Sigma Makeup has hit the online cosmetic scene in a big way. Thanks in part to some highly-viewed YouTube gurus, Sigma seems to have blown up over night. The relatively new, yet highly sought Sigma, offers a variety of brushes at reasonable prices. Their brush kits range in price from $39 for Eye or Face Brush sets, to $79 for complete kits. There are also a number of individual brushes available for sale on their website -
Sigmamakeup.com. For those of us familiar with MAC brushes and their uses, Sigma has named their brushes in accordance. For example, the SS 239 is aptly named to be comparable to the MAC 239.
So, who are they? How are their brushes produced? Here is some information taken from the Sigma website:
The Sigma Makeup brand is synonymous of quality and functionality. Our products are handmade and were developed to satisfy the highest quality standards.
We offer a complete line of professional brushes specifically designed to highlight eyes and face. Each brush was individually tested for performance, resistance, and durability.
The Sigma Makeup brushes are available in different kits to attend your specific needs. You can also acquire individual brushes and customize your own kit. A brush roll specifically designed to hold and maintain your Sigma Makeup brush collection is also available.
Ready to get started? The Sigma Makeup products are guaranteed to exceed your expectations!
Sigma Enterprises LLC
If you keep up with any YouTube gurus or frequent online make-up forums, you've probably heard the latest raves over Sigma Makeup Brushes. How good are they, really? How do they compare to both drugstore and high end brushes? Are they worth the money? We'll let your form your own opinion.
SUYT is happy to have two Guest Reviewers, Haley and KT, who were as intrigued by these brushes as everyone else out there. They have generously given their permission for us to share their reviews here.
Hi girls. I know a lot of you have been wondering if this brush set is worth all the hype, so I decided to review them!
These are my honest opinions, so I hope you find this helpful! Also, of course if anyone else has this brush set you are more than welcome to comment your own reviews!
**I do not have any MAC dupes, but I do have a couple of brushes that I did comparisons to.
**
So here is the full set, in all it's glory! I LOVE how each of these brushes came with guards - and the ones for the face brushes are definitely reusable, so that's great for when you wash and re-shape them!
Here are just the face brushes: L-R is the SS150, SS187, SS168 and SS190
REVIEWS:SS150: I think that this is a great powder brush. I did a comparison to my $6 Eco Tools powder brush, and I prefer the SS150. I love the fact that this brush is super dense, and it's very soft, too. It does well with picking up pressed powder, as well as loose powder. The Eco Tools powder brush is a little too flimsy for my liking, although it is softer than the SS150.
SS187: This stippling brush is WONDERFUL! It's SO soft, and SO dense! I am in love. I compared it with my Sonia Kashuk highlighting brush and you can see how much more dense it is. (Sorry for showing off my dirty brush, lol) I used the SS187 today for applying bronzer and it was fabulous!
SS168: My FAVORITE brush out of the set! This is amazing for applying blush and contouring your cheeks! I think this is the softest of the face brushes, and it's dense! It picks up color extremely well and blends it out smoothly! I don't have an angled blush brush to compare it to, but I definitely love it, lol.
SS190: A very good synthetic foundation brush. I used it today to smooth out my liquid foundation before using my blending sponge, to get more even coverage. It didn't feel scratchy on my face at all. I like that this is bigger than my previous Sonia Kashuk flat foundation brush.
AAAND here's all the eye brushes! L-R is SS224, SS239, SS252, SS275, SS219, SS194, SS209 and SS266
SS224: My favorite out of the eye brushes! I seriously love this brush. I compared it with my Sonia Kashuk fluffy dome brush, and although they look similar, they ARE different! The SS224 is more stiff than the SK, and more dome shaped. It is still soft enough to blend out colors well, though. It's perfect for applying shimmery highlight colors, too. It picks up a good amount of product and is a versatile brush, in my opinion.
