The Makeup Muse

Brushes are one of the most important investments for you, and your makeup to always look its best, and, if well looked after, can last a lifetime.

There are literally hundreds of different brushes; here are the top five and top ten TMM picks to get you started.

Don’t scrimp on brushes, they can be expensive, but good quality brushes are worth the money. Be VERY careful of fakes, like on eBay, most of them are fake TMM's experience, and you can really tell the difference. So, be sure to buy from reputable sellers or retailers to make your investment worthy.

Top Five Muse Picks

Large brush – sometimes called a puff brush, or powder brush
They should feel really soft on your face (test them out if you can), with a large round head of bristles. TMM prefers natural bristles but you can use synthetic as long as the bristles are super soft.
Large Powder brushes are generally used to apply powders to the face like setting powder, face powder, or a light all over bronzer. Because of the large coverage it has, you wouldn’t use it for more precise applications like blush or for contouring. Use the brush in circular motions over the face.
Muse Pick: M.A.C 150 Large Powder Brush $120 (M.A.C)

Blush/Contour brush – sometimes called a blush brush and can come in an angled form (which TMM does prefer)
Once again, it should be soft, but this time the bristles more tightly bunched together to ensure better precision when applying blush or contour to the face. The angled version helps when contouring the face so you can use it for both contouring and blush application. Natural or synthetic bristles are fine.
Muse Pick: M.A.C 168 Large Angled Contour Brush $65 (M.A.C)

Eye Contour/Crease brush – sometimes called a ponytail brush
This is a soft dome shaped brush made of natural fibers. Getting the perfect brush for this application is essential and makes it fool proof! This brush should sit right in the crease of the eye so all you have to do is sweep back and forth while it sits in that crease, and you’ll get a perfect contoured shadow on the crease of the eye.
Muse Pick: Laura Mercier Ponytail Brush (Mecca Cosmetica)
Muse Pick: Face Atelier Crease Brush $40 (Makeup Artists & Co)

Angle brush – sometimes called an angled brow, or angled liner brush
This brush must have a precise line and be quite stiff to get your line really accurate. You can get different brushes to apply liner or to fill in the brows, but this one works fine doing both. Applying liquid based liner with this brush is fantastic – just make sure your strokes are pulled inwards with the highest angle of the tip pointed out. For the brows, just use powder, gel or wax and fill in the brows using small flicks to mimic the hairs of the brow. Synthetic brushes are best as these brushes are mostly used with liquid products.
The angle brush is also great to apply eye shadow under the eye, like you would an eyeliner, but softens the look.
Muse Pick: Brush #14 Brow/Liner $22 (Proof Cosmetics)

Eye Shadow brush – sometimes referred to as a small eye or powder brush
Natural or synthetic hairs are fine, as you’ll use both powder and cream based shadows with this brush. A smaller head of closely set bristled that are quite short and squared as you'll use this in a small area (the eye lid). Use this brush to pat eye shadow onto the lid – its better to press the product on the lid rather than sweep it as you'll get better colour and less fall out.
Muse Pick: M.A.C 239 Eye Shading Brush $48 (M.A.C)

Top Ten Muse Picks (add these to the above)

Lip brush
Look for a brush with a tapered tip to give you precision around the mouth and that wont fray easily. As lip colours are generally creamy or glossy, it’s best to use a synthetic brush. Using a lip brush rather than the actual lipstick gives you more control of where the colour goes.
Muse Pick: Smashbox Lip Brush #6 $39 (Makeup Artists & Co)

Kabuki brush – traditional Japanese Kabuki brushes are the ones TMM recommends. There are plenty of other brushes referred to as Kabuki brushes that are short, and wide.
Kabuki brushes are made from the softest, finest, goat or kolinsky hairs, feel amazing on the skin, and are the best BLENDING brushes ever (in TMM's opinion!) They are bound with bamboo and come in various shapes and sizes. TMM likes the short stumpy bristles with a round head for blending foundation into the skin in soft circular motions, or the smaller tapered head to blend contouring colour or blush.
Search the net to find a good deal as they can be expensive, but are well worth the investment.

Concealer brush
Has a small tapered tip to get to really close to areas like under the eye with precision. You only need a small amount of product and coverage to apply to areas that need concealer, like under the eye, or to cover blemishes.
Muse Pick: M.A.C 194 Concealer Brush $39 (M.A.C)

Foundation brush
A medium sized head of synthetic bristles, which are usually tapered and square in shape. A foundation brush should be used in small strokes around the face to apply foundation (use a kabuki brush to blend it in and ensure there are no lines left behind). The foundation brush allows you to get into the grooves of the face like around the nose and mouth to ensure you get good coverage. TMM prefers to use a brush in comparison to a sponge to apply foundation as the sponge absorbs too much product, which creates wastage.
Muse Pick: M.A.C 190 Foundation Brush $75 (M.A.C)

Flat Eye Liner/Push brush
This brush is great to get right in close to the lash line. Don’t use it to drag a line across the eye, instead push the product along the line you’re trying to create. A great one to use after you’ve applied false lashes and need to camouflage any gaps or glue with a black cake liner.
Muse Pick: M.A.C 212 Flat Definer Brush $45 (M.A.C)

Muse Honorable Mentions!

Stippling/Skunk Brush - Usually black with white tips, is a very soft brush and is fantastic for blending foundation or contouring, leaving you with no lines and a beautiful buffed finish on your skin.
Muse Pick: M.A.C 187 Duo Fibre Brush $85 (M.A.C)
Large Shader brush – A larger version of the Eye Shadow brush, but just gives you more coverage, which is great for saving time when you’re applying a base colour on the eye.
Muse Pick: M.A.C 252 Large Shader Brush $56 (M.A.C)

Brush Tips:

Synthetic materials work best with creamy, water, emollient or oil-based products like lip colour or creamy shadows. Natural haired brushes work best with powder-based products like face powder or eye shadow.
Use large brushes on areas that require more coverage and small brushes for more precise application and control over the area you want to work with.
Clean your brushes about once a month with warm water and a small amount of baby shampoo – rinse well and dry flat with the ends hanging over a bench to ensure they keep their form.