- $9.00

MAC 194- $22.50

Sonia Kashuk Concealer Brush- $9.99

Sephora IT Concealer Brush- $28.00

F40- $14.00

MAC 168- 32.00

Sonia Kashuk Angled Blush Brush- $17.99

Sephora IT Angled Synthetic Blush Brush- $35.00

F30- $16.00

MAC 150- $42.00

Sonia Kashuk Powder Brush- $19.99

Sephora IT Round Powder Brush- $40.00

E40- $9.00

MAC 224- $29.00

Sonia Kashuk Small Powder Brush- $10.99

Sephora IT Crease Brush- $24.00 

E30- $9.00

MAC 219- $24.50

Sonia Kashuk Crease Shadow Brush- $9.99

Sephora IT Smudge Shadow Brush- $22.00

E55- $9.00

MAC 239- $24.50

Sonia Kashuk Eye Shader Brush- $9.99

Sephora IT Medium Shader- $20.00

F60- $14.00
MAC 190- $32.00
Sonia Kashuk Foundation Brush- $14.99
Sephora IT Foundation Brush- $30.00


F25- $9.00
MAC 217- $22.50
Sonia Kashuk Domed Eye Shadow Brush- $9.99
Sephora IT Blending Brush- $24.00


Their brushes are by far the cheapest with Sonia Kashuk brushes being a close second. And oddly on a side note I learned that the Sephora IT brushes are way expensive seeing as how terrible they are (I actually returned the ones I had bought they were so bad).


Also Sigma offer free gifts with purchase over $30.00 so that's great bonus to buying from Sigma.

So my final thoughts, If you are looking to start a brush collection Sigma brushes are fantastic, the are a great value and good quality. If you already have a good sized brush collection there are a few brushes that I think would be better then the ones you have but otherwise stick with what you love.

Basically I won't be getting rid of my MAC brushes any time soon. But the sigma brushes are a good quality and aside from a few bad ones I would recommend these brushes.

Until Next Time

<3 Lisa

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