Makeup brushes - How many do we really need?

After my last post on my favourite makeup brushes (here), I started thinking about how many makeup brushes does a girl really need? I've collected my brushes over the years, some bought on a whim, some I'd coveted for a while before I bought. If I was to lose them all, how many would I repurchase?

My Makeup Brushes!

There is a dazzling array of makeup brushes available these days for the prosumer makeup crowd (a word I came across when reading about lower-end DSLR cameras – referring to items that are in between ‘professional’ and ‘consumer’), and it’s really easy to get caught up in the latest ‘best brush in the world’ hype (MAC #187 anyone? It’s a good brush, but hardly the ‘can apply ANYTHING’ brush – as I found out after I bought it!)

So, if you’re not a professional makeup artist and don’t have an hour each morning to do your makeup (and an hour every week to wash your brushes) – what brushes do you really need?

I got by in my very first few years with makeup by just using the applicators that came with the product (tiny blush brushes!) and my fingers! But then my brush collection grew, and grew...

So of all my brushes, the ones I use on a daily basis and cannot go without are...

• Bobbi Brown Face Brush for a light dusting of my powder foundation (if I’m wearing liquid, I tend to use my fingers or a damp non-latex sponge, I just can’t be bothered stippling everyday)
• Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow Brush - 8 years and still looks like the day I bought it!
• MAC blush brush or angled contour brush – for my pop of colour on my cheeks 
• Napoleon Perdis 2h brush for eyeliner and for filling in my brows

For everything else…there’s fingers! 

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)

Beauty Tools: Shu Uemura VS Shiseido Eyelash Curler

For many years, I never bothered with curling my eyelashes. 

Try as I might, I could never get any eyelash curler to actually get to my small, non-deep set eyes and short stumpy lashes. Occasionally, I'd decide to curl my eyelashes, and would end up just kicking the tips up - not a good look! 

I was also convinced that it wouldn't make a difference anyway because my lashes were so SHORT!

After reading so many rave reviews about the Shu Uemura curler being THE curler for Asian (and any other) eyes, I eventually caved in to the hype surrounding it and bought it, brimming with hope!

However, though the Shu curler felt really comfortable in my hand, on me the decreased curve was still not enough. I managed to get a few more lashed to curl but that was it.
Big Sigh.


So I relegated my Shu curler to the bottom of my drawer and forgot about it. I should mention though that It worked beautifully on my sister, who is blessed with larger eyes and longer eyelashes, giving her the perfect curl which lasted a whole night

Then I heard about the Shiseido eyelash curler! Made by another Japanese company, and apparently now with an even flatter curve. The reviews I'd read were mixed - many thought the Shu Uemura curler was better so at first I was hesitant. 

However, my downward pointing lashes give me the dreaded two lash line effect with falsies - my lashes naturally point slightly downwards, and this with the curled up falsies are not a good look! 

I decided to take the plunge again. 

The Shiseido Eyelash Curler

I was prepared for yet another disappointment but:  IT IS THE BEST CURLER EVER!!!

Though lesser known than the Shu curler (and perhaps something that hasn't quite reached 'Cult Beauty Status', I find that it is actually much better at getting all the way to the base of my lashes and gently, gently curling every. single. lash. 

Observe:

Left: Shu Uemura, Right: Shiseido

You can clearly see that the Shiseido eyelash curler is much less curved, which is excellent for fitting into the socket of shallower-set asian eyes (like mine!)

Top: Shiseido, Bottom: Shu Uemura

Also, the top curve of the Shiseido curler (as seen in the above pictures) seems to sit just a teeny bit more forward compared to the Shu Uemura curler (which sits directly on top of the bottom curve) - could this be helping my short stumpy lashes curl and separate?! It WORKS.

VERDICT: While the Shu Uemura eyelash curler works well for most eyes, for shallow-set Asian eyes (or if you want to get as close as possible to your lash line) the Shiseido curler takes the cake! I'm in love. 

Both come with a replacement sillicone pad thingy and are really gentle on the lashes (and I haven't pinched myself once with the Shiseido curler!)

Shu Uemura Curler (AUD $28) www.shuuemura.com
- available from Shu Uemura counters (David Jones Bourke St)

Shiseido Curler (AUD $25) www.au.shiseido.com
- available at any Shiseido counter

Bonus: Shu Uemura doesn't sell the replacement sillicone pads but the Shiseido counter assures me I will be able to buy some from them - though they didn't have any in stock at the time and I can't see it on the website.

PS. Apologies for the grainy-ness and yellow cast of the photos - I am learning to take better photos!!