Hello! A big welcome to my brush series here on The Blushing Giraffe! Make Up Brushes are an important investment, but can be incredibly dear to your bank account, so I’m doing this series in a hope to share some of my favourites and hopefully save you some money! I’ll also be doing a ‘how I clean my makeup brushes’ post as well as a ‘Top E.L.F makeup brushes’ post. Do let me know if you would like to see anything else in particular, by commenting bellow or tweeting me @blushinggiraffe.
A few decent brushes make all the difference when applying makeup, so to kick off my brush series, I’m going to share my absolute favourite brushes of all time! Now be warned, the majority of these ARE Real Techniques because they’re hard to fault! However there are some others that have made this post from cheaper and more pricier brands. I would recommend checking out THIS POST HERE in which I review several RT brushes from the limited edition collection, but I also talk about where I purchased the majority of my brushes from for a cheaper price – and what to watch out for!
Starting with the BASE here are my top favourites;
I haven’t been able to take individual photos for each brush because of lack of time, but I hope you get the general idea from the above photos! Also yes they’re dirty D: I’ll be washing them as soon as there is daylight so I can photograph the procedure too.
My favourite base brush: Real Techniques Buffing Brush the most ‘hyped’ brush in the beauty world, this is one each and every girl should invest in. It is only available to buy with the core collection (which is currently on sale for £5 off) OR whilst stocks last the limited edition kit ‘Sam’s Picks’ (reviewed here). It bristles are dense, not as much as the expert face brush, but thick enough so the product can be distributed evenly across the face. It’s rounded head means there are no foundation brush streaks down the face, and actually it feels like a mini massage when buffing it into the skin. I love the size of this brush, small enough to fit around the contours of the face, but big enough to blend the product in within a few minutes achieving a flawless base. All RT brushes are made from cruelty free synthetic hair which is ridiculously soft to touch and easy to wash. They dry faster than other brushes and I’ve experienced NO shedding – good quality or what?! The last thing to say about this brush is essentially it can be used for anything, bronzer, blusher, powder, cream and liquid which makes it SO versatile!
The largest brush in the cute little Ikea candleholder is the Real Techniques Powder Brush. It is my bronzer and overall setting brush of choice. It is HUGE and so takes all of 5 seconds to set your makeup which is brilliant for the morning! As I have normal/dry skin I rarely choose to set my makeup with a powder (unless it’s going through a random oily phase). So for me this is perfect for bronzing, doing a loose three motion on either side of the face and finishing with a little ‘bop’ on my nose, gives me a perfectly sunkissed glow and adds colour and life to my face. Because it is so big, fluffy and not dense it doesn’t apply a concentrated amount to any area of the face, making it great for distributing powder evenly.
Next is the Real Techniques Setting Brush which has also made my ultimate beauty favourites of 2013 post. It is wonderful for blending in concealer, due to it’s tapered point which fits right in edges corners and awkward sides in the face. I personally use this on the daily with my Ben Nye Banana Powder (reviewed here) rather than using a damp sponge, because I find it doesn’t PACK powder on, it instead manages to apply the perfect amount needed (not causing cakiness!). The Multi-task Brush is probably one of the most useful brushes one could own (for obvious reasons). I personally use this consistently for blusher, as it isn’t too round/wide and it’s elongated shape means you can sweep this above the contour liner for a precise application of colour. However it’s similar to the buffing brush, because you could use this for highlighting, bronzing, cream products etc. The main difference being the shape. A great travelling brush to have for sure!
Now on to the eye brushes, and you can see it’s not a Real Techniques party over here..
So starting with the left and moving clockwise we have the Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush which is included in the starter kit collection and is one of the good ‘uns. It’s soft and easy to apply colour all over the lid with this because of its little point so you can reach the inner corners and even brush some shadow under the lower lash line if its not too much of a dark shade!
Next we have a spoolie from MUA, which I never really thought was essential, but I picked this up for next to nothing and now I love using it those days I’ve done a little over the top with the brow gel! A few quick brushes through and your brows are looking filled in but much more natural – not scary and overpowering!!
The middle needs NO introduction! It’s the 217 and honestly it has changed the way I do my eye makeup! It’s the perfect brush, and a travel and daily essential. You can use it to put colour in the lid, to blend out harsh lines, to merge colours together. It really is a fantastic brush and I 100% understand why so many people rave about this. There are plenty of dupes (some good, some awful) but little comes close to this brush, and I find it washes extremely well too.
The E.L.F Small Angled Brush is the best brush I have ever used on my brows. It is small enough to fill in the gaps precisely (not like that thick RT brush!) but can also spread colour through the brows and keep them looking natural and neat. Having a decent brow brush is especially important for people who don’t shape their brows using tweezers, threading etc. as filling in the brows is the only thing that keeps them looking in order!
And finally I have the E.L.F Angled Eyeliner Brush (I have two of this and the above brush). It is the BEST brush ever for applying gel eyeliner, especially if you’re a bit weary of liner. The ‘angle’ of this brush means that it is simple to apply the liner and you don’t have to twist your arms in awkward angles to get a consistent line. I also think the amount of bristle and the length of bristles in this brush are just right (that probably sounds a little odd but if you’ve tried to use a flimsy brush for eyeliner before you’ll understand!
That concludes my all time favourites for the start of 2014! These brushes are used almost every-time I apply makeup, and if I was forced to give up the majority of my brushes, those would be the ones I’d keep!
