Favourite Makeup Brushes

Over the years I've collected many makeup brushes - I love the feeling of a soft, luxuriant brush against my face and have always looked at makeup brushes as the best investment in terms of beauty products (they last forever if you look after them, and good ones do make a difference to application!)

What do I look for in a good makeup brush? The top 3 things I look for are:

• It must be soft and not scratchy, yet not too soft so it doesn't hold it's shape (the shape of the brush is key to good application)
• The fibres must be dense enough to pick up enough product
• No hair shedding! this is the sign of a well made brush

Here are some of my favourites (and why I love them)

Left: MAC #187, Right: MAC foundation

MAC stippling brush #187

The cult brush which probably disappointed me slightly because my expectations were much too high (I had read about it being able to apply foundation, blush, powder, everything!)

It’s a good brush for stippling on liquid foundation when you have time and it really does give a beautiful finish. (Stipple foundation on in quick dabbing motions, then blend in small circles for an even finish)

I've seen many copies of it but have found most of them too harsh or prickly for stippling, the original MAC seems to be the only one so far just firm enough for stippling but not too firm so that it's prickly on the face!

I don’t like it for applying anything else, though it may be that my technique is lacking.

MAC foundation brush #190

A classic foundation brush, my go-to for liquid foundation (I'm too lazy to stipple everyday...)

Left: MAC Angled Contour brush, Right MAC Blush Brush

MAC blush brush #129

A good blush brush which is firm and dense enough to pick up enough pigment, and a good size for depositing just the right amount on the apples of your cheeks with one sweep. 

MAC Large angled contour brush #168

A good brush for applying blush as well, the angle and the smaller denser fibres make blush or bronzer application more precise.

I prefer to contour with creams and my fingers (the Scott Barnes method!) so I don’t really use this brush for contouring.

Bobbi Brown Face Brush

Bobbi Brown Face brush

This is a cute little kabuki brush which I use to apply powder foundation and mineral makeup, and it feels really soft and luxurious.

However, I find it a bit too dense for loose/pressed powder application, and when I wash it, it takes 48hrs to dry!

Left to Right: Bobbie Brown Smudge Brush, NARS 15, Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow Brush

Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow brush

A great eyeshadow brush. I got this brush eight years ago and it’s still going strong with multiple washings, travelling, etc. A MUST for any makeup bag, and soft enough to pick up pigment and wash it over eyelids, but also dense enough when you want to press on eyeshadow for a more intense look.

Bobbi Brown Eye Smudge brush

A smaller, denser version of the eyeshadow brush, which I hardly ever use as it’s something in between my eyeshadow brush and my NARS smudge brush. It's very good for picking up eyeshadow and pressing it onto lids for a darker colour, and I use it to achieve a quick smoky eye, but if I could only get one brush for my eyes it would be my eyeshadow brush, not this one.

NARS 15 smudge brush

The cutest brush I own, tiny dense fibres which work well to smudge eyeliner. If I could buy it again though I would get one with a shorter handle, for self-application it's a bit unwieldy given I have to work pretty quick before my eyeliner sets.

Larger brush: Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eyeliner, Smaller brush: Napoleon Perdis 2h brush

Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eyeliner brush

The eyeliner brush I bought when I got the Bobbi Brown Gel eyeliner, though when I discovered the Napoleon Perdis brush I converted to using that for eyeliner – it gives me much more control!

Napoleon Perdis 2h

A tiny, tiny brush which gives excellent control with gel eyeliners, using eyeshadow as eyeliners and most recently, for filling in my brows (I discovered it gives the most natural finish I have EVER had compared to brow gels, pencils, waxes, etc)