Talk to me about make up brushes please

[HelgatheHairy]

I currently have 3 brushes. One for loose powder, one for blusher, one that came with my eye shadow palette. I have no idea where I picked the first two up from (probably Boots) and whether they are the right brush for the job.

So what kind of decent brushes should I be using? I'm not sure I'll ever use a foundation bush, I tend to just use my fingers but I probably need a loose powder brush, a blusher brush, an eye shadow brush or two and an eyeliner brush (as I tend to use my eye shadow as liner too)

I know MAC brushes are very good but I have no idea of which ones I should be looking at.

Any advice?

MAC is good, although I've found that some of their brushes shed like mad. A 217 is great for eye shadows, 212 is great for push liner, 168 is great for highlighter and blush, 150 (mine sheds loads) is good for loose powders. Most people love the angled 266 for liner, but I prefer it for brows only. A pencil brush like the 219 is great for smudging along the lash line, but for me it's not a must have.

Real Techniques are actually quite good. It's one of the Pixiwoo sisters that's behind this brand. You should be able to get them in Boots and Superdrug. I really like the expert face brush for foundation (I've used stippling brushes and classic foundation brushes, but the expert face brush is so much easier and quicker to use).

I'm also quite happy with Marionnaud's brushes, although I'm not sure if they are available in the UK or online. I think they are comparable to MAC, but cheaper.

I've heard that Sigma makes good brushes too, but I have no experience with them.

No matter which brushes you get, make sure to clean them often :)

I love real techniques brushes. Really soft and good quality

Yes, I agree, the Real Techniques are brilliant value for money & as good quality as any of the a Bobbi Brown & Mac ones that I have.
Sometimes they're on offer in Boots too.
I'd suggest powder, blusher, a couple of eyeshadow ones & an eyeliner as a good basic kit.

I have a foundation brush, lip brush and two eyeshadow brushes, all Boots No 7, all good.

Don't use lose powder as I think it can be very ageing and use a cream blusher

Thanks all. Been looking at the Real Techniques brushes online and they look great. Now just hoping I can find them in my local small boots as its going to be Christmas before I can get to a big one (in Ireland so can't order online)

My t-zone is oily so always use loose powder. Blush is a new thing for me, have a cream one and a powder one but have fallen in love with this

Can you order online to get them delivered to your small local boots? Amazon also do Real Techniques, often a couple of quid less than boots so you could also try there x

I love Real Techniques too - the Expert Face Brush is brilliant, I use it to put my foundation on and it's so good i've now stopped applying foundation with my fingers!

I have some Body Shop eyeshadow brushes too which I like.

mewkins yes I can thank you! I'd forgotten I can order them in store and get them delivered to there!

bluebump for the price of the brushes I can afford to try most of them!

Have a look at crown brushes I got a few eyeshadow brushes on there and am impressed.

One rather large amazon order later and brushes are on the way! (Along with a collection 2000 concelear that I've seen raved about on blogs but my local boots didnt have) thanks!

Op I love the real techniques brushes and think you'll get on well with them. Just to add though that your make up brushes are YOUR make up brushes! Have a play with them and to an extent ignore the name of a brush. The real techniques base shadow brush is an excellent brush for blending concealer for example. I pat it on (I use the c2000 one too) then use the brush to blend the edges out into my base. I use the face brush for bronzer, the blush brush for powder and the contour brush for blusher!

Would also highly recommend you have a look at the real techniques website. Sam (one of the pixiwoo sisters, who was the creator of the brushes) has filmed lots of short videos showing how you can use the brushes and different looks that are achievable with them.

Please also remember that brushes need washing regularly. I use johnsons baby shampoo to thoroughly clean my brushes once a week. Leave them to dry on a towel and then pop them upright to dry fully over night. A brush which is dirty can't do it's job properly and also is going to steadily get more and more bacteria in it. Not something you want to be smearing on your face!! Once you've done it a few times its really quite quick to do and does make a big difference. I am slightly acne prone and just being scrupulous about keeping my brushes clean has made a massive difference to my skin not being spotty.

Have fun

One for foundation, one for eyeshadow,one for eyebrows and another for bronzer.I have a few odd ones knocking about too.

No idea what they're called, but a couple of them came from art shops. They can be a lot cheaper there.

I don't wear loose powder and anyway if you brush powder over foundation, concealer etc., you brush the whole lot into a mess. I can always tell someone who's brushed powder onto their faces. It looks as though it's moved, which it usually has.

I used pressed powder and roll it on with those velour pads.