Hello, humans. Other humans I talk to have, in the past, confessed they know nothing about their makeup brushes--their strengths and weaknesses, their “true purposes" and WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF THEM. I’m writing up a quick-ish post to help demystify the fluffy little tools that make putting on warpaint so much easier. Are we ready? I’m ready. Let’s do this.
“What’s the difference between synthetic and natural fiber brushes?”
Natural fiber brushes are made of animal hair, and just like human hair, animal hair sucks stuff up--these are not ideal for emollient products (products with a lot of oil) or liquid products because they’ll ‘trap” the formula inside the bristles. Natural fiber brushes are work horses for powders, though. They’re durable and they get BETTER with age as the bristles soften and get more flexible. They fan out and diffuse your makeup at the edges to give it that soft, pretty aura.
Synthetic brushes are made of nylon (see: plastic.) These are ideal for liquid, cream, and gel products. When they’re wet, the bristles stick together, making them great for precision applications (like gel eyeliner) and places on the face where you want heavy concentration of pigment. Some eye shadows, despite being in a pressed powder format, do better with synthetic brushes because synthetics won’t suck up the heavy oils in the shadows. Metallic shadows come immediately to mind, such as the Makeup Geek Foiled Shadows.
Most foundation brushes are made of synthetic materials because most foundations are liquids. There are exceptions, of course--powder foundations should be applied with natural fiber brushes--but the rule of thumb is synthetic fiber > all here. There are a few main types to consider.
It’s flat and ideal for liquid/cream applications. You use sweeping motions to spread the product around. It’s great because you can wedge it into tough spots like around your nostrils and around the eyes and you won’t miss weird angled spots. Downsides include streaking if you don’t blend to high heaven, but to just get the product on the face? It does its job.
That’s the old staple F-80 from Sigma. It’s a flat top Kabuki brush and you’ll find it in a lot of professional makeup kits. Unlike the previous version where you use sweeping motions to apply, this one you dapple, bouncing it against the skin before blending the product with circular motions. Less streaking than the previous version but might get gobby in the creases of the face.
This is the cult favorite Morphe M439. It, too, is synthetic and unlike the kabuki, it’s domed at the top which allows for softer application. It has denser bristles so the product gets diffused into the skin better--it’s less likely to pile up in any one place. With this you also stipple on the foundation (as opposed to brushing it) followed by swirling circles to smooth everything out.
My go-to combination for foundation is the Morphe M439 followed up by a damp Beauty Blender (I actually prefer the Real Techniques version because I like the flat top plus it’s one third the cost of the BB.) You dampen the sponge, squeeze out as much water as you can, and let the dampness water down foundation for you so you don’t look like you’re wearing a mask of second skin.
Blush brushes tend to be more “packed” (see more bristles, tighter concentration of bristles) than regular powder brushes. The packed-ness (new word, YOU READ IT HERE) makes it ideal for applying product, whereas many general powder brushes are just as much about taking off product as putting it on (more on that later.) You’ll generally see natural fibers here because most blushes are powders--remember, natural fibers pick up color and distribute it more softly than synthetics and few of us actually want to wear two perfect circles of rouge on our cheeks.
Regular ol’ powder brushes can be either synthetic or natural because, as I said before, they’re just as much about taking makeup OFF as they are putting it on. Powder is used to set other makeup and to control oil. Cake face happens when the powders get too thick. Coating your face in powder will control shine and keep your foundation in place, yes, and a gentle dusting from this brush will help with that, but removing excess so it doesn’t turn into pavement is pivotal, too. Most powder brushes have loose bristles for this reason--they spread out and knock off extra product. The bendable bristles allow you to scour your face in the gentlest way possible so you don’t look like, you know, this:
Contour brushes are to help apply contour powders that “sculpt” the face. They need to be precise but also diffuse at the same time so you don’t have harsh lines--a tall order. They’re smaller than a blush brush and tend to be “flatter” so they can carve out make-believe hollows under your cheeks. There are two general types you’ll see:
This looks a lot like a blush brush, but the slope of the bristles means it’s good for angles, and contouring/bronzing is all about making angles and casting “natural” (lol) shadows. The bristles are packed enough that it’ll gather product well but loose enough it’ll allow you to blend product out so you don’t have tiger stripes on your face.
If you prefer a more “precise” contour, you may see flat brushes like this where they’re wide enough to apply swaths of product but thin on the other angle to keep it from going full ham dirt-face (which happens when your contour powders spread too far on a vertical--you look dirty.) Sometimes, you’ll see a brush like this that ALSO has the angle of the style above, the Sephora Pro-Contour #77 coming immediately to mind.
You can usually tell the concealer brushes from the eye shadow brushes in the kit because they’re the biggest of the smaller brushes and, generally, more packed-in bristle-wise. Like foundation brushes, they can be flat OR roundy, and there’s really no benefit to either beyond preference. Expect synthetic fibers because, again, they’re picking up liquid products and you don’t want your bristles absorbing Liquid Nasty (TM).
