Not using makeup myself, I can't offer very specific advice. However, I do buy store brands and knock offs a lot. I feel that for anything complicated or requiring precision you're better off buying the real deal. For simple things like vinegar, socks and brushes you're probably okay buying the cheap one. Just my $0.02

Hmmmm well what i think on this topic is that, you can always get the cheapest one first. Cause I know that those are just as good as the more expensive ones. The expensive ones they are most of the time the same, but they just have the brands name on it. In this case it's MAC.
But the non that famous brands brushes are just as good. So I would just go for the cheaper one from E.L.F and if you don't like it you can always consider to buy the other one.
That is what i do, most of the time i buy cheaper brushed cause they have the same effect <3
That is my advice ^^

i haven't tried the angled brush but i hav a couple other of E.L.F's brushes and they are VERY nice! i luv them a lot better than my more expensive brushes.
<3 Abby

I haven't tried any of E.L.F.'s brushes, but in my personal experience good brushes are one of the few beauty items that are worth splurging on ( I am a big fan of Bobbi Brown ones). If you haven't already, I'd check on makeupalley.com and see what kind of reviews the E.L.F. brushes get. But all that aside, I agree with you about there always being a more affordable option for everything. My all time favorite foundation only costs me 8 bucks and I've never had any luck with expensive skin care products.

Let us know if you buy and like the E.L.F. brush!

Thanks for the helpful tips, you guys!

I love my MAC brushes, but they are expensive to replace. I've had really good luck with the Sonia Kashuk brushes at Target. They are kind of a middle of the road option, as most of them run about $10 - overall price range is between $8 and $18.

go with the cheap one they both look good

I don't mind buying cheaper versions, for certain products, like oil-blotting paper. I use a cheap one and it works well so I'm not going to start buying the most expensive blotting papers if the cheaper ones work well. But with things like brushes, I don't want to have to replace them, not for years really. So I'd tend to splurge a little more with them and am considering buying the angled MAC brush soon. I just hate waste and don't like the idea of lots of cheap make-up brushes either sitting in my make-up bag not getting used, or sitting in my bin. I'd rather buy the expensive one and hope it lasts.

@everyone

I think I'll try lagunamoon's advice and try buying the ELF brush and give it a try. I can always buy the other one later :) But I love all the comments, and thank you everyone for taking the time to respond to this :) If anyone else has recommendations, let me know!

@x0xsharicex0x if you buy the MAC brush before I do, let me know how it works :)