When I first started taking a real interest in make-up, one of things I had to get my head around was make-up brushes. I’d ask questions such as ‘what does this one do?’ ‘where do I put this?’ and ‘why’s that such a funny shape?’. All of these questions, I’m going to attempt to answer in this post. It’s difficult to know where to start when you’re faced with so many different brands but if you build your collection little by little, it won’t be long before you get used to what make-up brush does what. It pretty much becomes second nature when you get enough practice

What’s the difference between real hair and synthetic haired make-up brushes?

Real hair, specifically goat haired, make-up brushes are much softer and a lot of the time, used mostly with dry products such as pressed eyeshadows and setting powders. I prefer using synthetic brushes with cream products such as primers and gel eyeliners because I find the application easier and they are much easier to clean.

Flat shading brush

 

Brushes such as the ones shown above are known as flat shader brushes. These are used to pack eyeshadow onto the eyelid with precision and minimum fall out. I don’t typically use these brushes to do any sort of blending as they are too dense and the shape isn’t ideal. But for applying eyeshadow on the eyelid and highlighting the inner corner of your eye and your brow bone, these are the ones I tend to reach for!

Fluffy Blending Brush

 

To do any sort of blending, this type of brush is an absolute saviour. Before putting down any eyeshadows (using a flat shader brush) I use this brush with a skin tone coloured eyeshadow and just buff it right above my crease to act as a transition colour which helps my eyeshadows appear well blended with no harsh lines.

Angled Brush

 

An angled brush can be a really helpful tool, especially if you like to fill in your eyebrows using an eyeshadow, like I do. The short, dense brush head, made in an angled shape, helps produce precise lines offering total control of where you want to place your eyeshadow. This brush is also popularly used for applying gel eyeliner as it is so easy to create a crisp wing shape using this.

Pencil Brush

 

Brushes that look like this are known as pencil brushes. These are used for any precision work such as running eyeshadow along the lower lashline or highlighting the very inner corner of your eyes. This brush is also great for creating more definition in your crease if you want to deepen up the colour.

Crease Brush

 

And finally, all the brushes shown above are used for work in the crease of your eye. Whether this be blending out colour or building intensity of colour in that area, all the brushes shown above are used for that technique. All of these brushes are from different brands and all brands that sell make-up brushes sell crease brushes so you don’t always have to spend excessive amounts to get your hands on one.

I get so much use out of all of these brushes as I believe with all of them, I get a near perfect eye look every time. Of course there are days when I want a more toned down look so I only need to use 1 or 2 of them but for night’s out, for instance, when I might want a more intense look, I wouldn’t hesitate to use all of the ones shown above. If you have any more questions, or you think I may have missed something out, please let me know by leaving me a comment or tweet me at @beasbeautyblog.

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps

Bea x