best brush sets

[sunshinegirlz]

hey! i’m curious what the best set of brushes are. i have only been able to find really cheap ones and i don’t like how they make my eye makeup look, any suggestions? i don’t mind spending some money is it’s worth it!! 

[faeriegirl]

@sunshinegirlz  Sephora Collection Pro has some really good affordable options but the best brushes I’ve tried are Sonia G.

[danielledanielle]

@sunshinegirlz, I am with @WinglessOne with buying brushes individually.  Once you know what you are looking for and what you prefer, you can kind of build a nice "set" on your own.

However, If you want to get a set, I'd look to a Real Techniques or EcoTools just to start out some basics, usually there's two eyeshadow brushes (a lay down and or crease) and you can start to see what you prefer based on your eye shapes and preferences.  I think the first set I had was gifted to me, which I still have, and the only brush I really reached for was the powder brush, which is big and fluffy.

Once you know what you like, you can then wait out deals and sales to build your set further.  @SportyGirly125 & @WinglessOne named a couple of sites, and there's always deals, annual sales or reward programs for those.

[SportyGirly125]

@sunshinegirlz SoniaG brushes are great.  For more affordable Anisa, MorphexMakeupbyAriel, Real Techniques

[WinglessOne]

Hey @sunshinegirlz ! Are there any specific eye brush shapes you need (shader, blender, crease, liner, angled liner/brow, smudger, etc.)? And do you prefer synthetic (vegan) brushes or natural hair (goat, squirrel, etc.) brushes? 

I like to buy specific brush shapes individually instead of buying a full set of brushes. That way, I can pick from different brands and get only the brushes I’ll actually use. I have bought a few sets from Sonia G. (available at Beautylish in the US); she makes great eye and face brushes that are either natural hair or natural + synthetic blends. Her Blender Pro is my favorite eye blending brush ever. 

Wayne Goss also makes lovely brushes. He just released a new White Gold collection of synthetic brushes. I have 2 of them (the big bronzer brush and the hooded eye brush) but haven’t used ‘em yet. I also have and love some of Wayne’s older natural hair brushes. His new synthetics are notable for their very affordable price point. They’re at Beautylish and Amazon. (If you’re in the UK, you can get them from Wayne’s own website.) 

Danessa Myricks also recently released a synthetic brush collab with MYKITCO; those are available at Danessa’s website. I think @danielledanielle might have one of the sets that contains eye brushes; she can probably give you feedback on ‘em. I have the  Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Face 1.0 All Over Complexion Brush - For Foundation, Blush, Bronzer & Powder : it’s very soft and just the right density to work well with creams and balms (like her Yummy Skin Balm), but also handles powders well. 

If you want natural goat hair brushes at prices below Sonia G., consider Rephr brushes (available direct at their own site). I own several and they’re workhorses in my collection. Rephr’s business model is consumer-driven product development: you create an account at their site, buy something, use it, and provide feedback on it (you’ll get email at some point asking for feedback). They use customers’ feedback to improve existing or create new products. Sometimes you’ll also get the chance to test a prototype or offer feedback on a product idea. 

For individual synthetic brushes, have you looked at any of the Sephora Pro brushes? Two of my favorites in my entire brush collection are SEPHORA COLLECTION PRO Blush Brush #99  and SEPHORA COLLECTION PRO Crease Brush #19  . The 19 is a great multitasker: I use it as a shader, blender, and crease brush. When it comes to Sephora’s brushes, I recommend the individual Pro brushes over any of their brush sets. I find the individual brushes tend to be higher quality. 

There are other great brush brands out there… I haven’t even mentioned Japanese brands like Chikuhodo, Koyudo, Hakuhodo, etc. Sonia G., Wayne Goss (natural hair), and Rephr do have their brushes handmade in Japan. I’m sure other folks can offer up more suggestions. 🙂

[danielledanielle]

@WinglessOne, even though I wanted (and still kinda do) the detail set, I ended up getting the face brushes, which have been lovely this far.  I've put 4-5 to use this far, no duds 🙌🏽