A concealer brush allows for makeup application in the weird, non-flat parts of our face--beneath the eyes, around the nostrils, around the mouth. It’s a crevice diver, guys. It goes places foundation brushes can’t, getting the concealer into your grooves and blending it out so you don’t look patchy. For this reason, you don’t want it too stiff, but you also don’t want it too floppy either. Too firm it’ll grab the makeup and literally tear it off the skin. Too floppy it won’t blend out well.
All of these are eyeliner brushes:
The first one is called a flat definer brush. They’re great for lower lash line, when you want to buff out harsh lines from pencil liners or use eye shadow AS your liner. It’s subtle, it’s diffused, and works best with powders. If you’re looking for really strong, precise detail, this is not the brush for you.
The second one is an angled liner brush. It’s pretty versatile--you can use it not only for eyeliner (gel product with this brush = cat eye for days), but you can buff out harsh lines made with pencil AND use it to fill in your brows with brow powder. This works well with liquids as well as powders.
The last two are standard old eyeliner brushes. Some come with a bend so you can see around the handle when you’re applying it, some are straight-on, paintbrush style. This brush is for precise lines only, not allowing for blending. You’ll see both natural and synthetic fibers on these brushes, and I go back to if you’re using a gel liner or a liquid in any way, synthetic is the better tool.
Lip brushes are, surprise, for lip products. REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT, I KNOW.
They’re the smallest or second smallest brush provided in any kit. They’ll have synthetic fibers and their bristles will be firm-packed but narrow, meaning the concentrated bristles allow for product pick-up but the lack of “width” on the brush means the bristles aren’t as rigid. Therefore, it’s ideal for those alley-oop swoops you do putting on lipstick.
Fan brushes are usually used one of two ways--the first is to remove powder products from the face. You’ll see makeup folks use it to brush off fallout from their eye shadows after their eye makeup is done and/or to dislodge excess face powder after a crop dusting.
The other way you’ll see it used is highlighting. This is a great tool to add a line of highlighter across the tops of your cheeks and down the bridge of your nose, which is a Thing in this strobing-crazy world. Nose highlighter. Cause why the hell not.
Eye shadow brushes can be either fiber and you’ll want to pick your fiber based on the medium you’re working with. A traditional eye shadow brush has densely packed bristles to pick up loads o’ pigment, but it also has a flat head to allow you to control where the shadow goes (how high on the lid, specifically.) You use patting motions with this, not sweeping.
Fluffier, rounder than a standard eye shadow brush, this one is all about diffusing color in your crease and blend, blend, blending the edges of your eye shadow to prevent harsh lines. It’s the beast of shadow brushes and pivotal to any kit. It’s also better to slant natural animal hair here because it’s softer and powder-friendly. You use sweeping motions with it as well as little roundy circles to swirl the color out.
Check out Morphe’s M433 Pro Firm Blending Fluff at $5.99. I got the scoop on this one from Manny Mua and you can’t beat the quality or the price.
Smudge brushes smudge. (Aren’t you glad I’m here to teach you crap you can figure out for yourself?) Do you like that smoked out look you see on aloof-looking Calvin Klein models? This brush did that. After color is already deposited on the eye, you use this brush in sweeping motions over it to achieve “controlled messy.”
Smudge brushes have short, very dense bristles to grab the product and drag it all over in a very limited area. it’s another one of those brushes that’s less about putting product onto your face and more about moving it around when it’s already there.
Pencil brushes draw stuff on your eyes. Because that’s what pencils do--draw. It’s for precision lines, cut creases and adding shadows along the lash line as well as “contouring” (meaning putting darker shadows in a C shape from the end of your lashes and up to your crease to create depth.). It has stiffer, compact bristles and a tapered tip to give you control over your colors.
I mentioned that some beauty gurus use fan brushes for their highlighter. I am absolutely in love with the Morphe M438 brush ($9.99) for this purpose and use it every makeup application.
It’s soft like a blush brush so great for blending but the pointed tip means you can apply product in a controlled area, too. It achieves a soft highlight that doesn’t overwhelm your face and make you look like you did unseemly things to a robot.
A Quick Notable Part Deux
Look, these are tools. You can use your tools however you see fit. If you want to use your lipstick brush to apply eye shadow, GO NUTS. IT’S YOUR FACE. Buildings will not collapse, mothers will not weep if you don’t use a specific brush for a specific purpose. I only outlined “intended use” brushes because people ask me about them all the time, but you do you. Only thing I’ll tell you is that your face is only going to be as GOOD as your tools. That doesn’t mean you have to buy expensive stuff--there are brilliant brands out there that are totally cost effective (I’m eyeballing Wet N Wild’s new brushes and a good chunk of the E.L.F. brushes right now)--but it does mean you need to CLEAN YOUR SHIT. Seriously. Bacteria will get into your brushes and hide and then you’re brushing nasty-ass nasty all over your skin every time you wear makeup. Take the time to watch a few videos and figure out a routine that works for you and your brushes. Then, I dunno, go forth and get your Frank N Furter cosplay on with my blessing.
(Seriously that’s two Tim Curry references in one makeup post. I may have a problem.)
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