Best makeup brushes?

Advertise with us
Current body
Jeffreestar cosmetics
shop deals on amazon
Makeuptalk.com forums

Help Support Makeuptalk.com forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I just use EcoTools--I don't have any problems with them, so I've never bothered to get more expensive brushes. The quality control with the $1 ELF brushes isn't too great, but I like their studio brushes. 

 
I have a wide range of brushes, from ELF to MAC. Target offers up several cheaper options like Sonia Kashuck and ELF Studio (I really wouldnt waste my money on the white ELF brushes). You can get Real Technique brushes on amazon or at ulta, and they are very good quality for price! I am just starting to do some freelance work and am in the same boat as you. While I love my MAC brushes, they are just not something I can afford right now. Hautelook.com has Crown brushes on sale right now and you can get an entire brush set roll for super cheap. I recently did this and everyone thinks they are MAC brushes from a distance, and they are really great quality for the price. 

 
As a makeup artist I have 3 sets of brushes, but I've decided to add a 4th set. I want to get some brushes I DON'T have. Maybe even order some overseas (I'm in the USA).

I currently have brushes by Nars, Japonesque (my favorite), Sephora, Trimart, Smashbox, Jane Iredale, True, and Sonia Kashuk.

What brushes do you use and like?...and why?

 
My brushes are almost exclusively EcoTools. I just added their new face brush set and the fan brush to my collection. I also have their eye set, a flat top brush, a travel set (mini kabuki, fluffy brush, concealer brush, and a fluffy eye type brush), and a fluffy powder brush that are all EcoTools. The brushes are all very, very soft, consistently nice, and quite inexpensive.

I also have a few E.L.F. brushes, one by Coastal Scents, a Soho brush I got from Ipsy, a doubled ended smokey-eye brush from Ulta, and maybe one or two others. Oh, and a little travel set from Sonia Kashuk too.

For me, the most important things are functionality (including softness and bristles not shedding all the time into my make-up) and price. That is why I like the EcoTools. I just do my make-up on myself and as a sort of serious hobby. Sometimes I do my make-up for photoshoots. I just need brushes that do what I need them to do and do not cost me a small fortune. I have noticed that the E.L.F. face brushes do to tend to shed at first. The smudger end on my Ulta brush is too rough to use, so I just used the slanted eye-liner brush end. I have not really had any issues with the others.

 
Mine are mostly MAC and MUFE. Why? I like to make use of my pro discount. I have a few assorted ones from NARS, Laura Mercier, Lise Watier, Lancôme and some generic make-up school brushes. Most of my f/x brushes are art supply artists brushes (as they are about 85% cheaper than make-up brushes but with the same fine edges and tips). Just like MissMJ, its all about functionality for me as well.

 
Originally Posted by MissJessicaMary /img/forum/go_quote.gif

My brushes are almost exclusively EcoTools. I just added their new face brush set and the fan brush to my collection. I also have their eye set, a flat top brush, a travel set (mini kabuki, fluffy brush, concealer brush, and a fluffy eye type brush), and a fluffy powder brush that are all EcoTools. The brushes are all very, very soft, consistently nice, and quite inexpensive.

I also have a few E.L.F. brushes, one by Coastal Scents, a Soho brush I got from Ipsy, a doubled ended smokey-eye brush from Ulta, and maybe one or two others. Oh, and a little travel set from Sonia Kashuk too.

For me, the most important things are functionality (including softness and bristles not shedding all the time into my make-up) and price. That is why I like the EcoTools. I just do my make-up on myself and as a sort of serious hobby. Sometimes I do my make-up for photoshoots. I just need brushes that do what I need them to do and do not cost me a small fortune. I have noticed that the E.L.F. face brushes do to tend to shed at first. The smudger end on my Ulta brush is too rough to use, so I just used the slanted eye-liner brush end. I have not really had any issues with the others.
Click to expand...
I've used other Elf products but not their brushes. I may get a lip or concealer brush of theirs. I don't think I'll like their face or blush brushes. The length doesn't look like it will be to my liking.

 
Originally Posted by vogueboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Mine are mostly MAC and MUFE. Why? I like to make use of my pro discount. I have a few assorted ones from NARS, Laura Mercier, Lise Watier, Lancôme and some generic make-up school brushes. Most of my f/x brushes are art supply artists brushes (as they are about 85% cheaper than make-up brushes but with the same fine edges and tips).

Just like MissMJ, its all about functionality for me as well.
Click to expand...
I use MUFE products a lot for photo shoots and TV shows, but I've never considered their brushes. Don't know why. I might check them out.

I have several brushes from art stores. Those are especially good to use for lip, concealer and eyeliner brushes.

I'm not a "fan" of MAC so I seldom think about their brushes.

 
I like MAC products.. My clients are very happy to use these..
claps.gif


 
I got some diffrent brushes. For eyeshadow i got a regular one with natural hair from where i cant remember and a blender and angled in synthetic both from the bodyshop.

My foundation brush is some synthetic drugstore brand. Dont like that one too much. Seems to always be greasy not matter how much i clean it with oils, soaps or even washing up liquid that takes grease from evereything.

My blush and face brush is a synthetic dirt cheap i got on a vacation in china. It was like half a dollar. But its so great. Big enough and supersoft. 

 
I use the Sigma Sigmax dense brushes and I love them! Really easy to use with any type of medium, powder, cream or liquid. They load up well with product without absorbing into the bristles and blend/buff very well. Highly recommend them! :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

 
All I have right now is a ...8?...piece shany set (hubby got them on flash site reeeaaallll cheap, and I am pretty impressed with the quality of them, but it's definitely not enough!). I really want the bubzbeauty set. Christmas list...lol.

