Makeup Brushes 101: The Must-Haves vs Nice-to-Haves
Starting a makeup collection can be pretty pricey. Between the face makeup, eyeshadows, lip products and more, it’s easy to spend a small fortune on beauty products. But what’s even worse? You have to buy the brushes to apply all of it. But with so many options, which ones do you buy? We’ve narrowed down our favorite brushes into two categories: must-haves and nice-to-haves. There are some that we think are absolutely necessary when starting a collection, and some that are just convenient to own. Check out our faves below.
1. Foundation Brush ($24): First up, if you don’t want to use your fingers to apply foundation, a really great foundation brush is an essential. A flat kabuki brush like this one buffs your favorite foundation, BB cream or tinted moisturizer on for a perfectly airbrushed finish.
2. Powder Brush ($10): It’s time to ditch the sponge that comes in your powder compact. Use a large powder brush to set your foundation so that it will stay All. Day. Long.
3. Bronzer Brush ($12): A fluffy brush is a must to add dimension to your face with a matte bronzer, which is something that is hard to do with your hands when starting out.
4. Blush Brush ($17): We can’t do our makeup without a tapered blush brush like this one. It fits perfectly on the apples of your cheeks and allows you to blend for a natural look.
5. Crease Brush ($24): You can basically do an entire eyeshadow look with just this one small brush. Use the flat side to add a color all over the lid and the tip to add dimension to your crease and then blend.
6. Liner Brush ($2): This brush is somewhere in between want and need. We’re big fans of gel liner, and if you are too, you need a flat brush that will help glide on the product as straight as possible… which we all know can be quite a challenge sometimes.
Nice-to-Haves
7. Contour Brush ($34): A contour brush is totally great to add to your collection once you have the basics. In reality, you probably won’t contour your face on the reg, but when you do take the time to do it, a brush like this one (which has a bonus end that’s fab for highlighting) is *perfect.*
8. Highlighter Brush ($24): Use a brush with a small tapered tip to add highlighter to the high points of your face. You can also use your fingers for this step, but if you want to add to the collection, this is a great option.
9. Shader Brush ($2): Remember when we said you can basically do an entire eye look with a crease brush? Well, a shader brush that packs color onto the lid will take it to a whole ‘nother level.
10. Blending Brush ($16): Aaaand for even more eyeshadow awesomeness, you’ll want to snag this gem. A blending brush does exactly what it says: blends all of the harsh, unwanted lines that might occur when applying eyeshadow.
11. Lip Brush ($20): Lip brushes are great when you want to use a bold lip color, like red or fuchsia. It basically ensures that you color inside the lines.
12. Concealer Brush ($24): A concealer brush is definitely nice to have when you’re working with creamy coverups. But until then, it’s completely acceptable to use your fingers to blend it out.
What’s your must-have makeup brush? Tell us in the comments below.
