All About Brushes

Hey everyone,
I know from experience that finding cheap but good quality brushes can be difficult. Choosing the right ones can be hard too! There are generally 2 types of brushes - ones with synthetic bristles and ones with real hair. If you're just starting out, I suggest drugstore brushes, because if you get an expensive brush you never use, it's such a waste! Here is a list of my 9 essential brushes and specific ones that are good.

1. Stippling brush
These brushes do it all. They are excellent for giving an air-brushed finish with foundation. I also use mine with cream blushes and primers!
MAC 187 Duo Fibre
Sonia Kashuk Duo Fibre Multipurpose Brush

2. Foundation brush
Foundation brushes are good if you want full-coverage foundation. They come usually with natural hairs, and they're typically soft. But be warned - these brushes can leave harsh lines if you're not careful!
MAC 190 Foundation Brush
Eco Tools Foundation Brush

3. Powder Brush
Large, synthetic powder brushes are perfect for setting your foundation with mineral powder or for giving your face all-over color.
MAC 134 Large Powder Brush
Eco Tools Powder Brush

4. Buffer or Kabuki Brush
The reason I put these two together is because they perform the same purpose. Buffer brushes tend to be flat at the top and very dense, and kabuki brushes tend to be small, round, and fluffy. Both of these brushes are perfect for applying powder foundation and blending things together.
MAC 182 Buffer Brush
e.l.f. Studio Kabuki Face Brush
Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Flat Blusher Brush
Sigma Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki

5. Angled Contour Brush
I love these brushes because they can do so many things - apply blush perfectly, blend, contour. They come with both natural and synthetic hair and are higher at one end than the other.
MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush
Sonia Kashuk Multi Purpose Cosmetic Brush

6. Spoolie or Double-sided Lash and Brow Brush
Again, these brushes do the same thing. They both tame your brows and comb your lashes - two very important things.
MAC 204 Lash Brush
e.l.f. Brow Comb and Brush

7. All-over Lid Color
Eye shadow lid brushes are easy. Often times they come with the palette, and you can use pretty much anything to apply the shadow. It's nice if they're dense, but as I said they're easy!
MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush
Eco Tools Eye Shading Brush

8. Blending Brush
These ones are easy, too, but important. Without these, your shadow can end up looking harsh and poorly done. Blending brushes can also be used to highlight and contour!
MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush
Sonia Kashuk Access Blending Brush

9. Eye Liner Brush
A lot of eye liners come in pencil form, but the rest come in powder or gel form. With liner, unless you're looking for an intense black look (which I hope you're not!) you need an angled brush.
MAC 263 Small Angle Brush
Eco Tools Eye Liner Brush

These are just my suggestions, not necessarily what you need! I didn't have a foundation brush until a year ago because I didn't need one. Brushes can be expensive. You absolutely DO NOT NEED all MAC brushes! I own two! There are so many good quality drugstore brushes, and they're so easy to get. If you invest in a good brush, like MAC or Sephora, however, they will last you a long time and they won't shed, like some less-expensive drugstore ones. Here are some places I like to get brushes:

High End:
MAC: www.maccosmetics.com
Sephora: www.sephora.com
Sigma: www.sigmabeauty.com
Drugstore:
Sonia Kashuk: www.target.com
Eco Tools: any drugstore
e.l.f.: any drugstore

Thanks! Until next time,
Sarah