In my dream world, I'd nab those new Goss brushes.

 
I lost all my nice brushes last year and had to start over from scratch on a super tight budget.

So, now my collection is a mix of Coastal Scents (cheap, but surprisingly decent), Real Techniques (love these and want to get the rest of the line), a Japonesque foundation brush, a Bobbi Brown kabuki, and a Starlooks shadow brush.

I love the Real Techniques and Japonesque, and would love to eventually replace the rest of my Coastal Scents with them!

 
I have.. a lot. I've been needing to list these for my OCD spreadsheets documenting every single beauty item I own, so why not.

Tarte

Some limited edition blush brush 
heart.gif


Undercover Lover concealer brush (fantastic for stippling) 

A discontinued double-ended angled liner/itty bitty precision shadow brush

Two discontinued foundation brushes (great for powder)

Tiny retractable travel kabuki, came as a GWP. Really good for on-the-go blush/contouring.

Japonesque
Travel small eye detail brush 
heart.gif


Travel medium eye detail brush 
heart.gif


Travel small angled eyeliner brush
Two of their Go Curl eyelash curlers
Heated mini eyelash curler 
heart.gif


Sigma
F80 

F45 
heart.gif


E16
E17
heart.gif

E25

E45
E55


Urban Decay

Good Karma Multi-Tasker brush 
heart.gif


Good Karma Shadow brush

Optical Blurring brush (meh)
Two of the double-ended brushes that come with the Naked palette, the Vice palettes, etc
A fantastic small shadow brush that came with the first Book of Shadows, I think.
Quite a few mini Good Karma Shadow brushes that have come with various palettes
Big Buddha brush (discontinued) A humongous body brush. Great for adding sparkle to whatever exposed skin there is, the whole two-three times a year I do it.

TheBalm

Powder to the People brush (alright, not great)
Eye Will double-ended liner/shadow brush (the liner end is awful)
Discontinued mini eyeshadow brush
Discontinued mini angle eyeliner brush (both fantastic)

Sephora

Retractable travel kabuki (discontinued, grabbed it on sale)

61 lip brush (old numbering system)
Two different unnumbered concealer brushes (kits)
Pro 25 (old numbering system)
Pro foundation brush, number's worn off
At least four versions of this brush, it's come with a couple of sets and it's absolutely my favorite small angled eyeliner brush, so much so that I've traded for it with other people (sorry for bad pics)





Mini face brush (kit) 
heart.gif

Two mini shadow brushes (kit)
Mini crease brushes  (kit)

Mini domed shadow brush (kit)
Two mini smudger brushes (kit)
 

Bare Escentuals
Mini Eye Defining brush
heart.gif

Mini Flawless Face brush 

Miscellaneous 
Lip Factory brush from a Lip Factory sub box, it's a nice, rounded lip brush that comes to a point
SOHO (drugstore) flat liner brush. 
ELF Professional fan brush. 
heart.gif

ELF Professional concealer brush
MAC 104 (freebie)
Rock & Republic 203 crease brush 
heart.gif

Ulta professional flat eyeliner 
Too Faced Teddy Bear Hair powder brush (freebie)
Several mini Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics lip brushes.
Several Sonia Kashuik shadow brushes
Sonia Kashiuk brow comb/bristle thing


As you can see, I really, really like eye brushes. I also like to use several different shadow shades and blend them very carefully, and I find using a different brush for each, different blending brushes, etc prevents muddying the colors. Since I use mineral foundation 95% of the time, I can get away with using the same face brushes for about three days, so I like having enough eye brushes to be able to procrastinate washing down to twice a week.

 

 
I absolutely love the real technique collection,i have been using the ELF collection as value for money you cant fault them. I brought 3 brushes and the eye kit. I honestly cannot fault the real technique collection at all. They leave me with a flawless finish and are so easy to clean. Check out my review on the expert face brush and the powder brush here - www.samkbarker.co.uk 

:) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
I just bought more Real Techniques brushes (I have most of the line now, only missing the Duofiber set and 3 of the single ones (powder, stippling, and setting) and I'm loving them more and more...I haven't been using my other brushes since I got these! The expert face brush, buffing brush, and the blush brush are especially amazing and probably my favorites! I am determined to get them all now...even though I find several of the face brushes to be similar (powder, multi-purpose brush, and kabuki can be used similarly, and the 3 foundation brushes, while shaped differently, could probably be interchanged, too) they are different enough to make owning all of them worth it, for me! Plus I'm a collector, ha. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
I have a Sigma Essential Kit in coral ("Make me blush") and I'm quite satisfied with most of the brushes.

Apart from that I have several full size and travel size MAC Brushes (217, 187SE, 190, 195SE, 168), the Real Techniques Stippling Brush, the Shiseido Perfect Foundation brush (which is my absolute favourite when it comes to foundation), several brushes from ZOEVA which I highly recommend (Silk Finish, Concealer Buffer, Face Shape, Petite Crease, Soft Definer vegan, Eye Finish), two sets by EcoTools (6piece starter set, 5 piece Mineral set) and countless drugstore and no-name brand brushes from ebay.

Next on my wishlisht are some brushes from Sedona Lace and the Wayne Goss brush collection.

 
Currently own Borghese (Costco brand), e.l.f. and Stila. My eye brushes are great, but all of the face brushes but one are meh. Planning to replace those with Sonia Kashuk little by little. Personally don't understand why RT, EcoTools and e.l.f. brushes get so much love.

 

Latest posts

Back
Top