The Best Makeup Brushes

Hey ladies,

can you tell me what brushes you like the best?

at this time I am awaiting in the mail 3 brushes from sigma. I already have in my possession a blush and contour brush, kabuki and concealer brushes from Bare Essentuals, and a MAC 217 Blending. I wanted to build a solid brush collection though so that I can have spares for when others need to be cleaned or are in the process of drying.

I wanted to get a few recommendations top see what brands you ladies like and how you think the quality of them are.

I think you can mix cheap and high end brushes to get the look you want.
I do prefer MAC brushes for blending since I find them easier to work with. I have the 217 and 224 for blending. For applying shadows I actually favor the Sonia Kushiak small shadow brush and the E.L.F eyeshadow brush and the E.L.F. "C" brush.

I have an Elf blush brush but I don't like it so I'm looking for a new one. I use Elf's powder brush also. No problems with it but it does shed hair. I' ve never tried Sigma's brushes so I can't compare. The quality of the Sonia Kushiak and the Elf brushes are good to me plus they don't cost a lot so they can easily be replaced. Overall I do love MAC brushes but due to the costs I only purchase so many at a time.

Thanks KC...i was thinking of the Sonia Kashuk brushes that I saw at Target and was wondering about them. I've been hearing alot about them and it made curious.

Also there is a girl on youtube that bought some HD brushes from Walmart and she said they were fantastic buuuut I cant find them on Walmart.com and they aren't at my local Walmart.

MAC, MAC, MAC. I love their brushes. I recently picked up several to build up my makeup tools. Totally worth the money. My makeup looks so much better using the higher quality, professional brushes.

Check out SongbirdDiva4Live on YouTube. She has several brush tutorial/overview videos and goes into pretty good detail about which brushes can be used for what, how she uses them, and the basics.

Thanks! I did consider purchasing more MAC brushes but I'm still a beginner so I wanted somethign for NOW to try to play around in.

I LOOOOOVE my MAC 217 though...I have used to apply and blend and I do see a difference in how my little cheap on pics up color and the MAC. HUGE difference.

I may take the plunge for a few essential brushes like the blush and face brushes and a few eye brushes. I'll probably have to buy them no more than 2 at a time...shooooo its a recession LMAO!

I have MAC, Sonia Kashuk, EcoTools, and Elf Brushes. A must have brush (besides MAC217) is MAC's 109 brush.

I haven't tried Sigma brushes yet. I've been lazy on ordering. I want the Professional Kit but I just may start off small for now

DvaAuNaturel wrote:MAC, MAC, MAC. I love their brushes. I recently picked up several to build up my makeup tools. Totally worth the money. My makeup looks so much better using the higher quality, professional brushes.

Check out SongbirdDiva4Live on YouTube. She has several brush tutorial/overview videos and goes into pretty good detail about which brushes can be used for what, how she uses them, and the basics.

Thanks for this tip Dva...I am still curious as to how to use brushes correctly. Thanks for weighing in!!!

I have the entire ELF Studio line of brushes and they're great.

i love that mac 217! i want to try those ELF brushes too!

FABulosity22 wrote:I have MAC, Sonia Kashuk, EcoTools, and Elf Brushes. A must have brush (besides MAC217) is MAC's 109 brush.

I haven't tried Sigma brushes yet. I've been lazy on ordering. I want the Professional Kit but I just may start off small for now

what is the 109 used for? Is it a shader?

I just bought one from sigma and I want a few more

I think I'm really goin to look into the Sonia Kashuk brushes too..i haven't heard anything bad about them

ChrsLvsBks wrote:I have Essence of Beauty (found in CVS, drugstore), Sonia Kashuk, knock off MAC (long story), MAC, Sigma and e.l.f. I love all of them. None that I have shed excessively. Now that they have been washed a few times, I experience no shedding.

Sigma has a brush similar to MAC's 217. I received it free when I purchased a kit. I love it. It is my fave. I also love Sonia Kashuk's bent eyeliner brush. I use it for applying cream eyeliners.

Oh, I forgot, I have the Bare Essentials brushes. I have had these for a few years. I do get shedding from them still . They may have gotten better since I purchased them.

that's interesting..I dont' get much shedding from my BE brushes...I get a single hair here and there but not every wash. The first time I washed my blush brush tho..it did shed quite a bit but after that it was fine.

@prettyvee - the 109 is a pencil brush that is used for smudging liner on the lower and upper lid. It can also be used to apply shadow in the inner and outer corners.

oooh! Ok its going on my list! I want one!

I prefer Mac brushes, these generally contain an antibacterial base and allow you to wipe clean your brushes in between uses.

anti aging skin treatments

MaryDarcy (16th December 2010, 7:36 am) wrote: I prefer Mac brushes, these generally contain an antibacterial base and allow you to wipe clean your brushes in between uses.

anti aging skin treatments

I was wondering about the antibacterial thing which some of these brushes. Now..at any point I wonder if thsoe antibacterial qualities still work after having the brushes after say...5 years or so...?

Also, does anyone know about Sephora's brushes? I was scared to go off and buy a whole kit before getting some real life opinions on them. Of course the sephora personnel will be biased to see their own goods (Although I DO love the sephora brand shadows :-) )

Some of the Sephora brushes seemed to be the same price as MAC brushes so I'm thinking if I'm going to spend that much I might as well go with MAC.

oh ok..how about the quality of the sephora brushes...are they as good as MAC?

I have Essence of Beauty (eye and face), Sonia Kashuk (eye), Elf (eye), Bare Escentuals (face), Smashbox (eye), Stila (face), Japanesque (face), Ulta Professional (eye and face) and Sephora (eye). My favorite low budget brand is a tie between Essence of Beauty and Sonia Kashuk. Essence of Beauty has a really good smoky eye duo brush and Sonia Kashuk had the best blending eye brush I have ever used. The more expensive brushes of the Sonia Kashuk line I believe are natural hair brushes. My favorite higher end brushes are Smashbox. None of my Smashbox brushes have ever shed. Elf brushes are a quick fix but I have had them less than a year and three have already fallen apart.

The question to ask when purchasing brushes is whether you want synthetic or natural hair brushes. The synethic brushes are cheaper and are good when applying liquids or creams. Natural hair brushes are great for applying powders but I use them to apply all types of formulas.

A great way to collect brushes is purchasing kits (a lot of brands include a brush in box kits) and Ulta from time to time will advertise a free brush with purchase of a particular brand. I hope this helps.