I know there are many fans of Sigma Brushes out there, but I can’t say I number amongst them as I think they have their hits and misses as every brand does. I do however, have a couple I like and use often and because they’re pretty affordable, I thought I’d introduce you to them.
We kick off with this, the Sigma E25 Blending Brush.
Mine comes with a shorter silver travel sized handle as it was a free gift with an order I made quite many years ago. It is however sold as a full sized brush with the usual long black lacquered handle for an affordable $12.
As the name implies, this is a blending brush for eyeshadow but over the years, I’ve found that it does a lot more than just blend shadow.
The white bristles are natural hair and I believe it’s goat. Don’t hold me to it though, because I can’t seem to find any information on what they may be made of, on the official site. It isn’t the softest of goat hairs but it isn’t overly pokey or scratchy and fairly soft so I’d say that it’s of passable quality. Naturally, don’t compare this to the much more refined brands because at this price point, I don’t think it’s fair.
The oval shaped brush head is quite dense yet fluffy and this is great because not only does it blend out edges of eyeshadow, you can even use this brush to apply eyeshadow or if you like, apply concealer on the under eye area.
In fact the first time I used this brush was not even for blending out colour.
I used it to apply colour to the area just under the brow bone. You see, I’d learned that applying a light highlighter shade of eyeshadow to the underside of the brow bone brightens the eye area and makes you look more awake and Heaven knows, we could all have more of that!
So digging in my stash yielded me this brush. The hairs are dense enough so I can apply a wash of colour, yet fluffy enough so I can blend it out very easily. If I feel the need to blend out the edges of my eyeshadow, I use this brush too. It’s soft enough that it doesn’t scratch my skin.
If you don’t want your under eye concealer to look cakey, you can use a brush like this to apply the product. It gives a lighter coverage and a more diffused look to the skin. You’d be surprised you know. Natural hair really does apply cream and powder product better and more evenly to the skin, with a lighter more natural appearance. At least that’s my experience which is why I prefer using natural hair brushes.
This Sigma E25 Blending Brush has also been touted to be a dupe of the MAC 217 blending brush but as I do not have the MAC one I am unable to compare. I do have another 2 brushes that look the same in my stash so I’ll show them to you below.
All in all, I’d say that this is a good brush to have in your brush stash. It is multi-functional and performs well, plus holds up well to washing. I’ve had this one for a few years and the bristles still wash out fairly clean with just soap. I couldn’t complain really!
In a nutshell
The Sigma E25 brush is a blending brush with white natural hair bristles. It is dense enough so you can use it to apply a wash of colour of eyeshadow, yet fluffy enough so you can use it to blend colours and edges. I like using this to apply a wash of highlighter under my brow bone and to blend all my eye colours together. You can also use it to apply concealer to the under eye area. The white bristles wash out fairly clean and it hasn’t shed much on me over the years. I would say it’s a soft brush although not quite the softest I’ve used. That said, I’m not complaining for the price.
Brush Hair: Goat (natural)
Pros: Affordable, Multi-functional brush, Dense enough to allow for application of eyeshadow colour yet fluffy enough to blend colours, Soft and does not scratch the skin
Cons: Hard to find as it’s mostly sold online
Who will like this: Anyone who is in the market for an eyeshadow blending brush that isn’t too soft, Anyone who is in the market for an affordable blending brush similar to the MAC 217
Sigma E25 Blending Brush vs Bdellium Maestro 776
I recently purchased a couple of Bdellium brushes to try out due to the raves and one of it was the Maestro 776 brush which looks remarkably similar to the Sigma E25. They’re both of white natural hair (goat, I believe), both have the same shape and density and both are suposed to perform a similar function.
The similarity stops there. I found the Bdellium Maestro 776 horribly scratchy. Horribly! If I weren’t familiar with brushes, this would have put me off natural hair brushes forever. It was that bad. I don’t like it one bit so although it’s also affordable, I’d tell you to get the Sigma E25 instead. Much better.
Which do I prefer: The Sigma E25 because the Bdellium was horribly scratchy
Sigma E25 Blending Brush vs MAC 224
The Sigma E25 has been compared to the MAC217 but I don’t have the MAC217. Instead the only similar looking MAC brush in my collection is a very old one – the MAC 224SE. The SE tells you that it’s from a travel kit and it’s ancient (but surprisingly still is pretty decent!)
Unlike the Sigma E25 which has a flattened base and therefore a flatter construction, the MAC224 has a round base with a round brush head. It therefore performs a better blending function although I too find it just dense enough for me to use to apply highlighter around my eyes.
I do find the MAC 224 brush softer although it’s a lot older and has been washed more often but in terms of use, I’d say they’re both on par with each other.
Which do I prefer: I’d say they’re equal. I don’t have the full size MAC 224 so I can’t say, but I think they’re both decent brushes so it will depend on what fits your wallet.
Do you have the Sigma E25 Blending Brush? Do you use blending brushes like these?
I never did before this, but it’s grown on me. I like using brushes like this, as I said, to apply highlighter colours to the brow bone and then quickly brushing it across the lid to blend my eyeshadow colours or blend out harsh edges. You could say my Sigma E25 gets quite a lot of use from me! 😀
Paris B
Sigma E25 Blending Brush Price: US$12 | £10.50 Availability: Sigma website, Love-Makeup and other online stores (I only list the ones I’ve bought from)
This does look exactly like the MAC 217. I don’t own the Sigma one, but I do have two MAC 217. It is probably my most used eye shadow brush. I can do a full eye makeup with just this one brush. Love!
