Brushes Part I: Essentials

HELLO!

Brushes are the single most important thing to any makeup artist.

A good set of brushes opens up a whole new world of opportunities and abilities-

EVERYONE needs at least a few good brushes.

They are pricey, but if you are going to spend, always spend on good brushes.

They can make even cheap, bad makeup look amazing.

For convenience sake, this post will be divided into 4 parts:

Essentials, Face, Eyes, and Lips

So what are the essentials for everyday?

A good eye shadow brush, blush brush, and foundation brush:

Eye Shadow

A large, domed, densely fibered brush makes sweeping on eyeshadow simple

and can be used for a sheer wash of product,

or to build up for more concentrated color.

Sonia Kashuk

Blush

A medium sized, domed, fluffy brush for buildable, even application

Ben Nye RB3

Foundation

A large brush makes fast and blended application a breeze,

and can be used for cream or liquid foundation.

Louise Young LY02

If you like powdered mineral foundations (which I personally hate)

A kabuki brush is your best bet for buffing product into the skin

Bare Escentuals

<3

Claire

(read on for part II!)

Brushes Part II: Face

Essentials aside, t

here are lots of other options out there to expand your application possibilities.

There are billions of different styles, but here are my chosen favorites for the face:

Foundation

for quick and easy application and maximum blending power.

Sigma F60

MAC 190

Sephora Collection #47

Concealer

Fluffier natural hair brushes give a more even,

natural finish and are much faster and easier to use

MAC 224

(most people use this for eyeshadow, but I use it for both!)

Blush

I love a smaller blush brush, for more precise application,

with pretty sparse bristling for sheer application that can be built upon.

MAC 116

Highlighter/Bronzer

Domed, soft, densely fibered white goat hair brushes hold onto product

for a targeted but blended application

Cover FX #160

Dual fibered, flat brushes distribute color widely and evenly

MAC 187

Powder

Big and fluffy, but not TOO big and fluffy,

with soft, sparse fibers allows powder to be dusted over a large area lightly without caking.

Sigma F15

<3

Claire

(click on links below for short cuts)

Part I: Essentials

Part III: Eyes

Part IV: Lips

Brushes Part III: Eyes

Eyeshadow application offers the most possibilities for adventure in makeup,

but only with the right tools!

Precise Application/Smudging

*Short, flat, dense bristles help to pack color on without scattering

Ben Nye FDB4

MAC 217

*Pencil shapes, with stiff, tapered bristles are great for corner or eyeliner work

Louise Young LY14

Sigma E30

MAC 219

Eyeliner

*Angled brushes are great for fast and precise lines with gel, liquid, or shadow liner.

Can be used for can eyes or smokey eyes, or even on eyebrows.

Louise Young LY31

MAC 263

*Thin brushes with stiff bristles work with liquid or gel liner for thin lines that can be built up.

Louise Young LY25

Blending

Long, soft, domed bristles disperse color evenly and thinly

*White goat hair is more strong blending,

Sigma E40

MAC 217

*pony hair is more for really soft light blending

MAC 224

Sonia Kashuk

Crease Work

Similar to blending brushes, but with tapered bristles for getting into the socket

Louise Young LY38

Sigma E45

Brows

*Angled brushes with very stiff very sparse bristles allow you use powder

to get in between the hairs to fill in light spots and add color and shape.

EcoTools

Louise Young LY37

*A dry swirl spool mascara wand for brushing through brows,

to shape them or to blend in product

Ed Wyse

<3

Claire

(click on links below for short cuts)

Part I: Essentials

Part II: Face

Part IV: Lips

Brushes Part IV: Lips and Tips

Lips are pretty straight forward,

but having a good lip brush enables you to create different shapes

and helps with precise application of darker colors

small, flat domed brushes

Ben Nye DB8

MAC 316

TADA!

Those are my favorite brushes!

A few tips:

* Find brushes that work for YOU

*If you can find a cheaper dupe for a more expensive version, go for it!

*Don't limit yourself to only using one brush for one thing. Do what works.

* Clean your brushes once a week with lukewarm water and mild soap and let them dry overnight on a towel.

(if you use them on other people, clean between each use)

* An economical alternative to brush by brush buying, you can look into buying a set.

just make sure to look at the individual brushes they contain

to ensure that you are getting your value and your preferences.

*if you are hesitant to use animal products, there is a large variety of synthetic brushes of the same shape that are readily available.

There is no need to own every single one of these brushes,

but these are my picks for a wide variety of options and possibilities.

Don't hesitate to ask questions in the comments,

and as always,

Stay lovely!

<3

Claire

(click on links below for short cuts)

Part I: Essentials

Part II: Face

Part III: Eyes

Choose Happiness (Ah, Midterms...)

This wednesday, when we would ordinarily publish our Choose Happiness post,

both of us were positively drowning in schoolwork.

But, better late than never,

and for those of you who are NOT on spring break this week (like Claire is),

you could probably use a little pick me up anyways.

We love you so very much! Thanks for reading!

*The Big Think

a website full of thoughts

*The Cohen Brothers

(just saw True Grit- awesome!)

*Our human capacity to love, and live.

*Pillow Cookies

(brownies inside of cookies)

YUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM

*This awesome necklace

*Our lovely home, the rain city

(and boy was it rainy today...)

Stay lovely!

- B & C