Staff Writer
Voice & Viewpoint
Shopping makeup brushes can be quite intimidating and overwhelming when you’re in the beauty store. With so many options and very little explanation of what each brush does you can feel pretty lost. I completely understand, which is why I want to help break it down for you and give you a list of a few basic brushes every woman needs in her collection.
Let’s start off with Face brushes. Face brushes can be anything from a contour brush to a concealer brush or even a sponge, like the Beauty Blender. I personally love brushes, I feel I have more control over brushes than sponges. In applying your foundation use a stippling or buffer brush. Both give you a flawless airbrush like effect and allows the product to go on smoothly. You can use both brushes for liquid, cream and powder, but I love them for liquid foundations.
A Stippling brush is a duo fiber brush that allows you to pick up more product and in a stipple motion place the product over your face. It’s a tedious process but the end result is a smooth flawless face. Best used for light coverage like a BB/CC cream or a liquid or cream foundation where only minimal coverage is needed.
A Buffing brush is exactly what it sounds like, it buffs the foundation into the skin. Using small circular movements it allows the foundation to fully cover the area. Using this brush aids to minimal product use. It too creates a clean, smooth, flawless finish without the long time. Best used for medium to full coverage.
A Powder brush can be used for loose or compacted powder to set your face, add more coverage or eliminate shine. Powder brushes are usually big, round, oversized brushes with a lot of soft bristles. You don’t need as much product and you lightly brush over the skin. It gives a more even and naturally looking finish.
A Blush/Bronzer brush is used for blush or bronzer for contouring and is usually a medium, soft, and dome shaped brush. It has long bristles so it does not disturb the foundation you have already put on. It is ideal for giving your cheeks that extra boost of color and that sexy chiseled look to your face.
Let’s move on to eyes. There are so many eye brushes just like face brushes but fret not, you only need a few basics to start off. Eye brushes can make or break your makeup look so it’s best to stick with a few essentials until you are more familiar with brushes and makeup.
An Eye Shadow brush is a simple basic brush, it places the eye shadow color wherever you need it to go on the lid. It is usually a small or medium sized flat brush. You sweep the shadow over the lid in a windshield type of motion to ensure color is over the entire lid.
A Blending brush is one of my favorite brushes when it comes to eye makeup. It is used for blending out your eye shadow colors and any harsh lines. Blending brushes usually have fine, densely packed fibers and are arranged in an oval shape. If you are using more than one eye shadow a blending brush will help blend the colors together for a more seamless effect. If you are using one color it blends out any harsh lines or dramatic edges that might be from using the regular eye shadow brush. Using a blending brush after you place your shadow can create a natural finish to any eye look.
An Eyeliner brush is simply for eye liner. Mostly for using gel or cream liner. An eye liner brush comes in angled, straight or bent. Either will create a precise line on the top and bottom of your eye. My personal favorite is the bent eye liner brush. It has more control and fits the curvature of the eye perfectly. Makes creating a cat eye easy breezy.
Finish off with your lips using a Lip brush. A lip brush is a small flat, sometimes round tipped brush. It will make precise lip color application easy peezy once you get the hang of it. I personally am not the hugest fan of lip brushes if it is for personal use, however, I do feel it can be a staple brush and with the practice we can all grow to like it.
Let us know what your favorite brushes are in your makeup collection and any questions you may have by sending us an email to [email protected]. Also, don’t forget to tag us on a photo of your favorite brushes on our Instagram @SDVoiceandViewpoint. Be on the lookout for next weeks topic which is Foundations!
