Have you ever stood at a makeup counter and seen the plethora of makeup brushes available? It can feel overwhelming as you wonder what each one does and if you need all of them. Each brush has specific purposes, but you can use some for multiple product applications. These are some of the brushes you should know about.
Eye Makeup Brushes
These tend to be the smallest brushes on your makeup counter. Some have rounded tips while others have angled bristles. To start, an eyebrow brush has an angled tip with dense bristles. They should be firm. You can use these brushes to fill in your eyebrows and give them some extra definition. You can also use them for gel eyeliner.
To get the eyeshadow in your crease and nowhere else, choose a blending or crease brush. A blending brush, which is a somewhat dense brush with a rounded top, you can also use it to blend your shadow. A crease brush, which looks like a blending brush with a slight angle, also works well for getting eyeshadow into your eyelid crease but has a bit more precision.
If you appreciate the smokey eye look, you may choose to use a pencil brush. This brush is short and looks almost like it has a pencil tip. Use it with dark shadow to create softer lines around your eyes. You may also try a flat eyeliner brush, which has a flat top. Use it to create flawless, attractive eyeliner.
You should have a flat eyeshadow brush, which has a nice round tip. Use this dense, firmly bristled brush on your base shadow.
Blush Brush
Like the Patrick Ta blush brush, blush brushes tend to be contour brushes that have an angle in their medium-sized bristles. The angles trace the natural curve in your cheekbones, giving you a more contoured look.
Lip Brush
You likely only have one lip brush in your pack, and this one has dense, slightly curved or flat, very short bristles. These brushes work well if you use bold lipstick because you can get a more even, saturated look. You may not need one if you wear a lot of gloss instead of lipstick.
Concealer Brush
A concealer brush is small with dense, firm bristles. These brushes work great with creamy concealers. Use them to hide dark circles under your eyes, blemishes or skin pigmentation changes. They work great because you can target small areas. In addition, you can use these brushes for cream eyeshadows.
Foundation Brush
Like many women, you may not use a brush to apply your foundation, and your foundation may not apply well using a brush. However, there are foundation brushes that can give you a different, more airbrushed look. These tend to be the widest, largest brushes in your pack. Some are round, fluffy and soft, while others have a more stippling texture. You may also find contour brushes with a slight angle.
You can also apply loose or caked powder, bronzer and highlighters with these brushes. They should feel light and feathery and give you a natural, flawless base for the rest of your foundation.
Test different brushes to learn what works the best for you and your makeup application methods.
