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How To Choose The Perfect Makeup Brush | The AEDITION

If you ask a makeup lover to talk about the favorite parts of their makeup collection, most people would mention a color eyeshadow, a glistening highlighter, or a stays-matte-all-day foundation. But, if you ask a makeup artist the same question, it's likely that they'll mention their brushes.

Makeup brushes are to makeup artists what paintbrushes are to painters or a beloved guitar pick is to a musician, but most people don't realize how integral brushes are to our own makeup kits. One reason? There's not a ton of information out there about what makes a 'good' makeup brush, so you may not even know what to look for. To better understand how to choose a makeup brush, we asked three expert makeup artists for their tips, tricks, and must-haves.

The Makeup Brushes That Should Be in Everyone's Kit

Whether you're a makeup maven or are just starting out on your color cosmetics journey, there are certain types of brushes that should be the foundation of your makeup kit. "A great starting point would be a foundation brush, a concealer brush, a powder brush, an eyeshadow blending brush, and an eye shadow flat brush," says makeup artist and educator Rose Siard. "This should get you most places you need to go for day to day looks."

Essential Makeup Brushes:

• Foundation Brush
• Concealer Brush
• Powder Brush
• Eye Shdow Blending Brush
• Flat Eye Shadow Brush

Once you've got the basics down, there are a few more brushes that you may want to consider to top off your tool kit.

Additional Makeup Brushes:

• Contour Brush
• Crease Brush
• Eyeliner Brush
• Lip Brush

How to Choose a Makeup Brush

So, now that you know the types of makeup brushes you need, it's time to break down what sets a good brush apart from an average one.

1. Consider the fiber density

Fiber density refers to how many bristles are placed into the ferrule (the metal ring that separates the bristles from the handle) of a brush, and it's a key indicator of how a brush will deposit color on to your face. A dense brush will lead to a higher color payoff, while a brush with a lower fiber density will give you a softer application. Generally, eyeshadow brushes should be denser than the brushes you use for blush or for blending. The best way to examine a brush's density before you buy is to see it in person. But, with COVID-19 restrictions still in place, Siard suggests asking for recommendations, looking at the description of the brush on the brand's website, and reading reviews.

2. Check out the material

The hairs that make up a makeup brush are either made of synthetic or natural fibers. Natural usually means that it's come from an animal, like a goat, sable (i.e. weasel), or squirrel, which has long raised questions about how ethically the hairs are sourced. While natural brushes used to be preferred because they were said to be softer and offer better color payoff, the attitude has shifted as technological advances greatly improved the quality of synthetic tools. "I think synthetic hair fibers are the go-to," Siard explains. "Not only are they cruelty free, but they are also virtually indistinguishable from natural hair in regard to feel and application."

3. Prioritize quality over quantity

When it comes to building a brush kit, you will likely get what you pay for. "Cheap brushes usually don't hold up when they are cleaned, and they can fan out," Linter notes. Additionally, Siard believes that good brushes can make makeup better. "In my opinion, a great quality brush can make up for a poor quality product," she shares. "I would rather have one great eye shadow brush than three subpar ones."

4. Know when to splurge

One more thing to keep in mind? The type of brush you need. Celebrity makeup artist and groomer Brandy Allen recommends investing in face brushes (think: foundation, powder, etc.), as they are "used on the biggest part of the makeup application." Linter, meanwhile, likes to splurge on blush and shadow brushes. If you are in the market for a lip brush, it may be another tool worth spending a bit more on because Linter says it can be hard to find one that is full enough. On the flip side, our experts agree that there are great budget-friendly highlighter and eyeliner brushes that will do the trick for a fraction of the price.

Expert-Approved Makeup Brushes

Ready to upgrade your makeup brush game? Below are five makeup artist- and editor-approved tools to tackle your face, eyes, and body.