I’m the opposite, not owning the MAC 217 but with a similar brush shape, I’d tend to agree with you. I can use this one brush alone if I wanted to do a simple eye 😀
I agree with Sze Ling, it does look very similar to the MAC 217 but I think the MAC one is just a tad fluffier than the Sigma E25. For 12 USD, the Sigma actually really affordable. Have you had a chance to try the Coastal Scents 250 or the Bdellium 776 one, apparently they are just as dupe-able to the MAC 217 🙂
Nope I haven’t tried the Coastal Scents one but I compared the Bdellium 776 in the picture above. Mine was horribly HORRIBLY scratchy! So no, I had absolutely nothing good to say about that one 😛
Oh crab cakes, I totally missed that part. This is what happens when I comment whilst working 😀 Weird eh, I have the Bdelllium and its doesn’t scratch my skin, then again, I have thick skin, LOL! 🙂
LOL Crab cakes! *slurp* Now I want some 😛 I’m going to try and wash my Bdellium with conditioner and see if it helps. Some people say it does but honestly, I was really surprised at how scratchy it was and it’s been a while since I’ve had anything that scratchy near my eyes 🙁
To be honest, i always use my fingers. Theheehe.. :DD
So did I Dain, until I discovered the joy of using brushes and I’ve never looked back 😀
Hey Paris, this looks like MAC 217 to me! I still love that brush to death, but sadly nowadays the quality just isn’t the same anymore. I eventually swapped the newer one out, because it’s just so much scratchier than the old one. I might have to look into this!
Ooh has the quality of MAC brushes dropped then? It used to be that I’d only ever buy MAC brushes and pigments because I don’t use anything else from MAC. That said though, I don’t know how scratchy the MAC brush is but this one isn’t wonderfully soft, but it doesn’t scratch my skin either like the Bdellium so for a handy dandy brush I think it’s decent enough 🙂
I love the E25 too!
I own two MAC 217s, and I must admit that it is comparable.
I still prefer 217 because the end is sharper and can do a cut crease. The E25 is slightly more blunt, but this also means the E25 is a bit faster at blending.
It all depends on whether you want a precise blending brush or not.
For travel, i definitely will bring the E25 though because MAC does not have a shorter version of the 217. I have the same free E25 as you, and it fits perfectly into my makeup pouch.
Yay thanks for chipping in Jyoan! It’s good to know that the E25 is comparable to the MAC217 and you’re right about taking this one for travel. I don’t feel heart sick when I do LOL
I’ve never been too impressed with Sigma as a whole personally. I purchased a set of face brushes and all of them except for the foundation brush which I didn’t use too much were scratchy and shed (both on my face and when I washed them).
They’re cheap and accessible, but since I am lucky to afford better ones nowadays, I do.
I have tried Sigma brushes a few years back and I have to say their natural brushes especially for the face don’t measure up. They do however, do synthetic brushes well so I like those, just not their natural brushes nor sets. But then perhaps I’m also a wee bit spoilt right now with choice so I’d never pick their brushes at the first instance. This one is an exception 🙂
I have both this and the MAC217 and while the shape and size are pretty much the same, the MAC217 is a hair less scratchy 😛 Also, the Sigma one doesn’t hold its shape for long, I find that after about 2 years of regular use, the brush started to flare and look beat up while my MAC217 is still looking pristine 🙂
Good point, I guess there’s a price to pay for quality 🙂 But for the price of the Sigma I think it’s a fair enough product. Now I’m curious to try the MAC217 LOL
Have you seen Wayne Goss’ Youtube on 10 ways to use the MAC217 brush? After watching that, I am really so tempted to get the brush as I never knew that it was so versatile. LOL.
Victoria, I have!! But I suppose you can do the same with similar brushes? I do feel sometimes that the MAC217 is slightly too big for my Chinese eyes…
No I hadn’t but after you mentioned it, I looked it up and gosh! 10 ways to use a brush – fabulous! 😀 To be honest though, I only ever really use it for highlighting and blending. All the contouring stuff are beyond me and to use it to apply blush? It’s take me years! LOL
Seems like a lot of readers own 2 of the MAC 217, inc. myself. 😀 It is expensive, but so soft and easy to clean. I haven’t really tried it with cream eyeshadow yet though.
Haha! And I don’t own even 1 😛 But this “dupe” tells me that it’s a great brush that works so well for so many things that it’s useful having doubles or maybe even triples eh? Maybe I should get a MAC217 😛
paris, i’m so grateful for this review. i had two of these lying around that i completely ignored. it was small, not that soft and kind of sparse looking. it looked liked a cheap freebie that wouldn’t do much. as it turns out, the shape is perfect for a more angular blend (instead of a round blob that gives me a racooned look) and seems to diffuse color faster than my other blending brushes. thanks to your review i now have a new favorite brush and am reminded that you can’t judge a book by its cover!
Yay! I’m happy you rediscovered a gem in your stash! 😀 I love it when that happens – sometimes I think it helps to take a look from a different perspective at something we already own 😀
i completely agree!