Zoeva Liner Set review & dupes & comparisons

If you haven't completed your eyeliner brush kit I strongly recommend you get Zoeva liner set, however, when preparing for this post I noticed that this set is no longer available on Zoeva website, so I assume that it must have been discontinued as a set, but all brushes mentioned in this post are still sold individually. 

The set consists of 3 flat angled brushes and 3 round ones, one of them bent.

The brushes are left to right:

#312/ Detail Liner is a tiny angled brush made of firm nylon bristles. This definitely is a detail brush to be used in hard to reach areas. Using it to line the entire lid makes absolutely no sense. This is a special purpose brush and I hardly ever reach for it. If I were to buy these brushes individually, I'd definitely skip #312.

#317/Wing Liner is a classic angled eyeliner brush, made of firm nylon bristles. This brush has a perfect size to draw a very thin and a bolder line with gel, cake or powder liners. It washes easily and retains its shape. This is my favourite within this set, even though, as you'll see in a moment, it's very dupable.

#318/Soft Paint Liner is also angled, but it differs a lot from #317. They are roughly the same width, angle and length of bristles. The difference is that #318 is fatter at the base and thinner at the tip and its made of taklon, which is a much softer fibre. Due to this fact, this brush draws less dramatic, more diffused lines. Works well with powder eyeshadows. 

#320/Smoky Liner is a fairly thick straight, round brush made of soft taklon bristles that is meant to create soft, sultry lines. 

#316/Classic Liner is an alternative for #317 if you don't like flat, angled brushes. It's made of firm nylon bristles and it's pointed tip will draw both fine and bold lines. #316 or #317 or their likes are must haves in every brush kit.

#315/Fine Liner is an ultra fine nylon brush, bent at an angle that allows you to reach the roots of your lashes better. This brush is meant for super thin and precise lines. I like it a lot.

As usual I was able to come up with a number of dupes. Let's start with the angled brushes.

Dupes for Zoeva #317 (extreme left)

Zoeva #317 is about 2mm wider than Hakuro #H85 but otherwise it's the same. The same bristles, width, etc. What I don't like about this brush is that paint on the bottom chipped off just from storing the brush upright.

ELF small Angled Brush is similar, but again, it's not as wide as Zoeva and it's also thicker and consequently less precise. This brush has the longest handle, which isn't always practical, especially when using some hand mirror.

Inglot #31T is exactly the same as Zoeva, the only differences are that the bristles are orange, the handle is matte and a bit smaller. 

Inglot #17TL is exactly the same as far as shape and size are concerned but there's one substantial difference that makes me wonder whether these two can actually be called dupes. Inglot #17TL is made of natural bristles that are rather soft and feeble. They bend sideways and I find it hard to draw a line with this brush. I tend to use it to lightly dust powder on my brows, it could also be helpful in creating soft, sultry lines with powder products.

Zoeva #312 is not really a dupe, I placed it by the other brushes for reference, but discarded it from the picture below as it seemed inappropriate.

My picks: Zoeva, or the orange Inglot, whichever is cheaper or more accessible. They might look slightly different in the photos, simply because I couldn't make them lie at the same angle, but trust me, they're almost the same.

Dupes for Zoeva #320 and #316

Real Techniques (left) Pixel Point Eyeliner Brush seems similar to Zoeva #320, they seem to be the same length and width. But the difference is that the Zoeva one has a pointed tip, while the Real Techniques, contrary to its name, gets wider towards the end. It draws fat, imprecise lines, I've tried to put it into a variety of uses, quite unsuccessfully.  

Sigma E05 (right) is exactly the same as Zoeva #320. The one in the photo is a mini size, given away for free with purchases, but the standard E05 is black and longer.

My picks: Zoeva #316 or Sigma. They're both almost the same, Zoeva is cheaper.

And dupes for Zoeva #315

Inglot (top)#30T is much thicker, it's actually the same size and kind of brush as Zoeva #316 and Sigma #E05, the only differnce being that it is bent.

Maestro #790 size 0 (bottom) is an ultra fine brush, made of natural bristles. The problem with this brush is that it's bent at a ridiculous angle that actually makes it almost impossible to work with. Compared to Zoeva, the bristles also turn out to be too soft and flexible.

My pick is Zoeva #315. It's bent at the right angle, it's nice and thin and its bristles are firm enough to do the job well.

 Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.