Brushes

[Nichole Bockover]

I am in the process of building my makeup kit so that I can start "playing" and finally do something that I have always wanted to do and that is be a makeup artist. I was wondering if you all could share with me your opinions on "must have" brushes to have in my kit as well as brands that you use and truly love using. I have a couple MAC brushes but nothing to get excited about. I thank you for your advice as I dive into something that has been a dream of mine for a long time.

[Christina Betts]

Hi Nichole. Congratulations on following your dream. I've tried many brushes over the years, some brushes have left more bristles on the face than product. My fav's are: Mary Kay brushes. The brushes are made from goat and pony hair and I personally love them!! Unfortunately here in Canada the brushes can only be purchase as a set and not individually. The set includes: a powder brush, cheek brush, dual end eyeliner/eyebrow brush, eye crease brush, and eye definer brush. The set does come in a leather case which is not bad because it's great for travelling. I bought two sets and gave the other empty leather case to my sister. I also love Paula's Choice brushes. You can check those out at www.paulaschoice.com. Pur Minerals makes fabulous brushes as well. They're made from goat, sable and pony hair. The coverage and application of these brushes are really good. Hope this helps. Take care, Christina

[Elke]

I have my favs:
SMashbox Foundation Brush (great brush, great price)
Sephora's Brand brushes, great cut & quality. Great prices.
The Art Store: if the cut and quality work, it'll do the job.... just don't buy those square sable ones for painting, they just don't work for makeup.
ADesign: The best cuts I've ever seen in brushes.. not cheap but so worth it.

[Elizabeth]

I love all my Shu Uemura brushes the best.

[BionicBeauty]

On a recent trip to Michaels (the craft store), I straggled through the art brush section and found these fantastic brushes! They have natural hair and nylon bristles, long handles, rubberized grips, and pretty colors (clear handles with pink, yellow, blue, purple accents).

After a few uses, I simply LOVE them. No bristles all over my face and they as SO soft. And an even better bonus? They were only $2.99 on sale!!
The brand name is Royal Soft-Grip.

I also like some of Sonia Kashuk's brushes. Her push-up blush brush is great for traveling.

[Elke]

oooh, i like the white brushes!~ gotta go check them out. How long are the handles?

[BionicBeauty]

The handles are about 6-7 inches long.
And they seem to get better and better every time I wash them!!

[Nichole Bockover]

Thank you that sounds like a great find!!!!! I will have to go check them out.

[Barbara Siragusa]

Good luck with your dream!! I just wanted to give you a little of what I know about brushes. I work with a MAC make up artist, we produce make up tutorials on DVD. She swears by MAC brushes. I have seen her try other brushes that were sent to us for the shoot, and some of them literally came apart when she used them!! I think if you go onto the MAC website and look at the entire selection they have, they seem to have it all. And then start adding to your collection. They are expensive, but worth it. My make up artist tells me she has had her brushes for years. She takes good care of them, washing them with gentle baby shampoo. Hope this helps!!

www.beautycastbabe.com

[EyeshadowCult.com]

I'm not huge on brushes, but the Teddy Bear Hair set from Too Faced is nice. The hairs feel SUPER soft on contact.