While it may be obvious, it is important to note that good makeup brushes are the foundation, or building blocks of doing astounding makeup. Even if you are using makeup that performs well, if you apply it with an inferior brush it is sure to look horrible. Today I am sharing my entire makeup brush collection, and the purpose of this post is twofold. On one hand, I am here to prove that you do not need expense brushes to look your best. You will find that the number of brands featured here are limited to the brands that I trust the most. The second purpose of this post is to help you discover a new brush to suit your needs. For example, you may be struggling to find a bronzer brush that works for your everyday needs, but may encounter one in this post to try. You may be taken aback by the size of my makeup brush collection. It is impossible to use all of the brushes on a daily basis, and there are many that I have never used. However, I pay next to nothing for my brushes. The majority of my elf brushes are purchased from 50% off online sales, and they sell for $3.00 a piece anyway. I get my Real Techniques brushes from discount stores like TJMaxx and Ross for half the price. You can find many wet n wild brushes at dollar stores. For brushes like Ecotools and Royal and Langnickel, I wait until they are on clearance. While this post is long, I am confident that there are benefits to be reaped. I will only be commenting on select brushes to provide more information, such as to say that I use the brush for a particular purpose. Always keep in mind that you do not need to use your brushes for their stated purpose. Let’s get started with my makeup brush collection.
Royal & Langnickel brushes
Powder brush
The first brush in my makeup brush collection is a powder brush by Royal and Langnickel. In all honesty it sheds horribly, even on my face during use. It is the only brush in my collection that does that, however, I may have a bad one.
Duo fiber brush
Quick contour brush
Highlight and glow brush
Comb/lash brush
Crease/smudge brush
Medium eye shader brush
Eye shader brush
Brow brush
Angle shader brush
Smoky eye brush
Ecotools brushes
Flat foundation brush
Eye/lip blur brush
Controlled setting brush
Next in my makeup brush collection, the controlled setting brush works perfectly as an everyday highlighting brush.
Highlighting fan brush
Pointed concealer brush
Continuing on with my makeup brush collection, I use this pointed concealer brush with concealer palettes. It makes it easy to get every last bit of the product out of the pan.
Full shadow brush
Detail lip brush
Angled blush brush
Petite eye shading brush
Eye shadow brush
Pressing on with my makeup brush collection, the eye shadow brush is definitely great for daily use for packing eyeshadow onto the eyelid.
Angled crease brush
Eye liner brush
Spoolie
Angled face brush
I used the angled face brush from my makeup brush collection as a contouring brush for a long time. It would also be good for blush and bronzer.
Detail lip/liner brush
Airbrushed finishing brush
Full powder brush
Real Techniques brushes
Shading brush
Contour brush
Bronzer brush
In my opinion, this bronzer brush from my makeup brush collection is much too large for bronzer. Unless, of course, you want to bronze your entire face.
Large foundation brush
Precision contour brush
Smudge brush
The smudge brush from my makeup brush collection works well for smudging eyeshadow around the lower lash line or eyeliner. I like to apply eyeshadow and spray this brush with setting spray to make my own high-impact eyeliner.
Domed shadow brush
Full coverage eye brush
Square lip brush
Expert face brush
The expert face brush blends any type of foundation like a dream and is one of my favorites from my makeup brush collection. It works great for powder, liquid, and cream foundations.
Contour brush
Buffing brush
BB/CC brush
The BB/CC brush also works well for foundation application.
Powder brush
This powder brush is large with super fluffy bristles. It provides an airbrushed finish to your foundation.
Pointed foundation brush
This brush is too small for foundation application. It would take you hours to finish applying your foundation.
Detailer brush
Prep brush
The prep brush is intended to help you apply skincare products, such as moisturizer, or primer. I still prefer to use my fingers.
Concealer brush
While I have never used this brush for concealer, it works great for contouring the nose. I do have a brush that I favor for contouring my nose over this one, but it is not bad.