SS239: This brush was somewhat of a disappointment. I was hoping that it would be more like the MAC 239, and to me, it's more like a MAC 227. It's pretty fluffy and larger than my Sonia Kashuk flat shader brush. It still does a nice job with packing the color on, but I think I am still going to buy the MAC 239 to have as well.
SS252: I used this brush today to apply my paint pot to my lid, and it was a bit scratchy, so right now I am not caring for it much. I think I will stick to using my SK flat shader for applying paint pots.
SS275: This brush is pretty nice. I wish it was a little more dense though. I used it for a more defined outer v shape today, and it didn't exactly work how I wanted it to. It's still a nice brush though, maybe someone else knows of a better use for it? It's very soft, just not very dense and sorta flimsy.
SS219: This one was somewhat of a disappointment too. I compared it to my POSH crease brush duo (which is pretty much the same as the Essence of Beauty crease duo, if you have that). The SS217 is fairly large compared to the small of the crease brushes. This one might be good for defining an outer v - but it's too big for me to use for under my lash line. It was also the only brush out of the lot to shed on me so far.
SS194: A firm, yet nice concealer brush. I am not sure I love it, but I also don't like to use a brush for concealer anyway. I used it to apply the concealer and spread it out, and then used my blending sponge to lightly press it in.
And finally, the two liner brushes... the
SS209 and
SS266: These are both very precise and very small. I don't use gel liner, but these seem like good brushes so maybe having these will let me branch out and try using that type of eyeliner.
So all in all - I would DEFINITELY recommend this brush set to anyone! Especially for those of you that are just starting out with make-up, and can't afford to buy the expensive MAC brushes. These are a great alternative and I definitely see why people are raving about these! Not EVERY single brush rocks my socks, but the majority of them really do! So yes, when these brushes come back in stock... buy themmm... hehe.
Thank you so much, Haley, for the fabulous review and photos, and for allowing us to post it.
KT's ReviewI got mine today also. I love the face brushes but I am not entirely sure about the eye brushes yet. I have a few mac brushes to compare with but not all of them. I've taken a few pics to compare so I hope it does help. The thumbnails are clickable for a larger view. For the comparisons, the MAC brushes are on the right.
I'm just mainly going to comment on those that I can compare to the mac ones.
ss187 - this brush is super soft and it's a lot more dense than my MAC187. I haven't used it yet but so far I am really liking it, so much that I really want an ss188 when they come out
I have had terrible fallout with my first MAC187 (like 20 hairs on my face bad) so I could be a little biased but right now, I like both.
ss190 - I used to have the MAC190 brush but I had swapped it. It is pretty similar to the ss190 though, the ss190 seems a little softer than the MAC190 though. But personally, for foundation, I think the 187 is better for a flawless look compared to the 190.
ss219 - this brush is a lot fluffier and it flares out more than the MAC219. For me, since I mainly use this to apply/smudge liner, the mac is better just because I have a little more control of how much I am smudging.
ss252 - please see my pictures. The MAC252 is a lot bigger than the ss252. I don't own a MAC242 but I have a feeling that the ss252 would probably be a better dupe for the MAC242 instead.
ss224 - please see my pictures. The MAC224 flares out a lot more and I think that's really what helps blend.
I don't have any use for the ss209 and the ss266 so I wouldn't be making a fair comparison between the two. The ss276 feels really nice and soft but imo, the ss194 is a little too stiff for me as a concealer brush. I know for sure that I will be buying the 239 from MAC since from everyone's review, it really does seem like there is no substitute for it. All in all, I am really happy that I made this purchase. They aren't exact dupes but I really think that the brushes are made very well. Personally, I would've been fine with just purchasing the face brushes cause I absolutely love them except the concealer brush.
Thank you so much, also, KT, for allowing us to use your amazing review and pictures.
I've been MIA for a few days due to this swine flu. Okay, not really swine flu, but a nasty fever, cough, and bronchitis which has just been oh-so-much-fun. But I return (for a few minutes anyways) bringing you the most amazing news of the year.
