To achieve beautiful makeup you need the right tools but which brushes are really essential?
Brands:
If you´re on a budget I would check out the brushes from Sigma as these are great quality for cheap prices. They ship them all over the world and help you to avoid paying customs duties. If you are more of a snob you should check out the brushes from Mac Cosmetics as these are, in my opinion, the best brushes there are.
There are two brushes that every woman absolutely NEEDS:
1. MAC 239/ Sigma E55
This eye shadow brush is soft and dense and is my favorite brush for applying eye shadow to the lid. It can be used with loose and pressed eye shadow as well as with pigments. If you normally go for a look that requires more than one eye shadow you should definitely have more than one of these.
2. MAC 217/ Sigma E25
This is a oval shaped blending brush with chiseled sides and is best used for blending out harsh edges around the eyeshadow you applied with brush no 1, but it can also be used to apply primer,base eye shadow colours and cream eye. It´s my favorite brush of all time and I don´t know what I would´ve done without it. This is also a brush you should have more than one of to avoid blending out harsh edges and discovering you suddenly have a pink smokey eye because you used it the day before for a pink look.
If you already have these two, or have a healthier budget which lets you buy more brushes, these are the ones I would go for:
3. MAC 224/ Sigma E40
This is also a blending brush, but it´s bigger and more rounded in shape. I find that this is the best brush to apply highlighter to the brow bone. It can also be used to blend out harsh edges but I prefer to use the 217 for that.
At this point it really is a lot about what kind of makeup you apply because a smokey eye requires different brushes than a twiggy look.
4. MAC 219/ Sigma E30
This small rounded brush is great for applying precise colour on the crease, outer corner, inner corner and lower lash line.
5. MAC 214/ Sigma E20
This flat, short and dense brush is perfect for smudging out eyeliners along the upper and lower lash line. You can also use it to apply eyeshadow and it works especially well underneath the eye as it is so small.
6. MAC 226/ Sigma E45
This is very similar to the 224/ E40 in shape, but it´s smaller and with a more tapered tip which makes it amazing for blending eyeshadows together in small areas and for applying eye shadow to the crease.
Prices and where to get them:
I´d say these six are absolutely essential.
On Sigma Beauty you can build your own kit with the brushes you like. A kit with these 6 will cost you $54 US/ €39,58. If you want the MAC brushes it will cost you about £100 from Mac Cosmetics UK and $150 from Mac Cosmetics US.
Depending on if you use gel liners and eyebrow shadows:
1. MAC 209 or 210/ Sigma E10 or E05
When it comes to brushes for gel liners most people have one shape or size they prefer to work with. It depends if you like a thick line or a thin line really as you´ll get a thinner line with the thinner brush. You can also use a small angled brush like MAC 263/ E65 if you prefer that. If you like to use dipliner instead of gel liners you won´t need any of them.
2. MAC 208/ Sigma E65
This is a small angled brush to use for eye brows. These two can´t really be compared as they are made of different hair, but the shape is kind of similar. I think it´s absolutely worth splurging on this one and go for the brush from MAC as it is a hundred times better.
