The Makeup Brush Collective Part 2 : Brushes I use for Eye Makeup

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We follow on from Part 1 of the Brush Collective (where I showed you my preferred brushes for face makeup) and head to the brushes I use for eye makeup. This is rather lengthy, as there is a lot for me to show you! Not because I’m showing off, but because I use different types of brushes for different applications and there are different brushes in each category.

makeup brushes for eye makeup

I was never good at applying eye makeup. I actually started out using my fingers (which I still use in a pinch especially with cream eyeshadow sticks). Over the years however, with a lot of experimentation, I’d worked out the type of brushes I liked to use for a specific purpose, simply to make my life easier. I’m no professional makeup artist and I’m not even very good at doing eye makeup, so if you’re just like me, then these suggestions may help you get that one step closer to better looking eyeshadow application 🙂

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Sigma E25 Blending Brush : Affordable, Multi-functional and Does the job

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I know there are many fans of Sigma Brushes out there, but I can’t say I number amongst them as I think they have their hits and misses as every brand does. I do however, have a couple I like and use often and because they’re pretty affordable, I thought I’d introduce you to them.

We kick off with this, the Sigma E25 Blending Brush.

sigma e25 blending brush

Mine comes with a shorter silver travel sized handle as it was a free gift with an order I made quite many years ago. It is however sold as a full sized brush with the usual long black lacquered handle for an affordable $12.

As the name implies, this is a blending brush for eyeshadow but over the years, I’ve found that it does a lot more than just blend shadow.

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Your Say: Do you need expensive makeup brushes?

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I haven’t been buying a lot of makeup lately (I’ve developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with other things like skincare and gasp! scented candles) but there’s one thing I’ve been indulging in recently and that’s makeup brushes. Not just any makeup brush, I recently took the plunge and went for a couple of high end, pricey makeup brushes notably from Tom Ford, Hakuhodo and Wayne Goss.

So, I was talking about it online to my friend who’s my sounding board and we got round to discussing these really expensive makeup brushes. I have started seeing a lot of these luxury makeup brushes appear in people’s blogs and Instagram feeds and how everyone goes “OMG you NEED this! It’s perfect for applying blush/eyeshadow/powder” blah blah and I can’t help feeling that it’s not all true, because statements like this sway people and make them irrational.

do you need expensive makeup brushes

Despite the fact I do own some luxury brushes and I enjoy using them, I don’t think anyone actually really “needs” these brushes at all. In fact, while I agree that you need good makeup brushes, I don’t agree that you have to sell a kidney to buy that Hakuhodo or Tom Ford brush, no matter how amazing it is, because you could quite easily get similar results from a more affordable brand, but a GOOD brush.

I think it’ll be interesting to hear your thoughts on this, or if you have compared a luxury brush to a regular one and think that my statement isn’t quite accurate 🙂

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Tip & Tutorial: How to apply cream, liquid or gel blush or cheek tint without staining your fingers

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apply cream blush without staining fingers

I have a love-hate relationship with cream and liquid blushes or cheek stains. On the one hand, I love how a good cream or liquid blush will sit and move with your skin, giving you that barely there, yet natural glow from within your skin. A cheek stain will stay with you long after your powder blush is gone.

Yet, most of these cream or liquid products call for the use of fingers for best results. Quite often you hear of people telling you to work quickly with your fingers to spread and blend the colour on your cheeks, especially if its a product that sets quickly like the Benefit cheek stains. Oh boy, do they set quickly!

Herein lies the problem. I hate how these products stain my fingers. Have you experienced the same thing? It’s especially true of products like the Estee Lauder Cheek Rush gel blush or the Benefit cheek stains like Cha Cha Tint I’ve shown you here. They live up to their ‘stain’ reputation and its a right bitch especially in the morning. So, I shied away from cream/liquid/gel/stain blushes for ages.

That was, until I tried a technique that changed things 180° for me! Now, I can use cream/liquid/gel/stain blushes, it is so much quicker to apply and most importantly I no longer have to contend with stained fingertips! 😀

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