Bold Metals 200 Oval Shadow
Bold Metals 101 Triangle Foundation
Bold Metals 103 Angled Powder
Bold Metals 102 Triangle Concealer
Bold Metals 203 Tapered Shadow
Bold Metals 300 Tapered Blush
I used the tapered blush brush daily for a long time and it works well. It reminds me a lot of wet n wild’s pro brush line blush brush from the Flights of Fancy collection
Duo-fiber eye brush
Duo-fiber face brush
Duo-fiber contour brush
This brush does work for contouring, but I typically use it to brush away loose powder after baking. Duo fiber brushes in general work well for that purpose because they can sweep away what you want, without removing coverage.
Sculpting brush
Duo-fiber contour brush
Multitask cheek brush
The only thing that I can think to do with the multitask cheek brush is to apply blush. It works okay, but I prefer a slightly larger brush.
Targeted blending brush
Strobing fan brush
Stippling brush
Setting brush
Retractible lip brush
Fan brush
Lip brush
Lip blur brush
Silicone liner brush
When I first laid eyes the silicone liner brush I knew that I had to have it because it is so unique! I have yet to see another eyeliner brush like it. I like to use it with gel eyeliner. To me, it does not make sense to use with with other eyeliner formats. Having to paint the tip with an existing felt tip or liquid eyeliner is an extra step and waste of time. It works okay, I was hoping for more. I think it does take practice.
Brow brush
The brow brush is my goto brush for applying brow powder. I leave brow pomade to a smaller, more precise brush.
Base shadow brush
Fine liner brush
Lash-brow groomer
Out of all of the groomers that I have, this one by Real Techniques features a fine metal comb designed to separate your lashes after mascara application. I have tried to use it but it does bother me to have a tool of this nature that close to my eyes.
Slanted brow spoolie
While any spoolie will do the job of taming the brows and blending out product, I prefer this one over all of the others in my collection. It is not so much the slant that has me excited, but the small size that gets right up in there. After all, top brow products such as Benefit’s Gimme Brow and Essence’s Make Me Brow feature a spoolie applicator just like this one.
Deluxe crease brush
The deluxe crease brush is the perfect size, shape, and density to use as a blank or clean blending brush. After I apply eyeshadow I use this brush to blend out the edges with no product on it.
Precision smudge brush
The precision smudge brush is perfect for applying eyeshadow along the lower lash line.
Slanted arch definer
Slanted brow brush
Sallowness correcting brush
Each of these correcting brushes are intended to be used with the corresponding color correcting concealer. The brushes themselves are the same, just color-coded so that you do not mix the colors on your face.
Redness correcting brush
Dark circle correcting brush
Dark spot correcting brush
elf brushes
Beautifully Precise Collection
101 Powder brush
102 Multi blender massager brush
105 Airbrush blender brush
104 Sculpting brush
106 Airbrush stipple brush
201 Eyeshadow brush
While the 201 brush is intended to apply eyeshadow all over the lid, I like it for the outer corner.
204 Eyeliner brush
203 Dual-sided eyebrow brush
108 Blending eye brush
205 Micro contouring brush
At first I was intimidated by the micro contouring brush because I figured it would make my contour look harsh and be hard to blend with. It actually works very well and has become an everyday staple. I also thought it was too large to contour the nose well. As it turns out this is the only brush that does not remove coverage from my nose while contouring! It provides the kind of contour that I want quickly and easily with straight lines. I cannot say enough good things about it.
202 Smudge brush
e.l.f. brushes
Eyebrow duo brush
I use the duo eye brush with brow pomade because of the small, precision-angled bristled.
Contouring brush
Sculpting face brush
Ultimate kabuki brush
Selfie ready powder brush
Small tapered brush
The small tapered brush is great for setting the under eye area. I also use it to apply banana and other light-colored contouring powder to my face.
Eye liner brush
Powder blurring brush
Smudge eye sponge
Angled blush brush
Contour brush
Powder brush
Highlighting brush
Mineral powder brush
Blush brush
Small stipple brush
I do own a lot of stipple brushes in my makeup brush collection, but the size and shape of this one makes it my favorite for cream blush application.
