How important are brushes to apply make-up?

[PavlovtheCat]

and if so what do you use, and for what?

Very!

I used to apply my foundation with my fingers - nothing wrong with it, if a bit unhygienic, went on well. However i tried a kabuki brush set from Sigma, amaze! theirs a flat top Kabuki for applying foundation, a round one for blusher, and angled one for blusher again, and a pointed tip one for applying highlighter. Its not only made my foundation easier to apply, its also made it quicker, takes me around five mins to do my face-base

I also have a mac 187, for applying base duo fibre brush, but i prefer the sigma kit tbh.

As for eyeshadow, my must haves are

A flat shader brush, fluffy blending brush and an angled eyeliner brush.

I couldn't do my make-up without those brushes now!

5 mins to do base? it takes that long to do all my makeup! i am obviously doing it wrong.

I don't use brushes for anything (apart from maybe blusher) on a daily basis and I think my make up looks ok. I do use them a bit for my eyes when I'm going out though.

I can rush through in an early morning and get everything done in about 12 minutes, but if I'm off out for the night, i can spend a good 30 mins on my make-up alone!

i just looked at that youtube clip...wow that is complicated!

Mind you, sorry that includes sticking eyelashes on which i wear everyday and takes a good 5 mins!

I think they're essential for a better finish. They blend the makeup so much better than fingers and for things like concealer you can make sure that it's directed in exactly the right place. I thinks that using fingers is a bit like trying to paint with a spade. With brushes you can control coverage so much better.

I use different brushes for foundation, concealer, blusher, highlighter, powder, eyes, eyelashes, eyebrows and lips.

I bought an expensive foundatin brush recently and it gave me a rash. I apply everythng withfingers usually - foundatin, blusher, lip balm and even eyeshadow - and will be sticking to that from now on!

Oh, yeah. I forgot a concealer brush, Deffo an essential. Mac brushes are more easy to get in this country than sigma, but are quite pricey!

Brushes give a better finish and make your make up stay put for longer. Also provided they are cared for properly and washed regularly are much more hygienic than using your hands.

When applying foundation if you use your fingers your putting a lot more oil onto your face than you would with a brush, which makes your make up more likely to slide off throughout the day.

I use lots of different brush makes as i like different makes for different things. Sigma, MAC, Smashbox and Illamasqua all do nice ones for fairly average prices but boots also stock a range called Ecotools which are a but cheaper. Really a case of searching about to see which suit you personally.

Another good thing to remember is, as a general rule natural fibre brushes are better for powders and synthetic fibres better for cream.

HTH