I have undertaken a mammoth task recently - which make-up brushes are the best? You see, for years I have never known and have been swayed by what everyone else has - Mac, Chanel (worst brushes ever!), Laura Mercier and some of Boots own.
I have never been overly impressed by any brushes I have previously used and I was determined to find the ultimate brush for each job - blusher, foundation, powder, etc. This has been a very lengthy investigation and I have finally found the best.
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During my research I tended to concentrate more on reviews by folks aged 25 upwards simply because when I was under 25 I used less make-up and my skin was by far better then what it is now and over 25s will have more years of experience.
To find each expert brush I have taken into consideration: cost, availability, quality and performance. I have read many of my favourite top make-up artists blogs, I have spent countless hours on Make Up Alley website reading pages and pages of reviews, spoken to make-up artists, and of course, googled each item which made it to my shortlist for any extra information which could be useful.
I can honestly say, I have definitely found the best tools after my extensive research - seriously I spent days on this project!
Please note, I have not been sponsored to write this post nor have any companies sent me any of their make-up brushes to try. All of my research was done organically and the results are from many hours of laborious reading and googling.
I was very astonished with my findings because there are only two brands which were consistently at the top of each search. More importantly, they are a lot cheaper than brushes I have previously bought. Needless to say, Sam and myself have bought all of them and are very impressed with each brush.
FOUNDATION BRUSH - Expert Face Brush by Real Techniques
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| This brush is usually £11.99 but it is available at Boots for £9.99 synthetic taklon bristles are hand-cut and 100% cruelty-free |
I absolutely love this brush, it scored incredibly high in all reviews on all websites. Not only is it fab at blending liquid and cream foundations to a flawless finish it is amazing at applying darker shade in the hollows of the cheek for a sculpted look. I bought this brush six weeks ago and not a single hair has fell out of it. My favourite thing is there are fantastic online videos for all Real Techniques brushes which shows you the best way to use each one.
BLUSHER - Blush Brush by Real Techniques
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| This blush brush costs £9.99 ultra-plush, synthetic taklon bristles are hand-cut and 100% cruelty-free |
I do not know how this brush does it but it picks up the perfect amount of blusher with one swoosh and a quick tap. It does not cause a patch of blusher in one area which stubbornly has to be blended for ages. It creates the perfect definition for what you require. Again, no bristles have come out.
CONCEALER - Bamboo Airbrush Concealer Brush by Eco Tools
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| This is priced at £5.49 Cruelty-free taklon bristles |
I have never known a concealer brush to be so ruddy perfect as this is. It takes hardly any effort to blend in circular movements under my eye and I use far less concealer than is required which means no more concealer sitting in those pesky lines. I use it on my eyelids too, it's great for cream eyeshadows and again, no excess makeup is left sitting in the crease of my eye.
Powder - Powder brush by Real Techniques
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| Priced at £10.99 Domed powder brush for high definition results |
This powder brush is a little larger than what I have used before but the results it provides far outweigh this minor concern. Again it provides a flawless finish and picks up the right amount after a quick tap and applies powder evenly on my face. It is much softer than any powder brush I have previously used. It can be used for all types of powder as well as bronzer too.
Setting Brush by Real Techniques
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| Priced at £6.99 This brush is for highlighting or controlled dusting of powder |
A staple item in my make-up bag is Secret Brightening powder by Laura Mercier and this brush is the ideal tool for applying under eye to eradicate those dark circles. I also use it for finer highlighting and sculpting using Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow. This is another brush which picks up the ideal amount and applies evenly.
Bronzer - Domed bronzer by Eco Tools
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| Costs £9.99 Soft, cruelty-free taklon bristles, a recycled aluminum ferrule and heavy bamboo handle |
Not only is this an absolute favourite of mine but I often find my children stroking their faces with it - it is sooooo soft! It is vital to have an excellent bronzer brush because there is nothing worse than patchy bronzing or any type of noticeable application. This super soft brush is amazing. I use this for my neck and décolletage and not a single hair drops out but more importantly it effortlessly applies bronzer with hardly any blending. This was hugely popular in all reviews I read and it is so much cheaper than other brands.
Eyeshadow - Shading Brush by Real Techniques
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| Priced at £6.99 at Feel Unique.com or £7.99 at Boots |
Samantha Chapman strikes again with another top quality make-up brush, this time it is the fab shading brush. This eye shading brush is the first eye brush you’ll need to create any look from subtle to dramatic. I cannot tell you the countless amount of eyeshadow brushes I have purchased over the years, thank goodness I found this top rated shading brush. It really is the holy grail.
I know this article may look like I am an ambassador for Real Techniques and Eco Tools, but seriously I am not. These two brands came up trumps in all reviews and research I carried out. I was really surprised with my findings because I expected to find a different brand for each brush I was looking at. The fact that Real Techniques and Eco Tools are a lot cheaper than regular make-up brands is a huge bonus too but it was the performance and quality of each brush which I was more concerned with when compiling my shortlist.
Both Real Techniques and Eco Tools consistently were reviewed as best quality - no hairs falling out, kept their shape after being cleaned, created a flawless finish and applied evenly. There was one concealer brush by Sephora which was raved about but I could not find anywhere in the UK to buy it so I went to the next best which was Eco Tools.
I am so pleased I did all of this research because now I have a make-up brush kit which I love to use and everyday I am very happy with the results. These brushes far exceed any fancy, expensive ones I have bought in the past.