For Multitasking: Anisa Beauty Multi-Powder Brush

Anisa Beauty's makeup and skincare brushes are Allen's go-to, and this extremely versatile powder brush can be used to apply everything from blush and bronzer to highlighter and setting powder. $40, anisabeauty.com

For Face & Body: Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Face & Body Kabuki Brush 160

Kabuki brushes are short-handled brushes with dense bristles and a rounded shape. While they're traditionally recommended to be used with powders, your liquid products can be applied with a kabuki brush, too. This option from Fenty is good for applying foundation, powders, highlighters, and shimmers to your face, neck, décolleté, and arms. $34, sephora.com

For Contouring: Surratt Beauty Artistique Sculpting Brush

One of the pricier picks on our list, Linter says this brush is worth it because of who made it. "Troy Surratt is a makeup artist, so he understands the various needs of a brush," she says. This sculpting tool allows for subtle and strategic contouring — no streaky lines here. $120, surrattbeauty.com

For Eye Makeup: Beautyblender High Roller Crease Brush & Cooling Roller

You obviously know Beautyblender for its sponges, but the brand's dual-sided makeup brushes deserve a spot in your kit, too. This fluffy, synthetic-bristle brush is perfect for applying and blending eye makeup — no matter your eye shape or skill set — while the cooling roller tip depuffs and smoothes under eyes. $33, sephora.com

For Foundation: Anisa Beauty Pinnacle Foundation Brush

Siard says that this brush is one of her faves because applying foundation can be "so tricky" compared to other products. The dense triangle-shaped tool pairs perfectly with cream and liquid makeup, which the pro says makes an "enormous difference" in the application process. $30, anisabeauty.com

For Newbies: Zoeva Coral Shine Brush Set

Whehter you're building your kit from scratch or looking to start fresh, this nine-piece set has everything you'll need and nothing more. With four face brushes and five eye brushes, your entire face will love Zoeva's vegan designs. $95, zoevacosmetics.com

How to Take Care of Your Makeup Brushes

Here's the good news: spending money on quality brushes means you can count on them to stand up well to the tests of time, and you can generally expect your makeup brushes to last a couple of years. In fact, Linter says she has two brushes in her kit that she's had since the 1990s. To ensure longevity, however, your brushes need to be cared for.

Regularly washing your brushes is a must to remove the residue and bacteria that weakens both the skin barrier and the brush fibers. Siard cleans her brushes every four days, while Allen opts for a daily wash. If you know that's not going to happen for you, she suggests using a brush cleaner each day and then going for a deep cleanse every one to two weeks, depending on how often you use them.

You'll know it's time to throw out a brush when the bristles start to shed, fray, or become stiff. If you notice a broken handle or ferrule, it's also time to toss, as bacteria can enter the crack. Another clue that it might be time to swap your brushes? They're no longer applying your makeup evenly.

All products featured are independently selected by our editors, however, AEDIT may receive a commission on items purchased through our links.

Introduction to make up brushes

Hi there brush lovers !!

Before you try to read this long post on brushes, please keep in mind that I am not a makeup artist, I am just passionate about beauty and makeup brushes. My little knowledge on makeup brushes comes from my own experience, from reading other blogs, from friends or also from information I receive from brush companies like Hakuhodo.
I am getting so many questions on brushes that I though I might write something that would look like an overview on the topic, I hope I am covering some of your questions here and that this is a bit helpful for you although it is far from covering all aspects and variables of makeup brushes !

Depending on where you live you may not be able to get deep information on this topic so like me you will need to rely on the internet to answer your questions, but there are so many different makeup brushes that we are easily overwhelmed by all the details. I have tried to summarize the most common specifications, I cannot cover everything mainly because I simply won’t have the knowledge but I will do my best, you are very welcome to leave any comments to share your own knowledge, your thoughts and own experience.

Brush anatomy

This is not a mystery for most of you but in case you did not know :

How to choose a makeup brush

Today I own so many beautiful brushes but to get here I spent a lot of money trying to find the right ones for me and it didn’t happen without many mistakes.
You don’t need thousands of them, “just” the right ones. It is not an easy process to find them and it will cost you time and money, I have so many of them because I am a brush fiend and if you are reasonable you shouldn’t be doing this at home.
A good brush will last you ages if you take care of it. It should have a solid handle and a ferrule that is firmly attached, it should not rattle or feel unbalanced, if you struggle holding it properly you will end by being upset and not using it, been there many times.
The head should have a shape that applies and blends makeup smoothly and evenly, it shouldn’t been scratchy or hurt your eyes or face in the process. The bristles should transfer makeup effectively and cause none or only very little fallout, sometimes fallout cannot be avoided but the head should give you enough control for a neat application.

