The Only Make Up Brushes You Actually Need
Although many of us find our fingers the best (and fastest) tools for our makeup application, it’s worth building up a small collection of the bare necessities that are expertly crafted for precision that our fingers just can’t match. Whether or not you’re into sculpting, contouring, blending, or highlighting, these are the brushes that you actually need in your beauty arsenal.
Jones Road The Everything Brush, £40
Perfectly named this multi-tasking wonder brush blends bronzer, powder, foundation, and highlighter flawlessly, whether it’s in cream or powder form. If you’re going to invest in just one brush, make it this!
Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Concealer Brush, £17
Mimicking the shape of your fingertips for concise and quick blending, the soft bristles allow you to buff away streaks while the pointed tip makes precision easy work. Plus, it works well with cream, liquid, and powder concealers and the perfect size to correct makeup mistakes when using bright or dark eye makeup.
Laura Mercier Smoky Eyeliner Brush, £21.25
Creating the perfect smokey eye can take years of practice, but with this handy brush on tap, your eyes will smoulder every, single, time. The ultra-thin tip allows you to get close to the lash line and water line without smudging.
Trish McEvoy All Over Face & Eye Brush, £27
If you tend to use powder-based products instead of creams, this is a great choice of brush. The smaller, flat tapered end is great for targeting specific areas while the larger end is designed for shaping, sculpting, and enhancing both the face and eyes.
Shiseido Daiya Fude Face Duo Brush, £59
Although this double-ended brush comes with a hefty price tag, it’s worth every penny because of its handcrafted and unique design. The bouncy gel blender mimics the effects of fingertips, while the red fluffy brush is densely compacted with bristles that ensures your powder is perfectly distributed on your face for a seamless finish. It’s little wonder why this brush wins numerous beauty awards.
MAC Retractable Lip Brush, £21
Don’t be too quick to brush off (no pun intended) a lip brush. It gives expert precision to your lips that no lipstick bullet can do, it highlights the cupid bow and you can control the amount of pigment that ends up on your lips. We love the handy retractable feature, not only great for handbags but useful when you’re short of time to wipe clean, just cover and voila.
Zoeve Lux Fan Brush, £15.50
You probably recognise this brush from your Insta feed or scrolling through Tik Tok. Far from a gimmick, this wide-fanned brush gives a great swoosh of colour from your blusher and highlighter without it collating in one area. It’s also handy to sweep up any eyeshadow specks that land on your cheeks. Take Zoeve’s brush quiz, to find out more.
Daniel Sandler Kabeauti Kabuki Brush, £27.95
This super versatile brush works just as well on the body as the face. A multi-tasker that is great when applying fake tan to as well as your powder or bronzer. You won’t find a softer kabuki brush – super fluffy and perfectly sized. An essential brush if you regular use a tinted moisturiser or liquid foundation.
Real Techniques Dual-Ended Brow Brush, £18
Step up your brow game with this double-ended brush that creates natural-looking brows effortlessly. Whether you’re blending brow powder, pencil or even wax, an angled brush is a must for filling in brows and defining arches, while the spoolie allows you to brush hairs upwards or outwards depending on your look. Click here to find out how to shape your brows to perfection.
Chanel Blush Brush No110, £42
If you’re never quite sure where on your cheekbones you should apply your blusher, you can’t get it wrong with this perfectly shaped blusher brush that is the perfect shape for the apples of your cheeks. It’s unusual to find a blusher brush that works so brilliantly with both powder and cream formulas.
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