My previous beauty post was a product guide for newbies in this amazing world of make up. Asides using the right products, proper application of these products on your gorgeous face would go a long way in differentiating class from mediocre.
You need the right tools girl! We would talk about the basic tools required and also discuss some nice brands out there.
Before we proceed, there are some important details to note
1. Make up Brushes are often made for specific purposes, however, some are multi functional. Don’t be too rigid in their use. Below is a detailed picture showing how each brush should look for proper identification. As a beginner, not all of these brushes are neccessary. We would discuss in detail those brushes that I feel would be user friendly and important to a newbie.
2. Brushes are to be cared for and cleaned appropriately. We won’t want some E. Coli or staphylococcus dancing on your face. You need to clean that brush set after use girl, else you would be aiding and abating micro organisms.
3. There is a certain technique to cleaning your brushes to prevent damaging them. Most times, it’s advisable to clean/wash only the bristles and avoid contact of brush handles with water. This is especially important for the less durable brushes; water could cause the handles to separate from their bristle holders. Take it from me, I have been there several times😩
4. There are so many brush cleaning solutions out there, some contain disinfectants but could be pricy. Do what works best for you and your budget. You could as well use your alcohol(spirit) which is cheaper first and then proceed to wash.
5. Using dirty brushes with old and dried up products, asides from being a bacteria haven would alter the outlook of your face beat. Always use clean/disinfected brushes per look.
Let’s talk brush types
For a make up fresher, you would need application tools/brushes for; a perfect brow, a beautiful shadow look, a flawless skin work and of course for your lippie. In my opinion, it is usually more cost effective to buy brush sets that feature most of the basic brushes, as opposed to buying them individually.
There are a million and one brush sets available out there, some are made with durable/quality materials and as such really pricey, while some others are budget friendly but not as durable.
I would definetely advice going for tools that fit right into your budget. Please keep in mind though, that not all pricy brush sets are actually durable. Find below, some of the best brush sets I have come across in my makeup journey, I would do well to attach links to purchasing a few of them.
- The Real technique brush set (has the most amazing and durable, multifunctional brushes ever, and are sligthly budget friendly)
- The Bobbi brown essential travel brush set (Super budget friendly but not durable, this was my first ever brush set brand)
- Eco tools (They have always been around and are bugdet friendly, however durability is not as great as expected)
- Estee Lauder brush set (One of the many luxuries of life, really pricy)
- BH cosmetics brush set (Cheap, but brushes are surprisingly great quality for their prices)
- BS small Medium brush set (seem to be known by many, though I have never used this brush brand before)
- Viccabel brush set (This is one of the home grown brush sets that make me super proud, though locally produced, they are very durable and all encompassing)
Links to purchasing some of these brush sets are already attached with their names.
Let’s go indepth into the brush types
Spoolie brush / Spiral eyebrow brush
This is used to brush the eyebrows into place, before drawing with a pencil or brow pomade as the case may be.
Flat Concealer brushes
The common feature of the concelear brushes is their flat bristles. Though they all have flat bristles, they come in varying shapes and sizes, they could be either angled, straight cut or even dome shaped as seen in the picture below.
Brow blending brushes
Please and please, never leave your brow concealers unblended, it would make your whole look tacky. The brow blending brushes usually have a small and round end with bristles that are relatively sparse for easy blending. They could also be used to apply the shadow transition colour.
Shadow brush
These are always quite a number in brush sets. Why? you might ask, it’s coz we all have varying eye lid sizes. The space available for the shadow work would determine the appropriate brush for application. They come in different sizes and shapes as seen below. It is advisable to choose according to your lid size and according to the look you want to achieve.
Shadow Blending brush
Eyeshadow colours must blend seamlessly and complement each other, this is where the shadow blending brush comes in handy. They could also pass for eye brow blending brushes, but have smaller bristle sizes.
THE BIG BRUSHES
These are those brushes that help to achieve a flawless skin work, they are most times bigger than the aforementioned brushes.
Primer applicator / brush
In all honesty, I have never seen a single brush in a brush set labeled “Primer brush” don’t get me wrong, there might be, perhaps I am yet to discover it. However most times, primer brushes are improvised. It’s either you dedicate an extra flat foundation brush for the job or a face buffer with dense bristles. Then again some people go in with clean hands and massage the primer into their face. Just do you and stick to what works best for you.
Foundation brushes
These brushes vary in different shapes and sizes, but what they all have in common is their tightly packed/dense brush bristles for the easy application/ spread of the foundation, after primer application. Find a few of the foundation brush varieties below
Beauty Sponge / blender
You know those egg-like foam substances that come in a world of shapes and sizes; they are perfect for both application and blending of foundation. A majority of make up artists swear tht they give a different/flawless finish to the foundation application. Some would choose them over foundation brushes. Note that beauty blenders are best used damp. To avoid stories that touch, please never use a dry or soaking wet beauty blender to apply foundation to your pretty face. It won’t end well, trust me.
Powder brush
Almost everyone would at one point or the other have come across a powder brush in their life time. It is regarded as the bearest minimum cosmetic tool found in any Lady’s purse. They are known by their sparsely packed brush bristles; this make it easy and effective in dusting the powder product on to the face. Powder brushes are also usually the biggest brush in brush sets, you surely can’t miss them.
Blush brush
These are quite frankly, similar to powder brushes but are much smaller with round ends. They are essential to adding some colour to those pretty cheeks.
Lipstick applicator / Lip brushes
These are more suited for make up artists but come in handy with guiding lipstick application for a newbie. They are usually small to avoid messing up the application . However if you feel you can work your lippie directly to the mouth, then go girl!
just make sure not to share them with any other lady for safety and hygiene purposes.
With these basic highlighted make up tools, you are ready girl!please ensure you pepper
them and slay that gorgeous face at every given opportunity.❤️
