By : Juhi Bansal

As promised in the last post, albeit late, here it is.

I am no make up expert. Hell, I am not even half an expert! But, then, I am often told by my awesome readers and friends that that’s what makes my make up posts so interesting. Because, I write about what works for me-quick fixes and cheap & minimalist buys. Well, THAT my friends is true.  This is not like outfit styling where even the pieces you haven’t worn or touched call out to you and you instinctively know they are gorgeous. Make up on the other hand, needs to be worn and tested. So, I only write about and recommend stuff that has worked for me.

So, make up brushes. They eluded me for the longest time. While in my teens and early twenties, my makeup brush collection was limited to the eye shadow stub you get in the palette and probably a lip outline brush. If I applied any powder, I would use the puff and well that was about it. Finally, things did change for the better (I hope!).

Here is a list of make up brushes I cannot do without. Considering the fact that make up brush types runs into fifties, narrowing it down to five is the best you can do.

1. Angled Contour Brush

Angled Contour Brush

I use it for contouring my cheekbones and jawline. It also doubles as my blush brush so it really is quite useful.

2. Large Powder Brush/Kabuki Brush

Powder Brush from Inglot

Kabuki Brush from Sephora

Both more or less serve the same purpose. After you are done with makeup, use it to apply translucent powder to set your make up in place. You can  use it to apply mineral foundation or compact too. I also use it to just brush my face off any unwanted shine every few minutes. This really blends the makeup in and is a God sent!

I am a sucker for eye make up so the following brushes may feel like overkill but believe me they are worth every bit.

3. Flat Eyeshadow Brush

Pro Shadow Brush by NARS

To a lot of you, this may seem unnecessary since all eye shadow palettes have their own brushes. Just make sure that the brush inside has hair bristles rather than a foam tip and you are good to go. This will help set the eye shadow better. Oh! and did I tell you this brush comes in very handy while defining your eyebrows.

4. Angled Eyeshadow/Eye liner Brush

Angled Eye-shadow brush from Bobbi Brown

This is especially helpful in distributing color over the corners of the eyelid. With a little practice, you can also you the same brush to create cat eyed look using a gel eyeliner.

5. Bent Eye-liner Brush

Bent Eye-liner Brush from Sephora

Not all of us like the thickly lined eyes, The bent brush is very useful in creating a thin line on both your upper and lower lash lines. A double line can be created using different colors for a quirky look.

I do not recommend lip brushes any more because I outline my lips using a pencil now. It’s much easier, stays longer and gives a better definition. Also, I apply both foundation and concealer using my fingers and find the result much better.

While there is a huge range of brushes out there, I would suggest buying the better quality ones since they will last you forever. The cheaper ones will lose hair and spoil your makeup. MAC, INGLOT, Sephora and Body Shop are some of the places where you can shop for brushes.

If you are using the same brush for different applications in the same make up cycle (like I use my angled brush for both contouring and blush), remember to dust them completely on a clean napkin before reusing them.

You should ideally be cleaning your brushes every week or  after every use (if you don’t wear make up everyday) so that bacteria build up is minimized. If not, it may lead to break outs and patchy make up application.

While cleaning the brushes, run the hairs under a tap and then dip them in water with a little bit of baby shampoo. Use your thumb and fingers to clean the bristles properly. Run them under water again. All this while, make sure you are not dipping the brushes all the way in water that the metal enclosing the bristles gets wet. This is where the glue is and water may make it come loose.

Leave them on a clean napkin and let them dry. Don’t rub.

Hope this helped. Write in if you need more info.

Stay Gorgeous xx

Pic Credits:

www.macclassiccosmetics.net

www.sephora.com

www.bobbibrown.com