Essential Brushes

Hello all!  I'm starting to collect makeup brushes.  Let's just say...the brushes I have now are pathetic and temporary until I can afford nicer ones.  Desperate for anything, I literally picked up a $10 mini makeup brush set at Kroger.  But it's awful, doesn't work well at all.  It's better than nothing. However, I should be going to Sephora with my mom for my birthday next week and I want to pick up a couple brushes from there. 

So, firstly, I really need something to apply my liquid foundation... what kind of brush works best for that?  The "foundation brush" that came with my mini set is so terrible I just stopped using it.  I wash my hands very thoroughly, then apply foundation with my fingers.  I feel I'd get a better result if I had a nice brush.

Then, what would you say are the MOST ESSENTIAL brushes?  If you have specific Sephora brands or kinds you want to suggest, I'm open to that as well.  Budget is tight, but I definitely need some better tools to apply my makeup.

Thanks in advance for any advice you have!

It is not an easy task to decide that which brush is best for makeup. There are probably more makeup brush which you can easily use it for makeup, most of the women spend lot of money for purchasing fancy brush. But they are not long lasting and reliable, traditional foundation brush is the best and essential brush for makeup. 

I personally think it is really important to buy good quality brushes even if they're a bit expensive. It's an investment!

I think what people consider essential brushes depends on their individual styles. For example, I love blushes and have several different brush depending on the form (cream, powder, etc) but other might have more eye brushes.

I don't really wear foundation except for special occasions. Whenever I do, it is usually with the MAC 187 stippling brush and a beautyblender sponge.

My favorite brands are probably Sephora, MAC and Nars for brushes. The Body shop brushes are also good and tend to be a little less expensive.

Here are my essentials:

Concealer: Sephora Multitasker concealer brush #21

Under eye concealer: Sephora pro airbrush concealer #57

Eye brushes: MAC 219, The Body Shop angles brush

Powder Brush: Urban Decay Good karma optical blurring brush

Blush Brush: Nars Yachiyo brush

Contour Brush: Nars ita brush

Hope that helps!

I actually prefer a sponge applicator for foundation. The BeautyBlender runs $20, but RealTechniques has a clone for about a quarter of the price. RealTechniques, overall, has pretty good brushes at low prices. They also have some 'essentials' sets. Those are sold at Ulta, and I've seen some at Wal-Mart, though there wasn't much of a selection.

e.l.f. also has some decent brushes in their line -- they're not high-end, but they do the job. I really like their angled crease brush for eyeshadow. Some folks recommend Sonia Kashuk, but I've found them to be sorta meh. 

I've had pretty good luck with a wide variety of Sephora-brand brushes, if you're set on those. They have some decent kits, but they get more spendy than the RT or e.l.f. ones. I'm a brush junkie, though -- every time I see something I don't have, or that's nicer than one I have, I get all 'MUST HAVE ALL THE BRUSHES.'

As far as essentials? I think the following list is good for basics:

• A crease brush for eyeshadow -- some prefer the pencil-tip ones, but I really like the angle crease brush better. 
• A c-brush for eyeshadow on the lid. You can also use this for the browbone. I prefer a fluffy blending brush for it, but that's just me.
• A fluffy blending brush to blend the color edges for eyeshadow.
• Either a BeautyBlender style sponge or a dense foundation brush. I find the sponge gives a more smooth result, but your mileage may vary. 
• A concealer brush, if you wear it. Some prefer the flat, small ones, some prefer the fluffier ones. 
• A blush brush. It shouldn't be too fluffy or the color will wind up all over the place.
• A powder brush for finishing off -- this should be your big, soft, fluffy one.
• A brow comb or brush for shaping your eyebrows.

Also good to have:

• A lash comb to help get out mascara globs
• A bronzer brush, if you use it. 
• A square-tip 'push' brush for using powder or cream eyeliner. 
• A stippling brush for blushes that are highly pigmented
• A lip brush for more precision in applying lip products
• Spare mascara spoolies for glop removal
• An angled liner brush, which is actually more useful for filling in brows, imo

If you want an infographic to work with, I found this page to be really useful. (This is not my blog, it's just something I pinned a while ago.)  http://www.maskcara.com/2012/12/14/the-science-of-brushes/ 

I would recommended getting the beauty blender from Sephora. It seems like you like using your fingers, and the beauty blender is a great step forward from that. I would also recommend a good eye-shadow brush set from Sephora. Their line of brushes are either a hit or miss by me, so I would look for the actual brushes it comes in the kit individually in store to see what they are like. Also, I would highly recommend the Marc Jacobs line of brushes, they are pricey, but absolutely fantastic.

Also! Ulta has all the Real Techniques brushes on sale right now -- BOGO50. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />