Makeup Madness Part 7! Makeup brushes!

So here's my thing with brushes- I started using makeup brushes for eye shadow in high school, but then for blush I always just used what came in my blush compact, didn't wear foundation for the longest time so didn't need a brush for that and then I didn't need one for contour and highlight because I didn't do that till recently either. So once I started buying more makeup and needing more brushes it was a very slippery slope and all of the sudden I had 40 brushes.

The only thing I don't use a brush for is my foundation, pretty much no mater what foundation I'm using I prefer to apply it with my finger tips. Always clean hands but primer and foundation do not get a brush, I've tried and every once in a while I'll try again but its just not my favorite application method.


This will not be a purging at all. I'm not getting rid of any of my brushes...sorry to disappoint. But here they are and I'll link to where you can buy them- no affiliate links.




Face brushes!

1. IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Radiance Wand #14 This is the most amazing brush ever. I got this with an IT Cosmetics kit from QVC and it's the softest brush you've ever felt. It's big enough to be a great powder brush or bronzing brush I use it most for a bronzing brush and love it. OMG the softness.
2. Real Techniques Blush Brush This is my next biggest brush and I love it too! This is my blush brush and it's great for diffusing really pigmented blushes and blending them out. Because the cut on the brush is so tapered it really picks up product and so just a tap is needed to get great blush color.
3. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush I bought this brush to use with my bronzer before I had #1 but didn't like it for that. So then I tried to use it for what it was meant for foundation- didn't like it for that too. None of my foundations need that much buffing. So now I just kinda use it when other brushes are dirty or I need to really blend something out- like too much blush or too hard contour. It's a great brush it's just not what I need right now.
4. Real Techniques Setting Brush Love this brush! I had been using a different brush to set my under eyes and it was just too big, but this is the perfect size. It's actually also the perfect size for highlight. I keep wanting to get another for highlight but have restrained myself...but I may get another.
5. Bare Escentuals Flawless Face This is a brush I've had the longest and will probably be first to go when I find a replacement. This is a natural hair brush one of my few and it's almost 8 years old so it should probably be retired. It's kinda bristly and not as soft as it once was. I use this just for all over face powder which I don't use everyday...so eh I would not repurchase now.
6. Bare Escentuals Max Coverage Concealer I use this brush for concealing! I actually use this one for what it's for. I like to use this when I'm concealing around my nose or need to correct redness on my cheeks. It's a fine brush I don't use it daily either. 
7. Ecotools Skin Perfecting Brush I bought this brush when I first started using CC and BB creams. I feel like this is a great sized brush and it applies product just fine, but I also feel like it absorbs too much. As a white brush you can see all the product that gets stuck and trapped in it. Also because of this I feel like I need to clean it much more frequently. So I only use this brush when using really really creamy BB creams or ones I don't mind wasting a little bit.
8. Ecotools Concealer Brush LOVE! This is a relatively new purchase maybe just at the end of summer and I love it. I got this brush after seeing EmilyNoel or Kristin Ghem talking about it and using it with pot concealers. I use this with my Erase Paste and Pixi Correction Concentrate. It's great, perfect size. I have no complaints.
9. ELF Kabuki Face Brush (not pictured) This is a good all over buffing brush when you're blending. I don't use this brush to apply anything to my face but just to blend all my cheek products together and hopefully make myself look less powdery. It's a find brush no essential but good for what I need it for.
10. ELF Angled Blush Brush I originally bought this brush for contour and I love it for that. This is great at getting really deep contour around my ears and hair line. I don't use this everyday because it lays down a lot of product but when I really want to carve out my features I love this.
11. ELF Small Tapered Brush I bought this brush highlight before I got my stipple brush and it works great for that. I still use this periodically when different highlights depending on how much glow I'm going for, for the price it's great.
12. ELF Blush Brush Very similar to the tapered brush I really only use this when my big blush brush is dirty. Great brush I just don't reach for it too much.
13. ELF Small Stipple Brush I loved this brush for about 6 months. Then the brush head fell off! It's still attached to the ferrol of the brush but I couldn't believe it. It's a fairly cheap brush so it doesn't really bother me and I can still use it but just kinda disappointing. I use this brush for my super strong highlights that I need to diffuse more. I use this brush daily. 
14. ELF Contouring Brush This is another great brush for when you want really sharp contour. I don't use this all the time but when I want a great straight line on my face it's perfect. Also great for contouring your nose. 
15. ELF Flawless Concealer Brush I bought this brush the same day I got my other concealer brush and I probably don't need both. I only use this brush when I have really liquid-y concealer that I need to buff into my skin. I may re-purpose this brush for something else because I don't think my face needs it.

Eye Brushes!

1. Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush Love this brush. Perfect for the crease and does exactly what you hope it will. Essential eye shadow brush for sure.
2. Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush This is a great brush and a part of an eye kit with the next few brushes and it's fine. I use it how it's intended to, as my base shadow brush- use it daily.
3. Real Techniques Shading Brush I used to use this brush a lot more as a crease brush and it's great for that. But right now it's serving me as an awesome brush to use with cream shadows. I use it with my ELF smudge pots and Color Tattoos.
4. Real Techniques Brow Brush I use this brush incorrectly. I find this one too big for my brows and so honestly don't use it much. Every once in a while I'll pull it in for a thicker eye liner, but it's not my favorite.
5. Real Techniques Accent Brush This brush I use for my eye brows and love it. It's the perfect size! I use an angle brush too sometimes but this is great for getting precise brows.
6. Sephora Professional Pointed Liner #17 Great for gel liner. I use this when my other liner brushes are dirty. It's great but not essential.
7. Sephora Professional Angled Shadow #20 This is a super fluffy and soft eye shadow brush. I use this with really pigmented shadows I need to diffuse. It's so soft. I've used this brush for years and recently rediscovered it at the back of a drawer. It's awesome.
8. Sephora Pencil Brush- all the info has rubbed off Essential brush that I have no idea what it is! I can't find this brush anywhere now but I know it's Sephora and it's amazing. I got this ages ago and it's the perfect pencil brush! Why aren't more this size. It's stiff but gentle and great for getting the lower lash line or highlighting the brow bone or my usual use for it is my inner corner. Great great brush.
9. Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Flat Shadow Brush (discontinued because VS hates me). This is a super dense brush that's soft and great for packing on metallic shades. Use this all the time with my favorite gold shadows. Awesome brush what's wrong with Victoria's Secret bring back your makeup and brushes!
10. Ecotools Flat Eyeliner Brush Great eye liner brush, perfect size and I use it all the time for shadow eye liner. I don't like it with gel eye liner. But it's a great brush.
11. Crown Brush Dual Ended (Ipsy bag brush) It was free, well not really! It's great for travel or using with shadow colors I don't use frequently like black smokey shades or glitter. 
12. Tarte Dual Ended Shadow Brush (QVC) This is a great brush that came with a Tarte palette. Love it. One side is super flat which is great and one is fluffy. perfect for travel.
13. IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Dual Eyeshadow #5 OMG back to my IT brushes! I love this thing and need more. If I had a few of these brushes I wouldn't need other eye brushes. I love the small stubby side, it's great for lining the lower lash line. The fluffy side is super soft. Love it.
14. Sad no name shader brush I've had literally forever- ESSENTIAL brush. What are you? I love you.
15. Up & Up Target Duo Eye Brush Set These are awesome brushes. One's a bigger flat shader and one is a little smaller. I use these for shimmery shades and really nothing else. They're great little brushes and I have my eyes on some more from this brand.
16. ELF Eyebrow Duo Brush I Love this brush and my eyebrows would not be anything with out. I am super picky about my eyebrow brushes because I want the spoolie side to be eyebrow size not a full length spoolie size and this one is perfect! And the angle brush side it great too. I have no complaints about this brush and love it. 
17. ELF Small Angled Brush I got this brush originally for my eye brows before I got the Duo brush but now I use it for eye liner or smudging if need be. Great little brush.
18. ELF Angled Eyeliner Brush I like this brush fine for gel eye liner but don't quite understand the need for it to be angled. I don't have a trouble getting to my lash line like other do so the angle is kinda wasted on me, but love the brush and use it when my other liner brushes are dirty...which is frequently. 
19. ELF Crease Brush This is smaller than my blending brush but mostly the same shape. I find it too small for my crease but love it for smudging out lower lash-line liner. 
20. ELF Blending Brush (w) I use this brush daily. I love it and should really get around to buying some back ups. I can tell it's starting to loosen from it's base. But I love it and it's so soft and perfect.
21. ELF Eyeshadow Brush (w) Mine looks a little sad with some of the brush hairs a little longer than others but it's a great base or all over eye brush.
22. ELF Smudge Brush (w) I love this brush because it's a smaller flat shader brush, I'm sure it could be a smudge brush but I use it to apply really shimmery colors that I don't want to deal with a lot of fall out from. Love it. 
23. ELF Eye Crease Brush (w) Another crease brush and I don't use this one as much as the others, but it's a great backup when all my other brushes are dirty. 

So basically I have way too many brushes but I use them and it's good to rotate so you aren't always using dirty brushes. I clean my brushes regularly and they're all holding up pretty well. To me the ELF ones only have about a year and half shelf life and the nicer brushes obviously last much longer. I try to wash with Dr. Bronner's Soap once a month, but weekly I wipe them down with makeup wipes (sometimes more than weekly) and then daily I wipe off the excess color onto a washcloth I keep on my sink for just this purpose. I feel like this helps my brushes and my skin because I'm wiping off some of the excess oil and product so it doesn't go on my face. But I love my brushes and I do want to eventually get some more IT Cosmetics brushes just because they're better quality but I don't NEED them. Yay!

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Previous Makeup Madness-es!

Blush, Bronzers & Highlighters, Eye Liners, Lippies, Mascara, and Concealer!