Brushes... Tips, Tricks and Techniques

Brushes…Wow where to start, there are sooo many things I have to say about brushes, regards material, brand, use, cleaning, purpose etc., but this blog will focus solely on the types available and some techniques, for blogs to do with the other aspects visit my blog page!!!

First of all let me say that Brushes are key to your makeup application…for those of you out there that use your fingers, shame on you!! (My mother is one of them) Your fingers are not for applying makeup! Lip balms…yes great use your fingers, patting glitter/pigments etc. yes fine…but when applying face, and eye makeups please invest in some brushes! Hopefully this blog will enlighten you as to why its beneficial, and I assure you that if you read other blogs from my website, I will show you that you don’t have to spend silly amounts of money for good quality brushes!

So what types of brushes are available? You have different brushes for different aspects of the face. We have face brushes, which split down into complexion brushes, contouring brushes, foundation brushes, concealer brushes, and blusher brushes. Each of the mentioned brushes prior then have different varieties within their category, for example foundation brushes, you can have flat, or duo fibre brushes. It’s all about preference and what you are used to. In this blog I am going to talk to you about the brushes I prefer to use, why I prefer them to some of the other options, and the techniques to use when applying your makeup with them.

So lets start with the face…Face brushes that are must haves are;

A foundation brush, now I prefer the duo fibre brushes over the flat brushes, purely and simply because I feel you get a more flawless, seamless application with the stipple brushes, the flat brushes can leave brush strokes on your face, which isn’t desirable. This brush can be used with all types of foundation, cream, liquid, powder. To avoid build up on the tip of the brush, apply the foundation to your face, or to your hand, or even onto a silver palette first and then blend the foundation over the desired area in circular motions, buffing it onto the skin. This really will leave your face with a flawless finish; build up to the coverage you desire and your good to go…

TIP – Get yourself a short duo fibre brush aswell for a more controlled buffing action

Concealer isn’t something I use a lot myself as my skin usually doesn’t need much covering, but if I’m doing a shoot, or for those of you with slight blemishes, a concealer brush will be perfect for covering those imperfections. A firm, but fluffy brush should be used, now I know that sounds controversial, but finding the right brush for the job is so important, so for the concealer brush you want something firm that will allow you control when applying concealer, but you also require it to be fluffy so that it will blend your product, again using circular motions to buff in the concealer, the concealer should also be of similar shade to your foundation to ensure the application isn’t obvious and looks as natural as possible.

TIP – Apply concealer under and over your foundation for that extra coverage

A powder/complexion brush again needs to be firm to ensure even application but also fluffy to ensure blending. Large powder brushes are easy to come by, and usually not all that expensive, you want one that doesn’t hold too much product in one place on the brush, you want a brush that picks up the product evenly allowing even application over the face, ensure that your powder brush is dome shaped, and again move in circular motions, which acts as a buffing technique.

TIP – Clean after every use to ensure that it doesn’t get clogged up with powder/cream-based products

For contouring, you can use an angled brush, which will also team up as a blusher brush, just ensure that you clean your brushes in between uses. The angle of the contouring/blushes brush, allows you to apply product, following the natural shape of the cheekbone, in an upwards-diagonal motion towards the centre of the forehead. This brush will be workable, meaning that the brush hairs will be quite firm but again soft in texture, allowing you to move the powder, or cream based product around, you want it to be comfortable on your face, and if the brush is too hard you will just drag the powder/cream around the area, instead of buffing it into the region in which you want the colour, which will look all together more natural.

TIP – Use a dome shaped brush on the apple of your cheeks for a flush of colour

We then have eye brushes…now this facial aspect has sooo many different brushes available its quite insane! I am going to talk about the few you would need to create any look your wanting to J

A base is essential to make your shadows applied last for a long period of time, use a flat, firm brush to apply a creamy base that you intend for your shadow product to adhere to.

Once you have applied your base, you will need a fluffier flat brush to apply your base shadow, this brush can be different sizes depending on the shape and size of your lid. They are often round in shape to blend and move with the natural contours of your eye. The fluffy brush will allow a seamless application of a light base shadow over your creamy base applied prior.

TIP – Pat on the shadow to ensure it adheres to the creamy base you applied earlier

Now for eye makeup application I think you need 5 brushes…

A small shader, for applying the shadow, the small shader should be quite firm allowing definitive application of the shadow, the technique to use with this brush is a placing motion, you place and pat the eyeshadow onto the lid rather than buffing it on.

