Your Best Makeup Brushes

Aug 6, 2011

Angela A.

So I spend a lot of money on brushes and yet my e.l.f. ones have been the very best that I truly love. I have so many brushes from Mac, to Lancome, to Fashion Fair, Sigma and much more. But my Fav is my e.l.f. brushes I don't know why but I guess my hands seem to love them lol. But no matter what I feel you can never have to many lolol. Totally amount of brushes I have 468 lol thats a lot...
So question how many brushes do you all have and which ones have been the best for you?

Aug 6, 2011

Drea L.

I have ELF but mostly MAC - but my fav brushes are the Kirkland Borghese brush set Costco releases every holiday season. Mine are from the '09 set & I LOVEEE them so much more than my MAC. :)

Aug 6, 2011

Angela A.

Oh wow thoses sound really nice do they do it every year? I would love to invest in some 

Aug 6, 2011

Drea L.

Yep. Every year :) Every set is around $20-25 for 8-14 brushes. Depending on what they release. :D

Aug 6, 2011

Soma S.

I have many, but I have favorites from ELF, Sigma, Ecotools, Hakuhodo, MAC, Louise Young and Real Techniques. Each brand has a stand out brush, so I have this habit of wanting to collect them all! I haven't purchased an entire set in which I liked each and everyone - but the closest would have to be Hakuhodo or Ecotools.

Aug 6, 2011

Angela A.

I know right I love collecting brushes so many and my husband ask all the time when is enough enough.... lol I do not believe in that there could never be enough [=

Aug 6, 2011

Tamara R.

468 ..LOL! I wouldn't want to wash all of those.


I've got favourite brushes from ELF's Studio Line.. kind of surprised me at first. I agree with Soma though, I think every brand has a few star brushes.. that's what I'm interested in.

Aug 6, 2011

karissa b.

I mainly own Sigma brushes, and do not own one that I don't like. I love them and haven't been disappointed at all. I own a few Sephora brushes where the bristles always fall out, no fun! I think I own around 10 or so brushes.

Aug 6, 2011

Dylan P.

Ooh man, that's a good question, I've never counted my brushes... LEMMECHECK
...Okay, I've got 42 brushes that I can find. I've got Quo, Annabelle, Coastal Scents, MAC, and some unnamed ones from cosmetology school.
I'd say every brand has their best brushes for sure, like the MAC 227 and the 217. My favourite from Coastals Scents is the Synthetic Angle Blush and Define brush-
http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm/product/1482_37/synthetic-angle-blush-and-define.cfm
It's great for highlighting, contouring, and blush all at once, and it's great that it's so thin you can get as precise as you please!
And Quo's brushes are alright, they definitely do make nice eye brushes, but both of my powder brushes' ferrules came right off of the handle. Luckily I was able to reattach it though.
I think my favourites are my MAC brushes, I've got quite a few, but one can always have more!

Aug 7, 2011

Angela A.

Right on I love all of your comments! There are some brushes you all are talking about that I have never heard of, that I might have to try out. Thank you all so very much for all this great information!!

Aug 7, 2011

Shelly T.

Brushes I Currently Use
MAC = 2 (217, 239)

Sonia Kashuk = 2 (Bent Eyeliner, Concealer (though it doesn't get used much))

Studio Tools (Target) = 1 (Foundation Brush)

Sigma = 7 (E25 x 2 (one regular-size, one travel size), E30, E45, E55, F40, F80)

EcoTools = 2 (angle brush x 2)

e.l.f. Professional (white handles) = 2 (Brow Comb and Brush, Eyelash and Brow Wand)

e.l.f. Studio (black handles) = 6 (Eyeshadow "C", Contour (eyeshadow), Face Kabuki, Powder, Complexion, Fan Brush

Walmart/Studio Basics = 2 (Powder Brush; Duo-Fiber Brush)

TOTAL = 24

* * *

Brushes I Have but Don't Use Anymore
Sigma = 1 (F60)

Walmart/Studio Basics = 5 (dual-ended Foundation and Concealer; Eye Shadow Brush; Flat Eyeliner Brush; Angle Brush; dual-ended Eyeshadow Brush and Sponge Applicator)

Posh = 3 (Concealing Duo, Dome Eye Shadow)

Philosophy = 1 (Brow Brush)

Jane = 1 (Kabuki)

e.l.f. Professional (white handles) = 2 (Total Face Brush, Lip Defining Brush)

TOTAL = 13

* * *

What I Used To Have but Have Tossed
Sonia Kashuk = 1 (Medium Eyeshadow Brush)

e.l.f. Professional = 4 (Foundation Brush, Blending Eye Brush, Concealer, Blushing/Bronzing/Blending)

TOTAL = 5

* * *

That's an overall total of 42 brushes I've owned in the last several years. But there are others still that I want -- better duo fiber brush (a la MAC 187) for my blush application, a contour brush (a la MAC 109), there's a Hakuhodo brush similar to the MAC 138 that I want, and I'm definitely purchasing the MAC 226 when it gets repromoted with MAC Me Over. I also want to try some Louise Young brushes (the company recently got a Twitter account; I saw a tweet saying they'll be in US stores next year! Yay!), some Real Techniques ones, Lauren Luke's brushes, Roque Cozzette brushes... Err, I think I'm becoming a makeup brush-a-holic. *nods*

My overall favourite brush is probably the MAC 217, though. Definitely one I'll buy again at some point.

