
As I said in my review of the Sonia G Builder Pro and Classic Crease brushes, Sonia G does a stellar job of describing her brushes on her blog (www.sweetmakeuptemptations.com/) and in her product descriptions on Beautylish. She shows how her brushes compare to each other if you are deciding between the different shapes. So my best suggestion for anyone shopping for Sonia G brushes is to check out her blog and the product descriptions on Beautylish.
I decided to go ahead and do a post on the Soft Cheek brush because while I can’t dupe this brush, I do think you can get a similar result from some other options. This Saikoho goat hair brush retails for $48.00 and it is often out of stock. Spoiler alert, if you have the budget, it is worth the wait. But I do have some alternative options if you don’t want to spend that kind of money, you’re impatient, or you prefer synthetic fibers.
The Beautylish Gift card event is also coming up starting October 21, 2021 and will last for 4 days. You will receive a $20 gift card for every $100 that you spend. So if Sonia G happens to restock, it could be worth buying some of her brushes during the event.
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Sonia G Soft Cheek, $48.00
This brush is by far the softest natural hair brush that I’ve used (as are her eye brushes). However, I don’t have an extensive background with natural hair brushes. I’m pretty sure that the natural hair brushes that I’ve purchased in the past are not considered Fude, so this is a step up for me. Sonia G says this is a multi-purpose brush that can be used for blush, bronzer, or setting powder among other uses. I personally bought this for use as a blush brush, so that is all I can speak on for its functionality.
As the name suggests, this brush gives a soft diffused blend. If you like a heavy application of blush, I don’t think this will be the brush for you. It does give you the flexibility to build up product for some added intensity, but to me, it just doesn’t have the density to pack on color. The brand claims that it gives a “sheer to medium application” and I agree with that. The size of the soft cheek brush is really nice to keep blush from spreading too high or too low on my face. It is soft enough to be comfortable to use, but it also has enough structure to keep it from splaying out too much. I have washed this brush several times at this point and haven’t experienced any shedding since the initial wash.
Comparison for Size and Shape Reference – Sigma F10, $25.00**

I’m only featuring the Sigma F10** in order to give a size and shape reference for the Sonia G Soft Cheek. I don’t know if people are that familiar with this brush, but it is the closest in size and shape that I can personally provide for reference. While I do like the Sigma F10 a lot, it doesn’t apply product as smoothly, it spreads pigment a little further, and it takes longer to get the same blend. So again, this is only to showcase size and shape, they are not dupes.


Comparison for Size Reference – Sonia G Builder Pro and Classic Crease
If you already have Sonia G eye brushes, this comparison may be more helpful for you than the Sigma brush.

Alternatives – Smashbox Buildable Cheek Brush, $36.00**
& Real Techniques Blush Brush, $9.99**
Like I mentioned earlier, the Sonia G Soft Cheek brush is a step up in quality from the other natural hair brushes I’ve used. Considering that, I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised by the performance it delivers. I truly think that it blends better and faster than my other brushes. However, the end result of a nicely blended, sheer blush application can be achieved with these two synthetic brushes.

The Smashbox Buildable Cheek** (reviewed here) cheek gives me the closest result to the Sonia G Soft Cheek brush. The wispy bristles give that same sheer application and its size doesn’t spread the pigment too high or too low on my face. The Real Techniques blush brush** (reviewed here) also applies blush softly, but its bigger ferrule size and longer bristles spread pigment out further on my face. I think these are both great brushes and I’ve never been unhappy with their performance. Both of these brands go on sale frequently, so you don’t have to pay full price for them. Plus holiday sales are going to continue rolling in, so if you are interested in them, I’d hold out for a sale. The Smashbox Brushes have even gone on sale for 50% off in the past. I’ve also done a review on my Smashbox brushes if you are curious about any others from the brand.
So all in all, I’m a big fan of the Sonia G Soft Cheek brush and I’m happy I bought it. Hopefully, there is a restock before the gift card event. If not, you can always use the gift card you earn for Sonia G at later date 😉.
Are you shopping the Beautylish Gift Card Event? Do you have any Sonia G on your radar?
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What a great review! The Soft Cheek brush looks so nice! I think Beautylish should take a page out of your book and add some post-wash photos to their website because the pre-wash pictures of the brush never made me want it. However your photos seeing what they bloom into is much more appealing.
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Yes! It is better after a wash for sure. Sonia G does have that comparison of a new brush before and after it blooms in the sky face set write up on her website. But I know your average consumer isn’t likely to go to her website as a starting point.
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I used her site for deciding eye brushes but for some reason I didn’t for her face brushes. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to be too tempted. I tend to look at Chikuhodo and other fude brands for my face brushes and I think I feared being tempted into wanting hers as well if I looked too much into them. haha.
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Sometimes the less you know, the better. When I’ve decided not to buy something, I try not to watch or read any reviews. So that makes total sense to me lol.
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Very true. Sometimes even products I don’t have much interest in, if I watch too many videos, I end up being tempted. That’s why I didn’t watch any reviews for the PML Odyssey palette. I didn’t want to be convinced haha especially if it goes on sale later. Why by the way… I saw reviews now of the Lunar Nude highlighter and it looks so icy! I’m going to skip it.
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I agree, lunar nude does look icy. I think you dodged a bullet on that one lol.
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