Honestly, I was stumped. I thought very hard about how I should present this. I even tried to make a video a tutorial which in the end I decided not to use because it totally didn't work up to the effect I wanted. It is difficult to explain everything in 1 post so it will have to come in steps.
So today is step 1.
Firstly, my rules for buying brushes:
1. Expensive brushes need not necessarily be good brushes. Do not splurge on expensive brushes, especially when one is new to makeup. My first brushes were from Body Shop and I am still using them now.
2. Do some research online first, then be physically there at the counter/shop to try out the brushes. Things to look out for:
~ how the brushes feel on our skin (no "rough" feeling)
~ how well the brushes pick up color/pigment
~ the size of the brush (pick a size that is just right for our face/eyes)
3. Natural hair brushes or synthetic brushes??
Natural hair brushes are usually used with powder products. Non-powder products such as liquid foundation, gel eyeliner, cream blusher, usually works better with synthetic brushes.
(Recently I heard from a makeup artist that natural hair blusher brush works well with cream blusher. I have yet to try it out.
Also, prevention of cruelty to animals activists will swear by using synthetic brushes. So sometimes it is really a personal preference more than anything.)
4. Invest in full size brushes, instead of travel size.
I know travel size brushes are convenient, but being smaller (flatter) and having shorter handles mean they are harder to control. Likewise for those small little brushes that come with the eyeshadow/blusher palettes, they are very difficult to control. I never use them.
5. Do have a brush roll to store the brushes properly. This will greatly extend their "brush life". Packing them for travel is also made easier with a brush roll, which means we do not need travel size brushes (See point 3 above). Amazon has lots of affordable and good quality brush roll offerings. I bought mine there.
Firstly, my rules for buying brushes:
1. Expensive brushes need not necessarily be good brushes. Do not splurge on expensive brushes, especially when one is new to makeup. My first brushes were from Body Shop and I am still using them now.
2. Do some research online first, then be physically there at the counter/shop to try out the brushes. Things to look out for:
~ how the brushes feel on our skin (no "rough" feeling)
~ how well the brushes pick up color/pigment
~ the size of the brush (pick a size that is just right for our face/eyes)
3. Natural hair brushes or synthetic brushes??
Natural hair brushes are usually used with powder products. Non-powder products such as liquid foundation, gel eyeliner, cream blusher, usually works better with synthetic brushes.
(Recently I heard from a makeup artist that natural hair blusher brush works well with cream blusher. I have yet to try it out.
Also, prevention of cruelty to animals activists will swear by using synthetic brushes. So sometimes it is really a personal preference more than anything.)
4. Invest in full size brushes, instead of travel size.
I know travel size brushes are convenient, but being smaller (flatter) and having shorter handles mean they are harder to control. Likewise for those small little brushes that come with the eyeshadow/blusher palettes, they are very difficult to control. I never use them.
5. Do have a brush roll to store the brushes properly. This will greatly extend their "brush life". Packing them for travel is also made easier with a brush roll, which means we do not need travel size brushes (See point 3 above). Amazon has lots of affordable and good quality brush roll offerings. I bought mine there.
I want to introduce some basic brushes. The first 4 brushes are essentials for daily makeup, while the remaining 2 brushes are optional.
(1) Flat foundation brush - (I use it for liquid foundation and concealer)
I absolutely swear by this now: Using the flat foundation brush to apply liquid foundation will give the perfect flawless finish on my skin. Always blend in the same direction with the foundation brush to get the perfect finish.
I also double it up as a concealer brush, instead of using the small concealer brush. I have big areas of leftover acne marks, and some small spots to conceal. This brush can handle both. The large surface area of the brush allows me to finish blending everything out nicely before the concealer dries up. Also, since it has some leftover foundation on it, the concealer gets mixed into the foundation pigment, and so resulting in seamless finish.
(2) Eyebrow/lash brush
I only use the brow brush. There are many standalone brow brushes in the market. Mine happens to have both.
It is important to blend out the hard lines of the brow pencil/gel/powder, to have natural looking eyebrows.
Choose one that goes easy on your skin. I have ever encountered one which has bristles that were so rough, I think it tore my skin. ~(>_<~)
(3) Blusher brush
Pick the right size for better control. I chose a smaller one because I like to control the intensity slowly on specific areas. The small size is also useful for blending, especially when I also double it up as a contour brush.
(4) Eyeshadow brush (large)
I call it my all-purpose eyeshadow brush because I use it to apply and blend. For general 2 color eye makeup, this is good enough to handle everything.
I call it my all-purpose eyeshadow brush because I use it to apply and blend. For general 2 color eye makeup, this is good enough to handle everything.
The above 4 brushes are really the essentials. Next two brushes are quite optional.
(5) Eyeshadow brush (small) ---- optional
(5) Eyeshadow brush (small) ---- optional
For targeted small area on the eyelid, the above eye line, and the under eye line. In summary, this brush covers the small narrow areas on our eyes.
(6) Angled eyeliner brush ------- optional
If one prefers to use cream or gel eyeliner (instead of pen liquid eyeliners), then I highly suggest getting the angled eyeliner brush instead of the flat eyeliner brush. The angled brush is much easier to control, which is much needed for drawing the eyeliner.
It will take a while to get used to the brushes so make sure we use them often. Pick up some simple technics with them and be adventurous. Practice makes perfect! ヽ(^。^)丿
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