Tools of the trade: My must have makeup brushes! 

Brushes, brushes, brushes! It’s so important to find the right ones that work for you to be able to apply great makeup. There are some brushes that others love that I pick up to try and they absolutely don’t work for me- they truly are your own personal style…just like your makeup brand preference:) My kit contains a mixture of brushes from MAC, Studio Gear, Crown Brush, Sonia Kashuk, Bare Escentuals….I even have a few rogue ones picked up at makeup shows that  have ended up being some of my favorites. Don’t worry-you don’t have to spend a fortune…..it is my personal belief that you don’t have to blow $40 on a brush for it to be capable of applying makeup fabulously! In fact, I stock up eyeliner brushes for the waterline from Crown Brush….they are less than $2.00 each and it is worth me having a ton on hand at a time so that everyone gets a new brush until I can soak them in disinfectant. I’m not saying that uber expensive, high quality brushes aren’t great…I am just saying if you can’t invest in them right now have no fear!-There are plenty of moderately priced brushes out there that will work just fine and I am going to show you the less expensive ones I love! Ok–on to the good stuff.

This is the full picture of my “must haves”…8 brushes…that’s it.  If you took me to a desert island with these brushes –I could make you glam….well, provided you also brought a case of my favorite products too but that is another post.

Now let’s break them down…

Brush #1: “The Powder Brush” AKA “The Gigantic Fluffy Face Brush”  (much more gigantic in person). 

I use this brush for setting foundation with powder and also use it down the neck and chest to “powder down” the bare skin.  This is a Studio Gear brush and it is one of the softest brushes ever.

Brush#2:  ” The Angled Blush/Bronzer” 

This is a Bare Escentuals brush that I picked up simply because I loved the angle.  It allows me to dot on blush, make a great “cut” into the cheekbone with bronzer and place a highlighting powder  right over the highest part of the cheek.

Brush#3:  “The Kabuki Brush” 

I love this brush simply because it is a soft kabuki-in the world of kabuki brushes that can be a rarity.  I use this brush strictly as a blending brush and sweep it around the face to blend together blush, bronzer and highlighter.

Brush#4: “The Bullet Crease”

This brush is a random one picked up at a makeup show-very sorry I cannot confirm it’s identity but there are plenty of bullet crease brushes out there–I own 4 different  of kinds.  I use this brush to “cut” the crease with a dark shadow in eye looks.  I also use it to drag some color onto the lower lash line.

Brush#5:  “The Big Fluffy” AKA “The Blender Brush”

This. Is. My. Favorite. Brush. In. The.Whole.Wide.World!!!!  I really couldn’t imagine having to do a look without a fabulous big fluffy/blending brush.  It is especially essential when doing a smokey eye look to make those colors blend together seamlessly so you get that great “Ombre” effect.  I also use this brush to set concealer under the eyes with powder. I have a few of these that I love…this is just my current favorite and it is actually from Crown Brush.

Brush#6:  “The Brow Brush”

This one only has one use but it is an important one–so it made the list.  I always, always, always fill in brows with powder (unless otherwise requested of course ) Filling in the brows really brings out the eyes and shapes the face.  This is another Bare Escentuals brush…you can see in the picture at the top of the page that this brush has another end on it that is supposed to be used for “contouring”…I don’t use it for that and instead use it to fluff up the brows before coloring them.

Brush#7:  “The Stiff Powder Brush” 

I use this brush when I want a lot of pigment on the lid.  It really allows for a greater concentration of color.  I find it especially useful to apply the highlight color with this brush so that there is the perfect amount left when I blend everything together with the big fluffy.  This is another Bare Escentuals brush.

Brush#8:  “The Eyeliner Brush”

I use this brush to apply liner to the waterline (It is the perfect size for it-so so slim).  I also use it to line the top and bottom of the eye.  This is the $2.00 Crown Brush one that I mentioned earlier…I have so many of these.

So there they are-the brushes that are so dear to me!!! Oh and if you are wondering why a foundation brush didn’t make the cut…it’s because I don’t use them.  I apply foundation with my good ol’ digits because when I am not airbrushing I use a silicone based foundation and I like to “heat it up”.

Erin

4 Response to “Tools of the trade: My must have makeup brushes! ”

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment