Love for Brushes

[AMK721]

I'm developing a love for brushes of all kinds.  I bought a few higher end brushes and they are amazing.  They are incredibly soft and my makeup glides on like a dream.  There are so many interesting shapes. I am really interested in creating a beautiful brush collection.  Show your brushes and share any cleaning and storage tips and let us know which ones are your favorites.

[flamingolegs]

I love brushes!  My favorites are theSEPHORA COLLECTION - PRO Packing Shadow Brush #13, the SEPHORA COLLECTION - PRO Angled Blush Brush #49,

and the Sephora Smudge Brush.  I've also been playing with the SEPHORA COLLECTION - PRO Featherweight Blending Brush #93for highlighter with great results.

[RebeccaBT]

@flamingolegs What an amazing collection!

Best,

Rebecca

[tastelikewater]

For reasons I don't entirely understand, I find myself overwhelmed by choosing eyeshadow brushes! Maybe it's because I have hooded eyes and limited lid space, or it seemed like an easy place to slash my budget...who knows. I do know that my current selections - Real Techniques and ecoTools - aren't cutting it, and I think I'd see better results with higher quality tools. Can anyone recommend a mid-range brush line? A set might be easier, but I'm not opposed to individuals. I'm not prepared to drop coin on a Wayne Goss or Sonia G set just yet; I've heard of Zoeva, Bdellium, Sigma, etc. but know nothing about them. Many thanks!

[danielledanielle]

@tastelikewater  I thought of you today because I tried my hand at a Sephora tutorial with Myeisha.  I have a whole bunch of brushes, but I wanted to see what I could really put to use.

I think for mid-range, Sephora and Sigma do a pretty good job with brushes.  Also, it was a good tutorial to follow, albeit a bit lengthy, but she reviewed pretty much everything that concerns eyeshadow application, so even though I don't consider myself a beginner, the pointers about the technique I found super helpful.  You could also try to match brushes you may currently have and see what works.

She had three Sephora brushes she highlighted at the beginning of the tutorial.  I followed along and pulled out like 5-6 brushes at the beginning as opposed to her three (haha), but really I was able to follow her using just three particular ones, a clean brush for blender and a color switcher.  In the description, there's a bunch of brushes, but for most of the tutorial, she seemed to use the tapered crease (19), the blending (27) and the eyeshadow brush (14).  For use of black, she used the shader (18).

I used:

Sigma's e48 pointed crease

Sephora Pro Tapered Crease 19

Sephora Pro Drawing Brush 40

Sephora Pro Drawing Brush 42 (blending/dusting off excess)

-Sigma's pointed crease brush (e48).  I really like this brush for outer V work.  It has a pointed tip that fits perfectly into my orbital bone, but I also use it sideways to blend a bit and draw out the V.  I have a few Sigma brushes, but as far as eye brushes I use that one and the e25 blending the most.  The price point is similar to Sephora's, but Sigma has frequent sales.  The major downside to me is that you can't really tell which brush is best by looking, so I usually spend a lot of time reading the Q&As under each product.

-Sephora Pro Tapered Crease brush #19.  Mine has started to get a little pokey though, so I wash it now with conditioner.  Otherwise, I think it's a great brush for crease work and for blending.

-The Sephora drawing brushes are becoming a new faves of mine. I like 40 for laying down a dark color.  Its precision is great.  I have another sigma brush I used for this, but because the tip of the Sephora brush is so skinny, I find it easier to put down color.  The bigger one (42), I sometimes take with me for touch ups because it also has an interesting point to it.  I can use it similarly to Sigma e48, but more or less all over my lid.   However, this time I just used it to blend and flick off fall out.

Tutorial

Also, I really went on and on....so sorry, but I feel like you do a nice job at application already, just I think I felt the same way you do about eyeshadow brushes at times (small lid, feeling overwhelmed).

[tastelikewater]

@danielledanielle This is so detailed, thank you!

[Luvstravel]

@tastelikewater, I have a lot of eyeshadow brushes, but my three staples I use constantly (especially for work) are my hakuho-do+Sephora Pro Angled Concealer brush. It might be weird, but I use this to pack on an eyeshadow. If it's in the same color family ( tan, brown, rust) I put on one shade, then switch to the different color above that for my hooded eyes. My quick crease brush is the Sephora Pro Domed #16 if I do a different color crease. Then I use the Sephora Smudge brush #11 under my eye if I don't use a liner. I have specialty eyeshadow brushes, but LOVE these three. Here's some pics below (couldn't find a pic of Pro Dome) and not at home. Hope this might help 🙂

[tastelikewater]

@Luvstravel This is great, thank you!

