Be prepared for another rather long post, but one I’ve been meaning to do for a very long time now. I’ve been a long time user of Sigma brushes, probably for well over a year now (If you see my Book of Fables, you see I use like 4-5 different brands at once, what can I say? I like to road test brushes!!). I thought like my previous brush comparison, I would do one for Sigma too. I wanted to give you a better idea as to whether or not the travel brushes are worth getting 🙂 So let’s get on to it, I will only be comparing brushes I personally have used and own.
Regardless of their size, the brushes are given the exact same name so I labelled the full and travel version in the photos below.
Generally speaking, I was very impressed by the travel sized brushes, some were exact dupes, some were actually better quality than the full sized version and only very few were a little lower.
I would confidently recommend the travel sized brushes if you were either strapped for space or actually did intend to travel, they are good quality, work well and the experience I had with them as nothing like the experience I had with the MAC brushes.
Large Powder SS150 / F30
The difference here is obvious, the full sized is massive in comparison! In fact, I find it way too large for my face and use it as a body brush now. I found the bristles on the travel version to be just a tiny bit softer too.
Large Angled Contour SS168 / F40
Apologises for not being able to remove all the pigment from the my full sized, you can tell it gets a lot of use! No major difference between the two besides the travel version being just a tad smaller. Quality is exactly the same.
Duo Fibre SS187 / F50
Like before, the travel version is just a tad smaller and the bristles are only ever so slightly softer. But honestly, the difference is barely noticeable unless you’re silly like me, and like to spend your evenings writing these sorts of reviews for a comparison blog post ;P
Concealer Brush SS194 / F70
These two are pretty much identical, the only reason the full version looks a bit “worn” is because it’s been used more, but the two are the same in every other sense.
Short Shader E20
Aside from the very minor size difference, the quality is identical!
Blending E25
Quality wise, these are exactly the same, but I found that the travel version wasn’t as tapered as the full version. Plus the travel brush shape felt more “flat”, less rounder than the full sized. Example, the full sized version is a bit better for precise colour placement and blending, whereas the travel version is much better as a blender or placing one colour all over the lid.
Pencil SS219 / E30
I found the travel version to be only a bit stiffer than the full sized, which is actually preferred as it did a better job at blending out harsh lines. The full sized version wasn’t as good at doing this, I felt it slips around more and isn’t as precise with blending out lines. The bristles on the full sized were softer.
Tapered Blending SS224 / E40
Big difference here, massive! The full sized version flares out like crazy! It’s perfect only for blending out your eye shadow, or placing powder to larger areas (like brow bone), the travel version on the other hand is far more tapered and is the perfect crease brush! I absolutely love it, so very tempted to buy another travel kit just for it since they don’t sell travel brushes separately 🙁 It’s one of my favourite brushes atm. I also found the bristles on the full sized to be a little rougher.
Small Tapered Blending E45
Apart for some minor size differences, I found these to be identical in application and quality.
Eye Shading SS239 / E55
The full sized version is a bit bigger and less dense than the travel sized, meaning it’s a little harder to pack colour on using the full sized version. It’s not a massively annoying difference, but now that you mention it (see what I did there? I blamed you guys! :D), there is a difference.
Summary
- Not all the travel brushes are exact dupes of the full sized, in fact few of them are.
- The quality between the two is very comparable, exactly the same for some.
- Sigma travel brushes are definitely worth getting if you travel, they will function almost exactly the same as the full sized brushes. They are solid, well priced travel brushes!
this was very helpful, I’m looking for some new Brushes & this helped me narrow down my choices =) xo
Woohoo! I’m so happy to read this 😀
Great review, I think I’d just assumed the travel brushes were exactly the same but with smaller handles. Some of those size differences are crazy, they could even be sold and numbered as completely different brushes!
Thanks! Yes it’s surprising how different they can be, I really do wish they would sell the travel brushes individually since their function is so different to the full sized ones for some of them 🙁
Would this set be suitable for every day use? I’m starting from scratch with brushes and am looking for a set. If there are any other sets you’d recommend please let me know, I’ll be in the US next month so can purchase there. Thanks!
If you mean everyday use at home (so you aren’t traveling) then I’d recommend one of the complete sets (the ones that come in big tubes) from Sigma, it’s not that the travel versions wouldn’t last, but having the longer handles I think you’ll find puts less strain on your wrists. MAC have great brushes, but are obs very expensive, going through my little kit, I rotate through some Lancome brushes as well as e.l.f. e.l.f is very very cheap, BUT if you are thinking of using them, make sure to only get brushes from their Studio line (black packaging), the one with white packaging is even cheaper but the quality is awful.
I’ve heard good things about some of the brands you can only find in Target in America, one starts with Sonia and another Japa-something or other. Both are pretty affordable too 🙂 Good luck! I wish I were going to the US too!! Have fun 😀