Beauty 101: Makeup Brushes

So let's have a little skills meeting today, shall we? Let's talk makeup brushes. I know, it's like seriously, she's going to do an entire post on makeup brushes oh honey, no. But the right brushes make the difference between flawless makeup and looking like you got into your mommy's makeup bag. Just trust me on this one.

The first step to getting to know makeup brushes better is go directly to your bathroom or vanity or wherever the heck you do your makeup, fish out any applicators that have come with your makeup and THROW THEM IN THE GARBAGE. Whoops, I just got a little violent there. But still, obey.

Good makeup brushes will give you much more natural look over the spongey things that they include in eyeshadow palettes. I can always tell when someone has been using those archaic applicators by the harsh line over the eye or stripey blush. Sad.

If you're new to makeup or a beginner, buy a set of brushes altogether and save yourself some confusion. I'm obsessed with Sonia Kashuk brushes, which you can buy at Target (yay, target!) but I've also loved the E.L.F. studio line of brushes and Bare Escentuals. Either way, buying them as a kit can take some of the questions away from what you need exactly. If you already have a few brushes, it may be time to add to your list. Here are my top five essentials for a prettier face.

Kabuki Brush

The kabuki brush is short and stout, with rounded, soft bristles. It's perfect for large areas of smooth and even coverage. I use mine for mineral makeup, but they can also work for applying bronzer. And as an added bonus, they are just so darn cute.


Blush Brush

K, so this is where the skinny little inadequate brush that comes with your blush should be thrown out. It will result in really terrible and stripey makeup and I WILL judge you. Look instead for a puffy brush for moderate coverage. I apply both bronzer and blush with a puffy brush (but not the same one, that's mixing, ew.) To apply bronzer, draw an imaginary number three, starting at your forehead, swiping across the cheeks and down to the chin. Then dab a little blush right on the apples of your cheeks. Yay!


Fan Brush

Now, this fan brush looks weird and ineffective, but it is THE BEST for applying highlighter. If you put on too much highlighter, you're definitely going to look like you're in the movie Burlesque. And that got TERRIBLE reviews, so.... anyway. Use a fan brush to add a teensy bit of highlighter at the top of your cheekbones and under your browbones. Beaut.


Eyeshadow Brush

K, so this is my fave little trick in my makeup bag. Eyeshadow brushes make applying eyeshadow SO EASY that you cannot fail. Since it disperses color evenly without being splotchy, you won't get the scary clown affect that can happen with sponge applicators. Also, I can get away with wearing brighter colors because the brush makes the pigments less condensed. Buy immediately.

Eyeliner Brush

Here's another trick that I use. Have you ever put on WAY too much eyeliner and looked like a depressed emo vampire? Of course you have. When that happens to me, I wet my angled eyeliner brush and use it to brush out the eyeliner so it looks more like eyeshadow. I also use it to clean up wayward liquid liner, because that stuff is tricky. You can also use it to apply darker shadow to your creases to attain the ever-elusive smoky eye.

Another tip is to make sure that you clean your brushes every two weeks or so. Otherwise they could get germy and bacteria-y and gross. I just suds mine up with hand soap, rinse them and leave them on a towel to dry overnight. They'll be ask good as new come morning.

Is any of this making sense?