Makeup Brush Collection

I've been sorting through my makeup brushes over the past month or so and thought I would share my new and updated makeup brush collection. I have a lot of great makeup brushes that function beautifully, but I do have some that are terrible and needed to be tossed. I think I have a pretty complete brush collection at this point, but there are some more brushes I need to replace or buy.

Overall, I think I've purchased some great brushes over the past years and a lot of them have been with me for 3+ years now! I have a mix of high end and low end brushes and while the higher end brushes do have a better quality and bounce back into shape better after shampooing, there are some great brushes that I got for only a few bucks! However, I do find that it's easier to find cheaper, good quality eye brushes than it is to find cheaper good quality face brushes. So you'll see that most of my eye brushes are from cheaper brands like ELF while my face brushes are on the more expensive side. While I think that expensive brushes can be worth it due to the quality of the bristles, you can definitely find some great brushes at the drugstore and don't necessarily need to shell out $20 for a single brush or $200 for a Sigma brush set. 

You'll also see that I don't always use brushes for the use that they're designed for (like using my small concealer brush for my inner corner instead!). Pretty random actually! So, let's get started with ze collection deets! 

Eye Brushes -- flat shadow brushes

Sephora, Urban Decay, Up & Up, Sonia Kashuk

Sephora flat eyeshadow brush -- applying powder eyeshadow all over the lid

Urban Decay flat eyeshadow brush -- I don't normally use this brush, but it's great for applying powder eyeshadow all over the lid

Up & Up smudge brush -- my favorite brush for packing on eyeshadow all over my lid

Sonia Kashuk flat eyeshadow brush -- applying cream eyeshadows, like the Maybelline color tattoos

Eye Brushes -- crease brushes

ELF, Up & Up

ELF small crease brush -- this has become my go-to crease brush since it applies eyeshadow very precisely and is great for blending the color

Up & Up large crease brush -- applying powder eyeshadow all over my lid, but when I want a more sheer application. Also good for blending crease color into the lid color

Eye Brushes -- randoms

Up & Up, Sephora, Sonia Kashuk, Essential Tools, ELF

Up & Up angled eyeliner brush -- applying powder eyeshadow along lash line

Sephora liner brush -- applying powder eyeshadow along lash line

Sonia Kashuk small concealer brush -- applying eyeshadow to my inner corner

Essential Tools dual sided crease brush -- blending lid and crease color 

ELF eyebrow comb and brush -- brushing and combing eyebrows

 Face Brushes

Real Techniques, Sephora, ELF, ELF

Real Techniques expert face brush -- blending in mineral foundation. Works much better than the BareMinerals foundation brushes with much less fallout! 

Sephora highlight brush -- applying blush

ELF angled blush brush -- applying blush

ELF total face brush -- applying powder or blending blush. This brush does a great job at blending and applying powder, but it's quite harsh on my skin and leaves it feeling like I rubbed sandpaper all over. I'm currently on the hunt for a new, softer powder brush! 

Travel Brushes

BareMinerals

I use these two brushes either for traveling or when my other foundation or blush brushes are dirty. They are extremely soft, feel great on the skin, and can fit nicely into my makeup/gym bag if I choose to travel with them. I got these in BareMinerals makeup sets and they are similar in quality to the full-size BareMinerals brushes.