I don't actually own any high-end makeup brushes and I don't feel like I'm missing out. All my favourite brushes do the job perfectly. The world of makeup brushes can be a little over whelming especially when they're just named with letters and numbers. I've put together a little guide to some of my favourite affordable brush brands.
Zoeva
I think Zoeva is one of the biggest affordable brush brands and if you don't own any of their brushes yet I really recommend them. They have a good selection of brush sets which are perfect for beginners. But my individual favourites are:
Powder Brush | £13
A large fluffy powder brush may look boring but finding a good powder brush is so important! I find this one applies powder evenly and blends it into the skin really well. The bristles pick up the powder really well. I've had this over two years now and it's still going strong, so cost per use this is brilliant value for money! It holds it shape after washing and never sheds.
Zoeva Petit Crease Brush | £9
This is my favourite brush for applying eye shadow to the lower lash. I like my eyeshadow to be quite close to my lash line and most blending brushes are too big. But this applies the shadow exactly where I want whilst blending it out perfectly!
Zoeva Cream Shader 233 | £9
I got this as part of the set but it is sold separately. It has quickly become one of my favourite eyeshadow brushes. It has a dense but still kind of fluffy head. I love it for applying eyeshadow to the outer v of the eye. It packs on the colour nicely but still blends it out.
Real Techniques
I love Real Techniques as I think most of us do! Real Techniques is pretty easy to get your hands because they're stocked in Boots, Superdrug stores and online. I have had some of my RT Brushes for years and they're still going strong. I will say though I don't think their eyeshadow brushes are that great but their base brushes are some my absolute faves!
Buffing Brush | (£22.99 for a set of 4)
This was my favourite brush for a long time and it still is, I just prefer my Beauty Blender these days. But if I do want a foundation brush this is the one I reach for. The bristles are super soft but dense enough to blend foundation in flawlessly! It washes well and works with all my favourite foundations. My only gripe with this is, it's not available to buy separately. It can only be brought as part of the Core Collection set. Which is only £20 but I'd rather just be able to buy the brush on it's own.
Contour Brush | (£22.99 for a set of 4)
Like the buffing brush this can be brought as part as the Core Collection. But it's fine because I love this brush. It does say it is a Contour brush and it does that job fine but I love it for concealer! It has a medium sized head which fits perfectly under my eyes. It blends concealer out with ease - just a few dabs! I have 3 of these in my collection. That's how much I love it!
Morphe
Morphe have a pretty extensive brush collection. I have quite a few brushes and if I'm completely honest they are a bit hit and miss. But the hits are amazing and some of them are my most used brushes. They are:
Morphe Tapered Head Blending Brush | £9
This is a duo fibre brush which I prefer for blusher / bronzer. The mix of natural hairs make it easier not to go overboard. I personally use this for bronzer because it's slightly bigger than I like for a blush. It picks up just the right amount of product and blends it really well.
Morphe E27 | £8
For blending eyeshadow this brush is my go to. It has a large fluffy end, it's slightly bigger than most blending brushes but I like that. It blends eyeshadow into the crease really easily and leaves a seamless finish.
Both these brushes are staples in my routine. They haven't shed and I haven't had any issues washing them
Iconic
Iconic is a brand I discovered towards the end of last year and I've been really enjoying their products. These brushes included. I have the Complete Face set. Which contains everything you need for a flawless base. The brushes are really good quality. My only issue with these is the brushes can't be brought individually. But at £59.99 for 9 high quality brushes it is good value. The brushes in this set are:
Powder Brush - a large fluffy brush to apply powder. It does the job perfectly.
Fan Brush - This fan brush is lovely. It's packed full of bristles, unlike most fan brushes. It's quite large and can be used for highlighting or contouring.
Foundation Buffer - is a quite dense, flat top brush that blends foundation in flawlessly.
Angled Contour Buffer - this is similar to the foundation buffer but has an angled edge and it's slightly smaller. It works well to blend in cream contour products, the angled head makes it easy to get right into the hollows of the cheeks. I also really like this for foundation.
Contour Buffer - this is ideal for cream contour, the small head blends the product out really well. Iconic do say this can be used with powder products but I don't like it for powder. The brush is too dense and makes it difficult to blend.
Angled Blush Brush - the name sums this up perfectly.
Fluffy Taped Blending Brush - this has become my favourite highlighter brush. The brush is precise enough to apply highlighter exactly where you want it but fluffy enough to blend it out!
Foundation Brush - this is a traditional shaped foundation. I personally don't use these. But this feels super soft.
Concealer Blending - is a small, densely packed brush that makes blending concealer out super easy. I found this works really well for blending concealer on smaller areas like pigmentation or blemishes.
I think I might do a part Two. And include some other affordable brush brands. So let me know if you'd like to see that.
Have you tried any of these? What are your favourite affordable brushes?
Until next time...
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