UBU Undercover Lover concealer brush No. 21

I have been on a concealer kick lately, trying out lots of concealer samples and playing with different application methods for the concealers in my stash. I never used to use a brush for my undereye concealer (for no sane reason), but I have grown into the notion lately. I own quite a few brushes, but very few suitable for concealer. Due to my acknowledged laziness with brush laundry, I always seem to run out of clean concealer brushes. (True to form, the UBU No. 21 brush was dirty when I took these pictures.)

I impulsively picked up the UBU Undercover Lover concealer brush on my most recent Ulta trip for $2.99, hoping it would do the trick. The UBU Undercover Lover (ewww, gross) is a synthetic bristled medium sized flat paddle-shaped brush.

The UBU concealer brush is larger than the Elf professional concealer brush from the essential line (no surprise there, it's tiny!) and the more normal sized Sigma F70 and Real Techniques Shading Brush. The EcoTools Airbrush Concealer Brush has a round ferrule, giving the brush a similar footprint to the UBU, albeit with a different shape.

 Left to right: Elf Professional Concealer Brush, Real Techniques Shading Brush, EcoTools Airbrush Concealer Brush, UBU Undercover Lover Concealer Brush #21, Sigma F70 Concealer Brush

 Left to right: Elf, Real Techniques, EcoTools, UBU, Sigma

The footprint of this brush is about as large as would be comfortable for me, but I could see this being too large for those with smaller eyes. In terms of shape, the length and density of the bristles works well for me, but I would prefer a length to width ratio more similar to the Sigma F70. Unfortunately, my Sigma F70 hasn't aged well - after about a year of use, the bristles are splayed and misshapen.

I have used and washed the UBU No. 21 brush a few times, and so far so good. It washes well and dries quickly, similarly to other synthetic eye brushes. The brush successfully builds coverage with concealer under the eye and on the face, but the larger footprint of the brush head uses more product than with a smaller brush. The end of the brush is useful to get right under the lower lashline, which is a plus for me.

Within the $3 (ish) price bracket, this brush is constructed well - the ferrule is secure, the handle is long enough, the synthetic bristles don't poke or scratch, and the bristles are evenly cut. For the price, the quality exceeds the Elf Studio line and is so far competitive with EcoTools.

Overall: Gross name, worth the price.