Are expensive make up brushes worth it?

[Littlemiss74]

I had a makeover with Bobbi Brown & they said to
use a brush to apply foundation & tinted moisturiser. I looked at the prices they’d written down for me & the brush was £34!
Do they really make much of a difference & if so how compared to a cheaper one in sainsbury/Boots?

I am treating myself to some new make up but really don’t know why the brush costs so much, unless it can work miracles & make me look radiant, less tired & knackered, in which case I’ll buy it!

I’ve never bought brushes more expensive than Bobbi Brown but I’ve built up a set now and they are far superior to the cheaper ones I’ve had from Boots previously.
There’s 20% off Bobbi Brown until tonight if you buy direct from her website and Look Fantastic have also got 20% of her brushes too.
Also have a look on eBay ( I assume they are genuine ) Ive bought a few extremely cheaply and if they’re not genuine I certainly can’t tell the difference between them and those I’ve paid much more for

Yes I think better made brands by people who know what they're talking about are slightly better than cheap generic brushes. That said I use my fingers and sponges for foundation abs a lot of cream eyeshadows as I have dry menopausal skin that needs visual "blur" more than anything else.

If I was trying to do a cats eye flick I'm not sure where I'd start tbh

Honestly no.

I’ve got brushes that range from cheapy Amazon from China specials right up to Artis brushes.

The biggest thing is using the right sort of brush for what you want it to do (I’m not saying be rigid about this but flat brushes for packing on colour, dense brushes for buffing and blending, fluffy brushes for sheer powder cover sort of thing)

And

Keeping them clean!

Doesn’t matter how much you’ve spent on the brush if it’s dirty it won’t perform properly.

I wash my cheaper brushes more often simply cos I’m not worried about the glue failing and then falling apart - they’re cheap to replace - so they’re cleaner and perform just as well as the expensive ones. (Although I’ve had stupidly expensive brushes fall apart cos the glue failed, it does on them all eventually).

Yes. I've had some of mine for almost 30 years and, well looked after, they are as good as new.

I think expensive brushes are better- but NOT Bobbi Brown. Look for Japanese made brushes- they are the best. Wayne Goss, Chikohodo, Sonia G and Rae Morris do fabulous brushes!

Brushes from Zoeva are fab and a fraction of the price. Cult Beauty sell them.

My brushes from Bobbi Brown are okay but nothing special. Same goes for my MAC ones.

Thank you all, for those who say they are better, in what way are they better? Sorry if I’m not getting it but what do they do that’s better than a cheaper version or is it more that they generally last longer as better made.
Thank you @millymae for the 20% off info although it would still be more than I’ve ever spent on a brush😊

Yes, Zoeva are brilliant and great value, especially if you want synthetic rather than natural hair.

I love Spectrum brushes and they are really reasonably priced.

Agree with above comments on zooeva and spectrum. Both brilliant high quality brushes and not expensive.
Real techniques are also great.

My eye liner and eye shadow brushes come from Cassart. Also, a fan brush for blusher,

I don’t know if Mac brushes are considered expensive but I’ve been using an eyeshadow brush for 20 years and have just replaced it as bristles starting to snap off.

Another vote for Zoeva brushes!

I have a collection of Bobbi B brushes all bought when on offer or some mini ones came as gifts with purchase online.

They do last and even when washed they are not losing bristles.
I rate their blusher brush.
I am not so sure about the foundation brushes but the big , short and fat foundation brush is good.

Years ago an asst sold me an eye powder brush as 'the only one to buy' if I just wanted one. It's a blending brush and I find it too big. I prefer the smaller, angled shadow brush.

However, Real Techniques might be as good and much cheaper.

I agree with FreekStar. Cheap brushes are a false economy, I wish I didn't spend on them and bought nice brushes instead. I have the first set Wayne Goss put out years ago and they are are still as good as new.
The difference that nice high quality brushes make: there is zero drag on the skin, very important in the eye area especially for ppl over 20.