[Luvstravel]

@tastelikewater  🙂

[MissPuff]

@tastelikewater  I've got several Zoeva brushes that I find quite nice, I think I ordered individual shapes vs a set, but I recall them having lots of sets too. Lots of shapes and sizes to choose from, I was on a pink kick so I have mostly brushes from the rose gold luxe line (their shapes repeat across different colored brush handles so if you're not into pink, no worries 🙂 ). The brushes I have are a mixed natural (i want to say goat?) and synthetic blend, hold their shape well after several washes (though some of the blenders/crease brushes I dry with little strips of tp wrapped around them to encourage the original shape), and no shedding, good construction. Not crazy soft like my WG or Japanese Fude brushes, but that's to be expected, and honestly, for eyeshadow work, I find SUPER soft brushes just don't pick up color in the same way. There's just enough stiffness in the zoeva brushes, and I've got some smaller brushes that work well for my limited eye space. A huge plus for Zoeva vs my higher end brushes is that I feel zero guilt about washing them frequently and they have been very durable! 

That being said...I also have some WG, Chikuhodo, and Hakuhodo eyeshadow brushes they are amazing. All natural hairs (squirrel, goat, and...more goat?), they are so so soft, yet somehow still pick up good pigment. They do give a more diffuse application over all, but that's my preferred style. Since you frequently post such gorgeous eyelooks and clearly have skills, I'm going to try and steer you towards the Hakuhodo website 🙂 

NO REALLY! Hakuhodo has a few lines of not insanely priced brushes that I would absolutely pick over Zoeva (and definitely Sigma, and any other mid-range). Especially for eyeshadow, Hakuhodo has several shapes and sizes under $20 (Basic, G, and J - series) and the quality is just fabulous. The website drives me bananas, but if you're at all considering natural hair, check it out. 

[AMK721]

I totally agree, Hakuhodo, J Series are very reasonably priced. I would jump on them as soon as you can because they are going to have a price increase soon and a lot of them are selling out. 

[lnum]

Thanks for the tip! I bought my Hakuhodo brushes years ago from the J line and so the prices seem insane to me already!

[tastelikewater]

@MissPuff First off, you are FAR too kind about my skills! I love eyeshadow, but I have basically one shape and two techniques that I wear every single day 😛 Secondly, thank you for being so detailed! I'm on the Hakuhodo site now and already feeling a little overwhelmed by my options. Why must there be so many? I think I would start with three: flat, crease, fluffy blending. 

Side note: I keep staring at the Wayne Goss Eye Set and drooling, but four of the five appear to be the same shape. Does one really need four tapered brushes?

[MissPuff]

@tastelikewater  I have the older WG eye brushes in the brown goat hair that had more of a variation in the shapes. Looking at current brush set, you're totally right, it's like 4 roughly the same sized crease brushes. I don't think there's much savings in a set vs individual for WG, you'd definitely be better buying just the ones you like. My two favorite WG brushes are the 04 (smaller crease) and the 06 (flatter, I use this one for everything). The 06 in particular has turned out to be super versatile, it's flatter, not quite a flat paddle, so fluffy and dense enough to blend, but I can still use it to pick up and pack on color. The newer white eye brushes look a bit fluffier, my experience with the face brushes is that the brown ones were actually a touch stiffer (my preference) than the white versions, wondering if that's true for the eye brushes as well?

I wish I could tell you which Hakuhodo brushes I have but I'm at work and I can't remember because it's like a nonsensical number system 🙂 I'll check when I get home!

[TraceyEB]

@MissPuff  and @tastelikewater UPDATED (found the video) - Wayne recommends his 06 and a *pencil* brush (05) as the two brushes you need to do an eye look. I find pencil brushes hard on my sensitive skin. I prefer the 06 and 19 and used both today.

I bought an extra 6 for traveling as my original is from the 1st Anniv set & is not allowed out. (I like the fluffiness of the 18, too.) Someone asked Wayne what one eye brush would he recommend and he said the 19.

[tastelikewater]

@TraceyEB This is very helpful, thank you! 

[TraceyEB]

Hi @tastelikewater I updated the post noting that Wayne uses his 06 and a pencil brush for his two brush look.

[tastelikewater]

@TraceyEB I’m actually surprised he would say a pencil brush over a crease brush! Maybe he thinks the 04 can do a good enough job blending? I’ll have to look up the video to find out more. Thanks for the info!

[TraceyEB]

@tastelikewaterThe videos where he uses the two brush technique in are "The Biggest Eyeshadow Mistake We All Make" (2 months ago) and "The 90 Second Eyeshadow Tutorial" (6 days ago). Wayne designed brushes similar to the 06 and pencil brush in his new synthetics line. I'm sure he used a 04 for blending in the Pillow Talk tutorial. 🙂

[tastelikewater]

@MissPuff Seriously, the numbers make my head spin!

[lipstick4soul]

The sonia g eye brushes and set are restocked at beautylish if you are still interested @KNC24  @Mrose251  @WinglessOne 

[KNC24]

@lipstick4soul I love these brushes. I thought a replied to your post a long time ago. Sorry about that.