I’ve always relied on the padding of my fingertips when I apply makeup, so I guess you could say, I’ve been deprived of makeup brushes for quite some time. OK, maybe not deprived, but, severely lacking in the best makeup brushes! About a month ago, I noticed one of my blush brushes was shedding excessively (and it all went downhill from there), so I embarked on the ultimate makeup brush shopping binge. Check out my tried and true picks when it comes to an even application and a flawless look.
Best eyeshadow brush: Sephora Pro Blending Brush #27 ($20)—Call me lazy but for the longest time, if an eyeshadow palette came with a cheap mini brush or sponge, I probably used it. I discovered this large shadow brush during my first brush binge at Sephora and haven’t blinked twice since. It’s definitely my go-to for smudging and diffusing color with just one sweep.
Best liner brush: Sonia Kashuk Core Tools Bent Eyeliner Brush No. 107 ($5.99)—While I pretty much live off smudge sticks and pencils, my beloved Bobbi Brown long-wear gel eyeliner sadly does not come with a liner brush. Sonia Kashuk’s bent eyeliner brush works with the natural contour of your eye and delivers a smooth line (not to mention is only six bucks!).
Best loose powder brush: NARS Loose Powder Brush ($50)—Expensive, I know. But I swear, it’s worth every penny. Made of super goat hair, it’s the ultimate powder pick-me-up and is ideal for blending.
Best travel brush kit: Sephora Slim Essential Brush Set ($39)— Instead of cramming all my makeup essentials in one bag, this travel kit makes my life so much simpler (and lighter). Set includes a powder brush, angled blush, large and small eye shadow brush and a retractable lip brush.
Best travel bronzer brush: Too Faced Bronze-buki Brush ($34)—Retractable brushes are basically the best things ever created for anyone who is always on-the-go. This is a dense brush allows you to blend for a layered, airbrushed finish.
Best eyebrow brush: Anastasia Beverly Hills Mini Duo Brush #7 ($18)—We all know Anastasia Beverly Hills is the holy grail of brow maintenance. I’m a fan of this mini dual sided brush for application and grooming/blending.
Best concealer brush: Chanel Concealer Brush #10 ($32)— I typically apply concealer with my fingertips, but the one time I tried this concealer brush, I fell in love. Suffer from dark circles? This tool will help you lighten up.
Best blush brush: bareMinerals Angled Blush Brush ($15)— I’ve tried a merry-go-round of blush brushes, but I’ve found angled brushes work best for perfectly sculpted rosy glows.
Best foundation brush: Benefit Foundation Brush ($24)—This was gifted to me from the fab PR ladies at Benefit but the saleswoman at Ulta recommended it. It uses two-tone synthetic hair but I swear, it provides all the coverage where my fingers can’t.
Best Kabuki brush: Dermablend Professional Kabuki Brush ($41)—Whether I’m applying bronzer or powder, I love the coverage I get from this little fluffy brush. The short bamboo handle makes it easy to use for the face and body.
Honorable mention:
Real Techniques. I actually just heard about this brand from Lara of The Glossarie. She swears by this line and of course, so now I’m eager to try this. I haven’t bought anything yet from the line, but based off reading about their cool color-coded system on its website, I’m feeling a second wind for my next brush binge…
I’d love to hear what you think of these picks! Leave a comment below and tell me what your favorite brushes are!
I definitely don’t have a full “line” of makeup brushes, so this is a great round up!
Thanks! I used to not care about using brushes but now I’m all about them!
Really intrigued by the idea of getting a high quality concealer brush. I stopped using my Sephora one because it wasn’t blending as well as my finger, but it might be a quality more than a tool problem.
Yeah. I think it depends on the product. My go-to concealer is Perricone MD No Concealer Concealer and I prefer to blend with my finger rather than a brush but in terms of testing other concealers (like Bobbi Brown is another favorite of mine) I prefer to use the Chanel concealer brush. Definitely a quality standard than a tool problem.
Can I favorite this post? Love your insights on makeup brushes!
aw thank you! I love doing these round-ups.
I’m surprised there aren’t any MAC brushes in this run-down! I love the MAC eye shadow brushes!
Thanks for the tip! I have actually never tried MAC brushes before so that’s why I didn’t include in the round-up but will definitely look in to it!
hey this is awesome ………..but can i know why did’t you added sigma brush
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