Defining eye brush
Eye crease brush
Angled contour brush
Lip defining brush
Fan brush
Concealer brush
Brow comb & brush
Blending brush
Smudge brush
Angled eyeliner brush
Blending eye brush
Slanted kabuki brush
Kabuki face brush
The only thing I can ever think to use kabuki brushes for is all-over powder application.
Eyeshadow brush
The eyeshadow brush from my makeup brush collection has been my everyday brush to apply eyeshadow to my eyelid for years. It is the perfect size and shape for the job, and it never falls apart.
Crease brush
Ever since I got this crease brush I have been using it as my only crease brush. It may be inexpensive but it does what it needs to do.
Detail crease brush
I use the detail crease brush on special occasions when I want to deepen the crease.
Pointed powder brush
Selfie ready detail perfector brush
Silicone glitter applicator
Silicone smudger
Small smudge brush
e.l.f. Beautifully Bare brushes
Blending brush
e.l.f. designed this brush for use with their Beautifully Bare cream blushes, but you can use it for anything that you can think of.
Eye blending brush
Eye shading brush
Liquid highlighter brush
e.l.f. Silver Brush Collection
Complexion brush
Blush brush
Flawless concealer brush
Eyeshadow C brush
Eyebrow duo brush
Powder brush
Fan brush
Crease brush
Blending brush
Small precision brush
e.l.f. Luxe Brush Collection
Blush and bronzer brush
Defining brush
Eyeliner brush
Eyeshadow brush
Foundation brush
Lip brush
Powder brush
e.l.f. Stipple Brush Travel Set
Eyeshadow stipple brush
Small stipple brush
Stipple brush
Tapered stipple brush
Nyx Brushes
Pro fan brush
I have tried the pro fan and powder brush to apply bronzer, and I think I like the powder brush better.
Pro flat foundation brush
Pro powder brush
wet n wild Brushes
Pro Brush Line
Blush brush
Dome pencil eye brush
Flat contour brush
Fluffy blending brush
Large powder brush
Precision flat face brush
Precision foundation brush
Precision setting brush
Tapered blending brush
Tapered highlighting brush
Blush brush
Bronzer brush
This bronzer brush will easily be my new daily bronzer brush out of my makeup brush collection. I have yet to decide if it works better being used on it’s side or tip. The only time it does not work well is when you have a bronzer that is close to being used up and the product is mainly around the rim of the pan. This brush is too flimsy to pick the product up, forcing me to use a fluffier and stiffer brush.
Highlighting brush
You can use this highlighting brush on it’s edge for intense application, or on it’s top for a diffused application.
Essential brushes
Unicorn highlighting brush
The unicorn highlighting brush from my makeup brush collection is designed to be used with rainbow highlighters. It is wider and can spread out when pressed in the pan to reach all of the colors.
Blush brush
Contour brush
Flat top brush
Large stipple brush
Small stipple brush
Fan brush
Foundation brush
Small concealer brush
Large concealer brush
Small eyeshadow brush
Smoky liner brush
Angled liner brush
This is my favorite brush to use with gel eyeliner. The only downfall is that it never comes 100% clean.
Crease brush
Large eyeshadow brush
As you can tell, the large eyeshadow brush gets a lot of love. I use it to apply white or light-colored eyeshadow as a base for other colors all over my lid, and also for brow bone and inner corner highlight.
Kabuki brush
Fergie Center Stage
The Louder Powder
I used The Louder Powder as a powder brush daily for years.
A Crush on Blush
The final brush in my makeup brush collection that I will be commenting on is a blush brush. It works great for bronzer application, and I have used it much over the years.
In Your Shadow
The Perfect Groom
Others
Eyeshadow brush
On Edge Creme Eyeliner brush
If you have made it to the end of my makeup brush collection, I applaud you and thank you for your perseverance. I would like to hear in the comments if you use any of these brushes, have discovered any that you will be trying, or what you think of these brush brands. Also, let’s not forget that just as important as the brushes themselves are, so is proper cleansing. Definitely check out my brush washing tutorial if you missed it. Until next time, continue to let your true beauty shine.