Makeup Magic: The Brushes That Never Let Me Down
Makeup has always been fascinating to me. From an early age, I remember seeing my mom quickly doing her makeup routine in the car. I was mesmerized. I would sneak into my mom’s makeup bag and quickly cover my face with her Covergirl pressed powder with the puff that comes in the compact. I never failed to express myself with makeup and have fun with it.
In middle school, my makeup consisted of jet black mascara, long spidery lashes, black eyeliner, and lip gloss (cue Lip Gloss by Lil Mama). In high school, I upped the ante and started to wear foundation. I used Maybelline’s Dream Matte Mousse Foundation and applied it with my fingertips. I’d top my foundation off with an Oompa Loompas worth of bronzer over of my face, add some mascara, and draw on a wing to tie it all together. College rolled around soon after and my makeup skills improved ever so slightly, thanks to being in a sorority. I learned to somewhat fill in my eyebrows using the e.l.f. Eyebrow Kit using the mini angled brush that came along with it, and finally learned the importance of setting my face with powder. I didn’t know how to apply eyeshadow, but when I decided to wear it I would use my finger and the one brush that came with the palette to apply it to my lid.
After a conversation I had with one of my sorority sisters, whose makeup I admired a lot, I forced myself to spend some money at Wal-Mart on the Real Techniques face brushes and the Real Techniques eye brush set. Purchasing the tools to apply my makeup was a pivotal moment in my makeup journey.
Shop my favorite Brushes
Post-graduation, my love for makeup only grew stronger. My free time became consumed with GRWM videos on YouTube. I was awestruck by every product being used and every technique being shared.
I bought so many products that were promised to enhance my makeup game that I could have easily gone without buying. Here’s the real tea though, you do not need expensive makeup or five million brushes to look like five million bucks.
These are the makeup brushes I use every day and how I use them:
Foundation brush
If you’re in a hurry and want your complexion to be even, this brush does just that quick and easy.
Beauty Blender or Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
This isn’t necessarily a brush, but it is my holy grail tool that has completely revolutionized makeup for me. The foundation brush tends to leave a few brush bristle marks, so I go over my foundation with a sponge to blend them out. I also use my sponge to blend in concealer under my eyes.
Packing brush
For my everyday look when I don’t have time to bake under my eyes, this brush comes in handy. I can quickly pack some translucent powder under my eyes and on my eyelids and quickly move on to the next step.
Powder brush
I love using a big AF brush to apply powder to the rest of my face. I have more oily skin, so setting my face is essential. It easily takes less than 30 seconds to set my face with this brush.
Bronzer brush
This brush is a bit big for bronzer, but I love to quickly get some color around the perimeter of my face, my cheekbones, and my nose.
Blush brush
Pretty self-explanatory, but I use this on the apples of my cheeks and brush it back on my cheekbones. If you’re not a fan of blush, please change your ways - it brings a look to life!
Spoolie brush
I love using this brush after I fill in my brows and put some tinted brow gel on. It allows me to evenly disperse the product throughout the entire brow.
Fluffy blending brush
My everyday look consists of putting some bronzer for eyeshadow in my crease and calling it good. This brush buffs out quickly and seamlessly.
Highlighting brush
I don’t use highlighter every day, sue me. When I do though, I think this brush gives me a bit more control where it is on my face versus a fan brush. I use highlighter on the high points of my cheekbones, the inner corner of my eye, down the bridge of my nose, and my personal favorite, my cupids bow.
If you are new to makeup or are in the market for some new brushes, I hope this post helps you in your search for the perfect makeup brushes to start your makeup journey.