Aug 7, 2011

Ashleigh R.

I got mine from Sallys. I love them! Look for them in the makeup section <3

Aug 7, 2011

Soma S.

Shelly, you'll LOVE Louise Young brushes! I just got mine last month... and I'm seriously going to save up for more. I got the LY 34, 38, 38a and their pointed liner brush... such GREAT quality brushes! They're so much softer than MAC brushes, but still enough to do the detail work you need. I'm excited to get the 226 to see how it stands up to my LY38 and LY38a...

I know which brush you're looking at from Hakuhodo too, I have the S103, and it's a dream to work with. I'm such a sucker for tapered face brushes. I have the MAC 138, but then I really have to condition it often. Otherwise, it works really well.

I'm curious to see what the Sigma dupes are like though...

Haha, I just wrote a blog about tapered face brushes too... so if any of you are interested: http://www.kabukivoodoo.com/2011/08/obsessed-tapered-brushes.html

Aug 8, 2011

Theresa G.

OMG thats a lot of brushes! I have about 60 but 20 are my personal ones. All the rest are for clients. I like to have doubles of certain brushes cause one style brush I use for multiple things. My all time FAV brushes are my sigmas : )

Aug 8, 2011

Rai C.

I don't know how many makeup brushes I own because I never bothered to count them. My favorite brushes are from e.l.f. Studio & Essential line, Sonia Kashuk, Sigma, Bdellium Tools, Studio Tools, Eco Tools, & Paris Presents.

Aug 8, 2011

Alexis B.

I have more brushes coming in the mail soon from ELF! I think I have all of the studio collection and a few from the others. For the prices, you just cant beat them! My favorite is the flat top multipupose brush. I use it to apply foundation and I feel like I have found my holy grail! I want to build my collection with sigma brushes bc I have heard lots of great reviews about them.

But I cannot believe you own that many brushes, let alone counted all of them!! I dont know if I could necessarily suggest any for you bc you probably already have them!! lol

Aug 8, 2011

Angelique D.

I can't afford high end brushes, but the Sonia Kashuk brushes have worked amazingly on me. I also own an Ecotools set of makeup brushes & love those as well. I own a few brushes from the ELF studio line & love them too. I'm pretty sure that there are some more expensive brushes that work really well, I just have to be careful to choose something that really stands out from the cheaper ones. 

Aug 9, 2011

Shelly T.

@Soma: The Hakuhodo one I'm looking at is its less expensive sister, the 203.

http://www.hakuhodousa.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_18&products_id=186

(There's a third dupe for the 138 by Hakuhodo -- B103BkSL.)

@Becky: Sigma's eye brushes are $9 USD; the face brushes start at $14. :)

Aug 9, 2011

Soma S.

They all have the same brush heads, and to be honest, I wish I had purchased the 200 series [the one you linked] because they look more durable and weighty than the S100 series. As much as I love the gold and vermillion handles, they're featherweight, which is a bit odd to me for application. I would have purchased the basic piece brush set, but they didn't have the brush you were looking at... [boo.] - either way, you'll love it.  =D

Aug 9, 2011

Iva P.

I own a total of 18 brushes. My favourites are the MAC Sm Stippling Brush and the Royal & Langnickel angled shader brush from their Pro collection. I did purchase a natural fiber 13 piece brushroll from R&L at IMATS Vancouver but to be completely 100% honest I am a little disappointed in the quality. I still use them simply because I'm not ready to purchase new ones yet. Has anyone tried the Royal & Langnickel brushes? I believe they are from the UK =)

Aug 9, 2011

Kassie K.

Does anyone use art brushes for their makeup? I do and its WAY cheaper than purchasing, say a MAC brush. I mostly use the ones from Loew Cornell(at least for eye brushes)

Aug 10, 2011

Tamara R.

@Iva
I've used R&L - I got a set from IMATS a few years ago. They're not my absolute favourite, but I do enjoy a few of them.

@Kassie
I've got a few Loew Cornell & Royal brushes.. sadly, most that catch my eye aren't all that less expensive that actual makeup brushes.

Aug 10, 2011

Kirbie S.

I loooove my ELF brushes! They are great for a 14 yr old that doesn't get money often :)
@Kassie- I have! I have a flat brush that I bought that I use as an eyeshadow brush and it works great!

Aug 10, 2011

Amelia R.

I LOVE Ecotools. They're fantastic. I got the sort of "starter set" two years ago and they are still in mint condition. Another good brand is called Techniques, but I've only ever found them at Ulta.

Aug 10, 2011

Whitney D.

I have 22. I guess I would say elf studio line set would be my favorite set. As for ones I pick up a lot....Urban decay eye shadow brush, studio tools crease brush, and elf liner brushes. Everything else I just use the elf studio set.