Sometimes the crimps are badly done, they are discolored or somehow look rusted, avoid these brushes because it will only get worst. If the head sheds, it’s normal to a certain point, when a brush is assembled, it needs to be combed to remove the hair that did not attach, this process is more or less completed carefully depending on the company, but if after a few washes it carries on shedding, that’s not normal.
If there is a heavy smell in the bristles and you can still smell it after a few washes, that’s not normal either.
If you wash a brush, and then put it on a white towel to dry, the hair should not loose color (dye).
Be careful when choosing your brushes, if you are sensitive to dye or to natural hair, check with the company directly, some counters are not even aware of the whole manufacturing process or material and you should do some work to get that information if it’s relevant for you.

Your choice must be based on the :

• material : see below for more details on some materials you can find.
• size : size does matter, it’s important how it fits the face or eye area of the face in which you are using it.
• quality : a well-balanced and well-finished brush will be more pleasant to use.
• shape : square, angled, tapered, dome, blunt, point, slant, round, flat, etc…
• hair length and density : this is important depending on the result you want to achieve.
• functionality : powder or cream, sheer, medium or heavy coverage, etc…
• and also your skin : some brushes are more adapted for dry and others for oily skin, but you should always use brushes that don’t irritate your skin.

Your brushes don’t need to be expensive, there are many brands that make fantastic brushes for a very fair price. Today the best value for money I found are the white goat brushes from the Hakuhodo J Series, they deliver the best results and the quality is excellent.

The material

First of all you have to choose between natural or synthetic brushes, many people don’t want to use natural (animal) hair, it’s a personal choice. I always try to get information on how the brushes are made and how the hair is collected.
A natural brush will last you much longer than a synthetic one, they will get better and better the more you use them, where synthetic brushes are less durable and tend to get stiffer with use.
Since synthetic brushes don’t have a cuticle, they can’t trap makeup like natural ones do, this makes synthetic bristles great with liquid or cream products but less efficient when you want to layer powder products.

Synthetic brushes

If you prefer to stick to synthetic materials, there are many brands that make fantastic synthetic brushes, Real Techniques, Illamasqua, OCC, Hourglass, Sigma, etc.. just to mention a few.
Often synthetic fibers are blended with natural hair brushes to help maintain the brush shape or to serve a special purpose like for example some mixed goat-synthetic foundation brushes that will deliver a more airbrushed application.
Synthetic brushes are usually made of nylon (PBT) or taklon (PET) and are less absorbent than natural hair fibers, which is great with cream and liquid but not fantastic with powder. They are less prone to be damaged from solvents and easier to keep clean since the bristles don’t trap or absorb pigment.
Taklon is usually softer than nylon.

Illamasqua are really soft brushes, hypoallergenic, I use this big brush mostly in summer or for an evening event to apply bronzer or highlight powder on my shoulders or legs, you can use all the Illamasqua brushes with cream or powder products.
I am also loving all the brushes from Real Techniques, I find that the feeling they have on my skin is quite similar to natural brushes, what I mean is that I don’t have that “plastic” feeling when I apply makeup with them.
I will mainly use synthetic brushes with liquid and cream products, concealer, liner and foundation.

Natural brushes

I will not cover all the materials available in the market but remember that natural brushes are not only intended for makeup, but also for writing, painting, restoring art, etc.

The quality of a natural makeup brush depends on a lot of variables, on the material but also on the cut, the cut refers to how the hair is harvested. If the material comes from first-cut (virgin) hair it will be cruelty-free since it’s sheared from the tips of the fur and will be soft and pointed. If the hair comes from blunt-cut (or lower-cut) hair, the point will be flatter and the hair will be much coarser and prickly on the skin and of course, not as pleasant to use. Lower-cut hair are usually for machine-made brushes.

Squirrel hair

You will find many different type of squirrel hair, blue, grey, canadian, kazakhstan, brown (kazan), tree, pine, wood and you will also see squirrel blends with goat, pony, synthetic, etc. The blends with other materials are made for many reasons, it could be for maintaining the brush shape, stabilizing quality, allow more resilience, or simply to offer a more affordable option.
They are not supposed to be used with liquid/cream products since they absorb a lot of product and are delicate, a frequent cleaning process may be too aggressive and damage the hair.
Squirrel hair brushes provide a natural and sheer finishing, unlike goat brushes which usually pack more product and give a more polished finishing.
The hair are thin with a pointed tip and a more or less uniform body. Little or no spring (spring is the ability of the hair to return quickly to its original shape).
Squirrel hair brushes are good for dry skin or sensitive skin, they deliver soft coverage with natural result.

Blue squirrel
The hairs are blue-black with a