Sigma F80 Kabuki Brush Review

As you can imagine, I own a fair few make up brushes. But, I've never really felt that compelled to write a review about them. Maybe it's time I did, I dunno, what do you think? Anyway, I decided to review this brush mainly because Sigma is a brand that I've heard so many other bloggers raving on about, and I've noticed a fair few that have been affiliated with the company over time of reading blogs. Plus, when I was lucky enough to win the Sigma F80 Kabuki Brush, in a giveaway on Hannah's blog, I was kinda excited about it.

So, anywho, here ya go:

Brand: Sigma
Number: F80
Type of Brush: Flat-topped Kabuki Brush
Bristles: Synthetic
Price: $16 (I'm not sure if you can buy them in the UK, but as far as my small knowledge goes, you can't.)
Ideal for: Predominantly, this brush is for applying foundation, but it can also be used to apply products such as concealers and moisturisers.
Sigma Despcription: "This exclusive flat top synthetic kabuki was designed to deliver a flawless makeup application. The Sigma Makeup F80 is a buffer brush that can be used to blend powder or liquid products. The short and dense bristles make it easy to buff your liquid foundation. The long handle adds comfort to your makeup application. The synthetic fibers are ideal to be used with liquid products and can be easily cleaned. Made of Synthetic Sigmax HD filament."
Initial Thoughts: When I heard that I was receiving a Kabuki Brush, I will be honest and confess that I wasn't really very excited, because I'd just forked out £8.99 buying one from GOSH, literally weeks previously. And, as a result, I was expecting a brush that looked similar in design to this, which is short and stubby with quite a large area of bristles:

Image from Superdrug.

So, when I did a little bit of research and discovered that it was more like what I would perceive a foundation brush to look like, I was a little more intrigued.

Image by Kat M

Needless to say, the brush is not what my pre-determined knowledge of a Kabuki Brush tells me. But, it still fits the Kabuki "ideal" because in my opinion it has a thicker consistency of bristles than a lot of foundation brushes, if that makes sense.

How I used the brush: I'd been told that the brush provided excellent coverage, so I initially tried using the brush with my mineral-based powder foundation, and I don't know if it was because I had too much product on the brush, but I ended up looking ridiculous, and the powder was difficult to blend. Whether this was my error, or a problem with the powder, or even the brush, I'm not too sure. But, I'm not too sure that I'll be using the F80 with a powder again, anytime soon.

Second time lucky: I have to confess that I abandoned using the brush for quite a while, feeling disappointed that it hadn't lived up to the immense hype that I'd read about it. But, when I found myself testing a new liquid foundation, I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to give the brush another try.

I started out my squeezing a small amount of product onto the back of my hand, and kind of dabbed it with the flat edge of the brush.

Image by Kat M

I then attempted to apply the foundation in a dabbing motion for coverage, but I found that this didn't really have the kind of effect that I was going for. Plus, the fact that this seemed to take forever to do. So, I started applying it in longer sweeping motions, and that seemed to work better for me.

I gradually built up the coverage using small amounts of product, until my face was covered and well blended.

Result: The overall result was perfect, with excellent coverage. This could have been contributed to by the foundation, but the brush certainly blended the product out nicely.

Would I buy more Sigma Brushes? As much as I was happy with the result of this brush, I do think that $16 is a lot of money, that I don't necessarily have, so on price alone, I would have to say no. But, I also have to take into consideration that when it comes to make up brushes, I am also a believer that you get what you pay for. And, I say that as someone who owns some very cheap brushes, not just in cost, but also in quality. For eye shadow brushes, cheap can sometimes be fine, but I've never been able to find a cheap foundation brush that had the same effect as a more expensive one. Hence, why I was happy to pay £8.99 for a GOSH Kabuki Brush.

But, if I'm going to spend more money on a brush, I definitely expect them to last a long time, so I'm hopeful that this one will.

Have you tried Sigma brushes? What do you think? As good as the hype? Over-priced? Worth every penny?