TIP – Keep building up the shadow until you achieve the desired colour/depth of shadow

You then need a blending brush, which will enable you to blend the harsh edges of the shadow, and if your applying more than one colour, then it will blend the edges of the colours together, meaning a seamless application. One thing to remember is not to over blend, although blending is key to flawless makeup application, over blending on the eye makeup can make it look silly, and like one big mass of colour. You just want to blend the edges, so that it is all smooth, seamless and sultry! Beautiful!!

TIP – Get yourself more than one blending brush, you can never have too many, especially if more than one colour is in use!

A crease brush is also essential, with this dome shaped, shorted bristled brush you can apply a darker shadow into the natural crease of your eye, the socket. This will emphasise the shape of your eye, acting as a contour. The brush needs to be fluffy, but the compact bristle arrangement will mean you have control over the product you are applying! This brush can also double up as a general blending brush!

TIP – Use this brush to blend, it allows precision blending

A smudger is also an essential brush to have when you are doing a Smokey eye, or any look in which you don’t want any harsh, definite edges. This brush needs to have short brush hairs, and be quite firm, this will allow you to move any product that you wish to smudge, for example under the eye, if you line the eye with liner, take your smudger and buff over the liner, this will smoke it up! Giving you an instant sultry look!

TIP – This brush can also be used to apply highlighter to the inner corner of your eye!

Finally for the eyes an eyeliner brush is key!! There are different variety’s again, Angled, flat, fine tipped! I have tried using each of them, and for me the fine tip is the key to that definitive, neat, precise eyeliner application! Starting in the middle of the eye, ensuring you have enough product on the brush, and sweep your brush out to the point in which you want your eyeliner to finish, ensuring that it tapers off, rather than just stopping! Then get your client/yourself to look down into the opposite corner and fill in the inside corner, matching it up to your starting point in the middle! Patience and a steady hand is key when applying the gel liner! Take your time, have cotton buds handy to eradicate any mistake, and keep practising…do not give up! J

TIP – Make a dot on the outside of your eye for you to follow, when drawing your flick, this dot will be the point at which your liner will stop, this will give you your symmetry!

Other brushes that I believe to be essentials are…a lip brush these brushes have a rounded tip with a slight point, they allow a precise lip line to be created, which can then be filled in using the wider flatter base part of the brush.

TIP – Use a lip liner first to prevent any feathering of the lipstick you apply, and then use the brush!

A brow spoolie is also essential; I am obsessed with eyebrows being groomed. I never used to be bothered about my brows, but now I cannot stand having them un-groomed! It offends me, as it is so easy to do…Get yourself a brow spoolie, one end will have a spoolie on it which you can also use for your lashes, and the other end will have a firm angled, short haired brush on it! This is the end you use to apply your brow medium, whether that is a cream, a gel or a powder!

Firstly you will take your spoolie end and comb your eyebrows upwards creating maximum lift, neatening up the edges, ready for colour application. Then take your brow brush, and starting at the inside corner, draw a line, following the natural line of the underside of the brow till you come to the outer point, and then do the same on the top, filling in the gaps in the middle of the brow, ensuring they look as natural as possible J

TIP – Make sure that once you have finished your brows, apply a brow gel or wax to keep them in your desired position

Now the coolest brush I have come across recently is one for you glitter, sequin, and pigment lovers! It’s a silicon applicator that ensure precise application of your loose medium, onto either lips, eyes or the face in general, it is made from a soft plastic that the products stick to, allowing you control and achieve precise application! This is a new brush to my kit and I can’t wait to use it, and review it for you guys! But anybody that loves playing around with makeup I would definitely advise purchasing!

TIP – If your using glitter/pigments etc. keep sticky tape handy to remove any fall that drops down onto the face!

Finally do look after your brushes, if you are using them regularly do clean them often, a baby shampoo is great, keeping the bristles clean, soft and hydrated, means that they remain supple for a long time if you keep looking after them J

My final point to make is…Brushes shouldn’t be deemed to have one use. I have so many brushes within my kit that I use for different jobs…for example I use my concealer brush to buff foundation, or blend shadows, I also use blending shadow brushes to conceal, brushes are versatile items, and you should use them for whatever you see fit! As long as you get the desired look and finish then this is all that matters!

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Hope this has been useful!

Thanks for reading!

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Lots of Love

Alexandra Louise

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Name: Alex Singleton MUA

Twitter Name: @AlexLouiseMUA

Website & Blog: www.alexandralouisemua.co.uk

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