Makeup Brush Guide: Everything You Need to Choose The Right Makeup Brushes
Picking makeup brushes can feel really confusing, whether you’re a professional makeup artist, someone who loves makeup, or just someone who wears makeup sometimes. I get asked about brushes a lot, so I decided to write a blog post to share my ideas!
You should save this page so you can find it later because one day you might be shopping for makeup and wonder, “Do I really need this brush?” If you want to learn how to use your brushes to create a beautiful everyday makeup look, you can read about it in my book, Be Your Own Makeup Artist.
Choosing Makeup Brushes
Makeup brushes are really important in your makeup kit. Knowing how to pick the right brush helps your makeup look better, go on easier, and stay on longer—even if the brushes aren’t the most expensive.
1. Choose Quality Over Quantity
Always pick good brushes to use. You don’t need many, just the right ones. Sometimes, a more expensive brush isn’t always better. Choose good quality brushes and take care of them by cleaning them often. If you do, your brushes will last a long time, so it’s like saving money in the end.
2. Avoid Buying Sets
Don’t buy brush sets ever. They look nice in the case, but most of the brushes in the set are not useful and you probably won’t use most of them. It’s a waste of money.
3. Know Which Makeup Brush Does What
Picking the right makeup brush isn’t just about watching a YouTube video and buying everything they suggest. It’s also not about reading this blog post and getting every brush I talk about. When choosing your makeup and brushes, you need to do some research and find out which ones are best for you, not someone else.
Makeup Brush 101
I want to help you learn how to pick the best brushes for your favorite makeup style. Here’s some simple information about the most popular types of brushes and what they are used for.
Remember, this isn’t a list of everything. I want to help you learn about the most common makeup brushes you’ll find in the store. This way, you can pick the ones you need and leave the ones you don’t.
Stippling Brush: This brush is great for blending liquid, cream, or mousse foundation. Use small, circular motions to blend it smoothly.
Foundation Brush: Use this flat brush to spread liquid foundation over your face by moving it back and forth until it looks smooth and even.
Powder brush: A big, soft brush that helps put powder on your face after you put on liquid foundation.
Setting Brush: This tiny brush is great for helping your makeup stay in place by adding setting powder over your foundation and concealer.
Fan Brush: This is a thin, flat brush you use to put on shiny stuff like highlighter, blush, and bronzer. But I usually say you don’t need to use this brush—because I prefer to use my favorite setting brush for those things instead!
Blush Brush: This is a medium-sized brush that helps you put on and mix blush and bronzer on your cheeks.
Angled Cheek Brush: This slanted brush is perfect for putting on blush, bronzer, and shaping your face.
Lip Brush: If you want to put on lipstick more carefully, you can use this small, flat brush. Most people who wear makeup every day don’t really need to buy a lip brush, in my opinion.
Eyeshadow Brush: This is a flat brush that can be big or small, and it helps put eyeshadow on your eyelids.
Crease Brush: This brush has a gentle slant that helps you put eyeshadow into the fold of your eyelid. It’s best for more experienced eyeshadow looks.
Blending Brush: This tiny, soft brush is perfect for mixing different eyeshadow colors to make your makeup look smooth and natural.
Eyeliner Brush: This slanted brush makes it easy to put on gel eyeliner. If you use eyeshadow as eyeliner, this brush works well for that too. You can also use it to fill in your eyebrows!
Eyebrow brush: This is a tool with a comb on one side and a spoolie on the other to help shape your eyebrows and make them look thicker.
Beauty Sponge: This round, bulb-shaped sponge is great for gently pressing and mixing liquid foundation and concealer on your skin. You must soak the sponge in water before using it, or else it will take all your makeup instead of helping you put it on.
Kabuki Brush: Use this small, chunky brush to put on powder foundation with little circles. You can also use it gently to put on blush or bronzer.
Hey! Look at this picture from my book Be Your Own Makeup Artist and save it on Pinterest!
How to Take Care of Your Brushes
After you buy some brushes, you need to learn how to keep them nice. Brushes can last a long time if you clean and store them the right way.
When cleaning your brushes, use a gentle soap to keep them in good shape. My favorite and cheapest soap is baby shampoo! It’s soft and works well. I’ve used Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo for many years. I still use it for my brushes, but I spend a little more on Sonia Roselli Tiger Eye Soap for my professional tools.
For makeup sponges, you need to use a special kind. I use Beauty Blender sponges, so I can only tell you about those. I clean mine by first using Beauty Blender Liquid Cleanser, then using Beauty Blender Solid Pro. You can also use the Solid Pro for brushes, but it costs a little more.
Here’s a short video I made to help beginners learn about makeup brushes!
Hey! If you want to learn how to clean and keep your brushes and makeup germs-free, get my free Makeup Sanitation Guide!
I hope this post has made makeup brushes easier to understand. I want to help you learn, so if you have any questions, you can leave a comment or use the Ask Setareh form on my website to ask!