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Because the price not too high,and the quality can meet personal use.For professional makeup artist,the performance of RT, EcoTools and e.l.f. are not good enough,MAC and HAKUHODO's brushes are the best.

 
MAC and Real Techniques are my favs. I've got a couple Japonesque I like too. Did not care for ELF, Ecotools, or Sonia Kashuk at all!

 
My friend Avra suggested me before 3 years ago she is beauty expert and i am her student now I have Bh Cosmetics Brushes because it includes both synthetic and natural bristles.

 
I have almost all the Real Techniques brushes (except the setting and the single eye one) and I love then. My favorite is the expert face brush (I now own 3, I like it that much), the buffing-I use this for contouring and wish wish wish they sold it individually cuz then is have 3 too, and the powder brush is to die for. Its giant and fluffy. I dislike all the super mini brushes and the liner brush. The rest I love.

 
I own many different makeup brushes from different brands. So heres the list c: 

Sigma ; 

E15

E17

E21

E25

E30

E35

E45

E55

E60

E75

E80

F05

F15

F20

F35

F40

F50

F60

F65

F80

F88

As you just may be able to tell, sigma is pretty much my go to brush brand. I absolutely love their brushes for quality, price, and overall performance.  

Mac; 

217

219

224

239

163

184

I don't own as many Mac brushes as I do others mainly because the price, although I do think they are great quality and last forever without shedding. 

Ecotools;

Large powder brush

Airbrush concealer brush

Limited Edition Kabuki Set

Good quality and great price, although they don't perform as well as say sigma or mac. I have experienced slight shedding.

Laura Mercier; 

Creme Eye color brush

Smoky eye liner brush

Finishing brush

Brow definer brush

Creme cheek color brush

E.l.f;

Kabuki face brush

Studio stipple brush

Studio small stipple brush

Studio eyeshadow c brush

Studio concealer brush

Essential eye shadow brush

Essential blending eye brush

Essential eye crease brush

Anastasia ;

Mini duo brush #7

Makeup forever;

Powder fan brush large 134

Powder brush medium 126

Highlighter brush small 140

Buffer blush brush 154

Shader brush medium 226

Angled eyeliner brush 262

Blender brush large 242

Bent eyeliner brush 260

Paint brush small 408

Real Techniques;

Powder brush

shading brush

stippling brush

And I have a few misc. (chanel, Nars, sonia kashuk, japonesque, Bh cosmetics, etc.) 

Over all Sigma and Makeup forever are my favorite and most used. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Asherdaniel /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  My friend Avra suggested me before 3 years ago she is beauty expert and i am her student now I have Bh Cosmetics Brushes because it includes both synthetic and natural bristles.
I really like the BH Cosmetics Eco Brush set, but I also have a few Mary Kay brushes that I really, really love. I've had them for years and they are in awesome condition still.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by delaniamarvella /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Hi! I kinda have the same question, except I live in Indonesia, which means I have to ship most of my brushes from abroad. Which brand do you think is worth investing in? Because shipping costs a lot so I don't want make any wrong choices :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
Its a good question.. I live in Malaysia and i have a the same doubt too :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
I have brush brands from E.L.F to MAC. E.L.F brushes are a cheaper alternative however, you get what you pay for, they often fall a part if you are not gentle with them. MAC brushes have honestly never failed for me however, they are a bit on the pricey side, if you are willing to fork out a few hundred dollars for some MAC brushes, go for it! I also have Sigma brushes, which are honestly AMAZING, they are cheaper than MAC and comparable in quality. Sonia Kashuk has really nice brushes as well, she has cheaper ones and ones a bit more expensive, but still cheaper than MAC. Hope this helps! 

 
My brushes were all bought seperately, I never got into sets, I usually buy as I need. I have several stippling brushes but weirdly have found the e.l.f. one works the best for me and really gives the most airbrushed finish I want. I have several eye brushes from all over, a lancome one I've had forever, revlon, MAC, estee lauder and a too faced set I really love for blending. I just recently started using eco tools for face brushes and they are excellent, the best I've ever used. Sonia Kashuk has some really good ones, I have a few random ones from that line, she makes a really good pointed eye shadow brush, kind of stiffer, and a really good brush for gel eyeliner.

 
I'm probably in the minority, but I don't love the MAC brushes, they are good and work well but for the price I don't think they are the best. I like e.l.f for the most part, they have a really good stippling brush I love, and I have several eye brushesfrom them. I have several brushes from blush to eyeshadow from lancome that I think are excellent, but I bought them something like ten years ago so I'm not sure how well the ones they sell now are. The ones I still have are in awesome shape, they still look brand new a decade later. Sonia kashuk brushes work really well on eyes, firm but not stiff. I got some too faced brushes and I love them, but they are really soft so mostly good for lighter looks and blending. Eco tools are awesome too, inexpensive but really well made. 

 
Hmmmm...My suggestion you use bobbi brown brush, the brush is quite smooth and soft, so it will be comfortable when in use.

 
I like Sigma and MAC makeup brushes. They are excellent for makeup application. Makeup brushes is very important allows you to be more accurate with your makeup application and perform techniques. So choose the best one which help you in your professional expertise.

 
I have two different brands of brushes:

1. Amy Head Cosmetics brushes (local independent company in the SE US)

2. EcoTools

The Amy Head brushes are natural bristles, while my EcoTools are obviously synthetics. I haven't quite gotten used to the synthetics yet, as I first started with the Amy Head brushes, and that's what I'm used to.

Oh snap, I forgot! I actually have another brand too:

3. Aloette

The Aloette brushes I have are mineral foundation chisel buffers. I love them, but they're getting a little shabby, I think. :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Any brushes I buy in the future I'd like to only purchase synthetic. I'm looking to Sigma and Japonesque, maybe a few Real Techniques. I'm excited about brushes right now, and I have a list of all the types I want to get!

Here's a photo of all my brushes (not very many!) minus my kabuki brush. (Ignore the Clinique and Persa-gel, I had those there for another thread.)



 
My brushes are almost exclusively EcoTools. I just added their new face brush set and the fan brush to my collection. I also have their eye set, a flat top brush, a travel set (mini kabuki, fluffy brush, concealer brush, and a fluffy eye type brush), and a fluffy powder brush that are all EcoTools. The brushes are all very, very soft, consistently nice, and quite inexpeSIVE

 
it all depends how much you want to spend.  if you want really good ones, they can be kind of expensive.  the expensive ones will be those

that are sold at department stores (i.e. Mac, bobbie brown, este lauder etc..)

cheaper priced are brands like Sonia kashuk, Elf , (I use elf, their professional line, the black ones.  I also use brushes from their cheaper line, that are white mainly

because I don't want to spend a lot of money and they are pretty descent quality imo anyway)

hope this helps

 
The majority of my brushes are Bdellium tools, although I've had them for a few years now and I'm beginning to get tired of them, either that or they are wearing out.

I just bought 6 Crown brushes and I am in love with them. I'm definitely going to buy more of those.

I have a few Ecotools brushes but I bought them years ago before I was aware of what a good quality brush was and I doubt I'll buy one of them again. I don't know why I am keeping them around. Probably just as spares.

 
Wow I really need help :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
 
On a scale of horrifying to 10, how bad is it that I mostly use my fingers to apply foundation, and at all other times it's whatever sponge or brush comes with whatever I'm using? 

I'm wanting to expand my makeup skills, could anyone be so kind as to give me the basic must-have list of brushes! And what to use them with/how to use them? I may cry. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Krystan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Wow I really need help :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
 
On a scale of horrifying to 10, how bad is it that I mostly use my fingers to apply foundation, and at all other times it's whatever sponge or brush comes with whatever I'm using? 

I'm wanting to expand my makeup skills, could anyone be so kind as to give me the basic must-have list of brushes! And what to use them with/how to use them? I may cry. 

I don't think there is anything wrong with applying your foundation with your fingers. However, you might not get as good coverage or as nice and smooth a finish doing it that way.

I use liquid foundation and I use the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to apply it. I love the way it applies liquid foundation but it is designed equally for cream foundation and powder foundation as well.

I think that you might be doing yourself a disservice by applying your eyeshadows and blushes with the (usually crappy) brushes and sponge tip applicators that come with them. For eyeshadow, I think it's essential to have at least a shader brush (for application on the lid) and a crease brush such as the MAC 217. I believe Real Techniques also has several eyeshadow brushes but I have never used them.

You need a blush brush as well. Real Techniques makes a great one. I personally use a Crown Brush blush brush that I love, the SS024 Deluxe Pointed Blush - from the Syntho Series. If you want to get yourself a basic set of brushes, I would either order one of the sets from Crown Brush (they are very reasonably priced) or just get the two sets from Real Techniques (I think there is a face set and an eye set) and you would be good to go. Then, as you get more experienced with using brushes, I would add to the collection and begin to pick up brushes from different  manufacturers.

Many people start out getting ecotools brushes because they are cheap and readily available at drugstores. However I would avoid those and spend your money on better quality brushes.

Check out Crownbrush.com  and look at their PDF catalog. Down towards the bottom are their brush sets. Real Techniques brushes are available at Ulta.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions. Also, on my blog there is post on my Crown brushes and I made a youtube video about them as well (links in signature)

 

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