Brushes

I will give you a run down of my top 10 brushes, the brand and what I use them each for!

1. Beauty Blender (Sephora or Beauty Blender website ($19.99) I use my Beauty Blender to apply both my foundation and my concealer. The Beauty Blender applies foundation flawlessly with a dewy finish (I prefer a matte finish, so I apply powder afterwards, but if you like dewy this is your method). It truly gives an airbrushed finish with coverage that lasts all day!
2. Sigma  Flat Kabuki F80 Brush - ($20 Sigmabeauty.com) This brush is my holy grail brush. It's amazing. Period. Sigma is the best of the best in the world of make-up- even better than MAC and Nars. Yes, I just said that. I have had my eyes on this brush, and several others from Sigma, for awhile, but Sigma can only be ordered online. Sigma is about half the price of MAC or Nars and just as good or even better! I plan to order more brushes when that perfect free shipping and promo code offer presents itself. You know me! ;) This brush applies foundations remarkably well. The bristles are soft, yet dense and the coverage is flawless! This is my must-have brush about all others!
3. Bare Minerals Precision Face Brush - ($32 at Ulta) I use this brush to apply my powder foundation and finishing powders. I have had this brush for quite awhile and it's amazing. I use it all over to give my face a final once over before I put on a finishing spray.  
4. Hot Pink Angled Blush Brush - (BH Cosmetics Pop Art Collection Set $20.95) I bought this set on a whim after hearing great reviews and for the price, it did not disappoint. This was a 10 piece set; I use 5 of the brushes everyday and two or three of them occasionally. I usually do not buy brush sets because it seems wasteful, as I never seem to use them all, but for this price I couldn't pass it up. I use this brush to apply my blush. The angle makes for easy application!
5. Light Pink Powder Brush - (BH Cosmetics Pop Art Collection Set $20.95) I use this as my blending brush to make sure there are no harsh lines from my bronzer, powder, foundation or blush! It's fluffy, soft and does a great job blending out lines!
6. Yellow Complexion Blending Brush - (BH Cosmetics Pop Art Collection Set $20.95) Since I do not own a true couture brush, I use this instead and, for now, it is doing the trick. I have my heart set on a Nars Ita Kabuki brush ($55 yikes!) but they have been sold out forever! I use this nifty little brush to contour my forehead, nose and cheeks. Then, I go in with the BH Cosmetics Powder Brush to blend everything out.
7. Blue Tapered Eyeshoadow Blending Brush - (BH Cosmetics Pop Art Collection Set $20.95) I use this brush for two purposes: 1. an all over the lid eyeshadow brush and/or to blend out all lines in my eyeshadow. Honestly, there are probably better brushes out there for eye shadow, but I think it's more about the quality of the eyeshadow. One of my more favorite eyeshadow application tools is my finger! It does the trick too!  
8. Green Fluffy Angled Eyeshadow Brush - (BH Cosmetics Pop Art Collection Set $20.95) This is my go-to brush for eyeshadow application all over the lid. There seems to be very little fallout with the shadow when using this brush. Again, this brush collection is super soft and I have lost no bristles after months of months of use.
9. Purple Real Techniques Shading Brush - (Kohl's, Ulta, Target etc. $6.00) Real Techniques brushes have a great reputation for being a good brush that is super affordable for everyone. I use this brush to pack on eyeshadow, especially in the creases.
10. MAC 208 Angled Eye Liner Brush - (Nordstrom $20) This brush was a great purchase for me! I can finally apply my most favorite gel eye liner with a steady hand and get that perfect "wing" I have always wanted! It's pretty spendy for such a small brush, but I truly can't do the liner without it!



Alright, so now that I told you about my top 10 brushes, let me tell you how I clean and take care of them!

I have used the MAC brush cleaner for a very long time and I like it. I really do. Here is the downside- it's $15 a bottle and I go through about 1 bottle per month, as I clean my Beauty Blender daily and my other brushes 1-3 times a week. It just became too expensive.




After some research I saw that many people just use Dawn dish soap to clean their brushes, so I tried it and I have never been happier!

The Dawn cuts through the oil on the brushes and the anti-bacterial agent assures that the brushes are clean and bacteria-free. I mix the Dawn with a little bit of Pert shampoo and conditioner in one. That gives it some softness and also makes the brushes smell really good! This shampoo and Dawn was under $4 and should last me a year. You can't beat that! Anyone else clean their brushes with something similar?  













XoXo