Often times when I’m asked by friends or followers why they’re makeup doesn’t look like mine, I start to immediately assess their kit. What I find far too many times I find one of three things: no brushes, the wrong brushes, or low quality brushes. While I have acquired a number of brushes over the years as a professional makeup artist, I don’t use many. Long gone are the days where you brag about having a million brushes, because let’s be honest, you don’t need that many and more importantly, who is cleaning all those brushes?!?
Natural vs. Synthetic
There are two different types of fibers for makeup brushes. Natural hair brushes use animal hairs such as horse, goat, boar, etc. They’re best used with powder products such as eyeshadows, finishing and setting powders, and bronzers and highlighters. If you’re vegan or have certain allergies this is something you may want to avoid. Synthetic brushes are generally made from materials like orange taklon and PBT synthetic. They’re best used for liquid or wax and cream based products. Note: You can use some natural haired brushes with cream/liquid products to achieve an airbrushed look, however shedding can occur after washing if you go back to using it with powder. Keep that in mind. If you want to use a natural hair brush in this way, buy multiples and keep it for cream/liquid use only.
Caring For Your Brushes
When properly cared for, your makeup brushes can last many years. I have some brushes that have lasted me a decade. With proper care and cleaning you can mitigate face breakouts as well as the shedding of brush hairs or damaged handles. Spot cleaning your brushes daily and deep cleaning once a week is ideal. If you missed the video I have on how to clean them, watch here.
Watch my video on the makeup brushes you absolutely have to have.
