An artist needs his tools right? Well, I can’t live without my makeup brushes! Especially makeup brushes for my face!
Sure, you can apply your foundation with your hands, but I like to use brushes, personally I like the effect they give and my hands don’t get messy.
I do have a lot of favourites, and no, you don’t need all of them, but I like to use different brushes for different effects, or depending on how my skin feels on any given day. I like to mix it up and have picked out seven of my favourite foundation brushes and foundation application tools!
I am often asked about the foundation brushes I feature in my photos for the blog and on instagram. You will see my favourite brand of makeup brushes for my face is Real Techniques.
This is a brand of makeup brushes, developed by Beauty Guru, Samantha Chapman (one half of Pixiwoo on Youtube) and although you can’t get them in South Africa, if ever given the opportunity to get your hands on these brushes – go for it! They are great quality, and super well priced! I got my aunt who lives in the US to send me some and I wish I had asked for more 🙂
Real Techniques Buffing Brush
This brush is one my faves and I absolutely love it to bits! It’s super soft and feels like magic on my skin. I use it dry to apply my foundation, dampen it a little for a different kind of look, or even to buff the skin after I’ve applied my foundation. It gives my skin great coverage and works like a dream for powder or mineral foundation. I have used it with liquid foundations too, and I also love the effect.
I don’t think this brush is available on it’s own. I got it as part of the Core Collection, which includes 4 of the Real Techniques Face Brushes. Price wise, the set was an absolute steal at $18 for the set! That’s not even the price you’d pay for one professional brush, so, a bargain!
Unfortunately Real Techniques brushes are not available in South Africa, but you can buy them online here. The price is also really worth it, at only $8.99 it’s an affordable brush that is just as good (if not better) than a profession brush.
MAC 138 Tapered Brush
I’ve had my MAC 138 Tapered Brush for about 3 and half years now and found it to be the best bronzing/ sculpting brush ever! It’s high quality and perfect for sculpting my cheeks. I dip the tip of the brush into my bronzer, which picks up just enough product, tap it off and then softly apply just under my cheekbones.
To create a softer look, I use the edge of the brush (without adding more product) to blur out the bronzer and create a more toned down look.
Real Techniques Contour Brush
Another Real Techniques favourite! Can you tell I love these brushes? I got my Real Techniques Contour Brush as part of the Core Collection and I love using it to apply highlighter above my cheekbone, and when I want to create contoured cheeks. The bristles are soft and luxurious, and blend both cream and powder products amazingly.
Sometimes, I like to use this brush to apply blusher, especially when I want minimal colour on my cheeks. For cream blushers it’s amazing and gives the colour a softer focus. The more you blend with this brush (using light, circular motions) the better and more natural your makeup looks.
Real Techniques Foundation Brush
My favourite flat foundation brush is the Real Techniques Foundation Brush. I love the angled edge, which allows me to get into those hard-to-reach areas, like the sides of the nose and the eye area. The bristles of this brush are synthetic, yet soft enough to feel fabulous on your face. Another feature I like, is that this brush has a self-standing handle, so when it’s not sitting in my brush jar, I can stand it upright on the table. It’s easy to clean (with shampoo and water) and is really amazing quality for the price.
Estee Lauder Blush Brush 15
This is my favourite blusher brush. I used to love my MAC 129 Powder Brush but it sheds like crazy! I’m not sure why though, I have about 20 different MAC brushes, all of which I look after the same, but my 129 (and one other) are a huge let down. The Estee Lauder Blush Brush is super soft, and it hasn’t shed one single bit! Although pricey (at R535) it’s never let me down!
I love using it to apply blusher on my face as it blends it in beautifully without any streaks or harsh lines. Also great for applying powder foundation or to set your foundation with translucent powder.
MAC 130 Brush
I like to use this foundation brush to “buff” my foundation into the skin. It works beautifully with my BB Creams and tinted moisturizers to give my makeup a flawless finish. This brush is short, round and flat with a combination of natural and synthetic bristles. I like the size as it allows me to create tiny circles and really buff my foundation into the skin.
My Brush was part of a MAC limited edition range, so you probably wont find it with the same exact handle, however just ask at the counter for the 130 brush and you’ll get the same thing with the standard black handle.
Beauty Blender
Although not technically a “brush”, I still love it to apply foundation!
I finally got my hands on the Beauty Blender, which is a tool I have heard a lot about thanks to all the Beauty Guru’s that I follow on Youtube. The Beauty Blender allows you to blend your way to a flawless face, with no streaks or messy lines.
To get your Beauty Blender ready, just run it under some water and squeeze out the excess. You will notice that it doubles in size. Then dip it in your foundation ( I usually put my foundation straight onto my face as the Beauty Blender tends to soak too much of it in) and bounce the Beauty Blender around (in a stippling motion) to apply the foundation.
It’s shaped like a yo-yo with a pointed edge. I use the back of the Beauty Blender to bounce my foundation and the pointed edge to get into the hard-to-reach areas.
The Beauty Blender is an awesome tool and does a great job. It is however a little pricey (R219.95 available in South Africa here), but I’ve been using it a lot since I bought mine and really love it.
Do you use any of these face brushes/ tools? What other face brushes do you think are worth the splurge?