I agree with Freekstar that fude (japanese brushes) are well worth the investment and Hakuhodo / Chikohodo are not necessarily that much more expensive than Mac etc just slightly harder to source.

However I'd add one exception and that's foundation. In general synthetic brushes are a good choice for foundation and I've used that Bobbi Brown one and rate it thought you'd probably find a cheaper equivalent.

Stclair the old mac brushes used to be made in Japan, rumoured to be made by Hakuhoda (I think) and are much higher quality that the ones they sell today mostly made in China. If you check the handle of your brush I bet you'll see "Japan" imprinted. 20 years seems like a good run!

For a fine eyeliner brush I find the very fine paint brushes from art shops are really good & much cheaper than dedicated make up brushes. You can choose synthetic or natural. Some of the slightly bigger soft ones make good shadow brushes & you can get fan ones too.

@Littlemiss74 when I learned how to do my makeup back in the early 2000s, low price was definitely an indication of low quality brushes. Things have improved a lot and now you can find lots of cheaper brushes that work really well, particularly if you are looking at synthetic brushes, like Real Techniques.

When choosing brushes you need to think about their shape and the type of hair. It’s good to experiment with different shapes if you can, though most test brushes in shops tend to be a bit dirty
With regards to type of hair, some natural (=animal) hair brushes are fantastic for light application, which is really good for powder face products. I don’t buy animal hair brushes anymore since I became a vegetarian (the animals aren’t killed for the brushes, but it’s hard to trust that they are well treated/not scared during the process) but I have some “old” ones made of squirrel hair that are really fantastic. These tend to be very expensive (think more than £50 per face brush) and are usually made by Japanese brands. Most brands (even high end like Chanel) make face brushes with goats hair. I don’t like these as they tend to be a bit scratchy and give a heavier application unless you are very careful and skilled.
For eyeshadow and eyeliner, most animal hair brushes are made of goat or horse hair.

If I were to start a brush collection from scratch today, I would buy basics from a brand like Real Techniques and one really good face powder/blush/highlighter synthetic brush from a brand like Hourglass. If the brush is made in a particular way so as not to be too dense, and with light fibres, it can give a light application even if it’s synthetic.

Everything I wrote is for powder products though. For liquid or cream products, I only use synthetic brushes anyway, as they pick up and blend pigments in liquid and cream form much better. For this type of use I actually like some cheap synthetic brushes from eBay, such as the kabuki-style brushes, for liquid foundation or cream blush and highlighter. Animal hair brushes with fine and delicate hair don’t pick up cream products well and can also be damaged when cleaning after being used with liquids and creams.

I have Hourglass, Marc Jacobs, Spectrum & Real Techniques brushes and honestly - Real Techniques are as good as any. As others have said. it's about getting the right brush for the product too. I don't get on with flat foundation brushes but I loce the RT buffing brush for applying my liquid foundation.

I bought 2 sets of Tarte brushes and love them, they are well made, no fallout, the foundation brushes are fantastic, tightly packed and large so cover a decent area quickly. The eyeshadow brushes are also amazing.

Some of my other favourites are from primark, eyeshadow brushes and powder brushes mainly.

I'd start off buying cheap and if it isn't working look at more expensive. Tk max sometimes have good sets. Real techniques are also fab and reasonable priced if you do a search they are on sale a lot

Circa 1993 I bought two brushes from the Bobbi Brown counter in one of the posher department stores in New York. The blusher brush is still going strong. However the ones I've bought from the line in the last ten years or so were nowhere near the same quality.
I now buythe synthetic brushes from Crown brush, cheap and effective.

Morphe brushes are also amazing. Not cheap but not Bobbi Brown prices. I replaced most of my Real Techniques brushes with them, my favourite is the 439 foundation brush.

Had anyone tried the BeautyPie brushes?

I’ve been buying quite a lot from them and wondered about their brushes?