“A carpenter is only as good as his tools”, so it could also be said, that “a makeup artist is only as good as their brushes!” While that is not completely true, a good set of brushes can definitely make your makeup go on so much easier AND look SO much better! We have put together our COMPLETE MUST HAVE AFFORDABLE MAKEUP BRUSH LIST for a flawless face and to complete your toolkit! The best part is that ALL of these brushes are just the right price and easy to find!

 

Must Have Affordable Makeup Brushes for a Flawless Face

We have complied a list of every brush/tool you need to complete a full face makeup! This list will help you check off those brushes you have and figure out what you may be missing to achieve that professional looking makeup.

FOUNDATION & CONCEALER

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (Or the Beauty Blender!)

This thing was so bizarre to us when we first heard of it. Like, ‘what… a DAMP sponge?!… won’t that just steal all of the product?! Turns out it won’t! Like, at all.  In fact it’s basically insurance from ending up with dreaded cake face. A beauty sponge is to be used damp, which allows it to evenly and beautifully we might add to spread/apply your foundation all over your face in a way that looks more hydrated and airbrushed.  The only product it sucks up is excessive foundation on your skin so that you end up with the thinest layer of product possible WITHOUT LOSING THE COVERAGE! Sheer genius. The more you bounce that magical little sponge all over your face the more skin like your make up appears.  This also gives the most full coverage application as well! We recommend the Real Techniques Beauty Sponge for it’s incredible price but are lovers of the more expensive sister the BEAUTY BLENDER. We lean towards the Real Techniques sponge because of it’s incredible value and don’t notice a difference in application between the two AND it’s available at most drug stores and of course Target. ***THIS IS THE ONLY BRUSH/TOOL WE USE TO APPLY CONCEALER! For all of the reasons just listed and because it blends the concealer into your foundation LIKE A DANG DREAM.***

Morphe G2 Deluxe Buffer

The morphe G2 buffer brush is a brush we love to reach for when using sheer to medium coverage foundations! BUFFING is exactly what this puppy does, it BUFFS your foundation in to perfection.  This brush is easy peasy to use and never lets us down for that flawless complexion!

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POWDER

Elf Small Tapered Brush

We use this brush every single day to set our undereye area aka the second we’ve finished blending our concealer in we reach for this badboy and quickly set it! It is the perfect shape to get right up into the inner corner of your eye and under your lashes to prevent a crease-tastrophe.  It is also SO soft which is key for brushes you are using around your eyes since that skin is already thinner and more delicate than the rest of the face.

Morphe E3

This brush picks up the perfect amount of powder to use all over your face to set your foundation OR to use for powder foundation application.  Plus it is so soft and just feels amazing in your hand.

BRONZER/CONTOUR (CHEEKS)

Wet n Wild Contour Brush

This little baby is PERFECT for carving out those cheek bones.  WE COULD NOT BELIEVE how great of a brush it is for SO cheap. It is the perfect size, density and shape to apply and blend your cheek contour.

Real Techniques Blush Brush

Okay. We’ve all heard of the Bronzer Helmet right? If you haven’t, it’s a look to AVOID AT ALL COSTS. This brush is pretty big and very fluffy and soft which allows you to have a softer warmer glowy bronze added to your skin as opposed to a bronzer helmet situation.  It picks up product so nicely and blends it softly and so so beautifully for an all over sunkissed finish.

HIGHLIGHTER

Morphe M501 Pro Pointed Blender

This brush looks like a gigantic eyeshadow brush, but it softly applies your highlight impeccably.  It has just enough tapering to allow you to evenly apply the highlight without leaving you with a white/iridescent stripe.  This little guy will give you glow for days girls, GLOW.

BLUSH

Fresh Faces by Frances Chisel Powder – Use “BAMAKEUP20” for a discount

First rule of brushes is…..never talk about brushes……we kid, we kid. No, the first rule of brushes is NEVER we repeat, NEVER believe the name written on the handle. We almost never use the “designated name” on the brush for that actual purpose! This brush was not made but should have been for blush! It is just the perfect size and density to give those cheeks that kiss of color without leaving you with any harsh edges!

EYEBROWS

Fresh Faces by Frances Tapered Angled Kolinsky

A good brow brush MUST be three things: Dense, angled, and have short bristles.  The Kolinsky is the BEST of any and all small angled brushes we’ve ever tried. Plus, it’s named “THE KOLINSKY” (insert scary man voice).

EYELINER

MAC 263 Small Angle Brush

This brush is very similar to the Kolinsky, but it has a bit more wiggle and the bristles are longer, both are needed for applying gel liner properly and also to have the ability to apply a ferociously sharp wing. A girl can never have too many angle brushes in her repertoire.

EYESHADOW

Crown Brush SS027 Syntho DLX Blending Crease

This is the ultimate blending brush for your eye shadow.  It is so soft and the PERFECT shape to blend blend blend your heart out.  If we were on a desert island and could only bring one eye shadow brush this guy would be it. AND yes, we are fully aware we would be the only one’s bringing makeup brushes to a desert island. Deal with it. It is the only brush we reach for and we want everyone to have it and love it too.

Sigma E25 Blending Brush

This brush is for your crease color(s). The density of the bristles as well as the shape of the brush allows you to keep those darker, more intense shades where you want them without fallout getting all over the place. It also allows you to blend in those shades beautifully with getting the most impact of color!

Morphe M209

This brush is for your LID color. We often see this brush as the ONLY eye shadow brush in most ladies makeup bag! If this is you there’s no shame in the game, it’s a common mistake! BUT it def has it’s time and it’s place soooo take your cute little bootay over to our amazon links above and get those fluffy brushes STAT! After purchasing those you won’t know how you lived without them! This brush is meant to give you a TON of color pay off on your lid area! You want a soft, pretty dense but with some give to them bristles to PAT your lid color on and have it stay ON your lid and not travel all over your eye area and fall down below. This brush does JUST THAT!

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Now that you have the low down on BOMB brushes, here are a few KEY tips for brush care & usage

• CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES. Seriously, clean them. They get so so so so gross and are full of so so so so so much bacteria and germs. Dirty brushes can lead to breakouts, skin infections, and other not so pleasant things… You can spray them (1 at a time) with 94% or higher Alcohol and then rub them clean on a cotton towel or paper towel and that alone will make a huge difference not only in your skin’s health but also in the effectiveness of said brush in applying your makeup.  This should be done DAILY for brushes using any liquid or cream products, and weekly on brushes using powder/dry products or in between uses if you want to use a different shade of eyeshadow for example.  Brushes need to be “deep cleaned” about every couple of weeks. This can be done by getting them wet with warm water, dipping them in a soap (such as Dawn) and olive oil combo and then swirling/rubbing them until the water runs clean through them. Lay flat or brush side down to dry.  For a more in-depth and how to video- check out Desi Perkin’s Brush Cleaning Youtube video!
• For face & eyeshadow brushes, hold your hand between halfway and all the way back on the base/handle of the brush.  This might seem strange at first but since the goal is an airbrushed, well-blended finish, then you want to use soft, more feathered strokes than hard angry ones. Ya feel?
• Get rid of bad brushes! Bad means ones that don’t get clean anymore, if the bristles have become rough and frayed, & if they literally don’t serve a purpose aka usually at least half of the ones in most sets.

 

Ok babes, we hope you got some good and helpful info from this and we can’t wait to hear what YOUR favorites are and also if you end up grabbing any of these please please please let us know what you think! xoxo

WHAT BRUSHES CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?! LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!