Need help with brushes

[gavinsmommy1019]

I need some help here, I've been using brushes for a while now but one common issue I have ran into with "sets" is that although I may find one or two out of the set that I love, the rest of them are crap - complete crap, I do have some MAC brushes that I like, so here's where I need help - I am going to be going out of town soon for a while and I don't want to take along my super expensive brushes because I always end up leaving something behind by accident and last time it was all of the brushes I took with me.​

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I am looking for suggestions on some styles of brushes that will work well without costing me an arm or leg (no more MAC brushes) but I also want to avoid elf brushes - I do have a couple of them that work well but they're too hit and miss. The type's I'm looking for are:​

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Stipple Brush​

Flat top kabuki brush​

small eye shadow brush​

blending brush ​

blush brush​

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I have been torn between Sigma, Sedona Lace, Coastal Scents, Sephora brand and Real Techniques  brushes and I don't mind buying one brush from each of them if that's what it takes to get all 5 of them just right /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />​

 

[Dalylah]

I must preface my response by saying that I do have a ton of brushes but I keep coming back to a certain few, frequently EcoTools. Now I know you didn't ask for that brand but I adore these and they aren't expensive. They are soft, hold product well and don't shed all over. All these products can be bought either on amazon or their respective sites.



Above: Stipple brush: MAC #187 Duo Fiber Brush is my "official" stippling brush. To be honest though, I have a second Ecotools kabuki (see below) that I use more often for stippling.



Flat top kabuki: Ecotools Flat Top Kabuki Finishing Brush



Small eye shadow brush: e.l.f. Eyeshadow brush. Love these because I tend to lose eyeshadow brushes for some reason and these are soft, cheap, and work well.



Blending brush: Ecotools angled crease brush (second one) and smudge brush (last one). I alternate depending on whether I am blending tiny areas near the eye or just mixing two colors on the upper lid.



Blush brush: Ecotools brush on the far left from the bamboo kit. Super soft, doesn't pick up too much product so you can avoid having crazy cheeks.

 

[gavinsmommy1019]

Thank you for the response. I'll check them out - I didn't mention them because honestly I didn't think they'd be any good  In all of the years I've used brushes I've stuck to rather expensive ones and have a rather large collection of them - but I'm tired of leaving behind hundred's of dollars worth of brushes/products when I travel (and although I don't travel a lot - even 2-3 times a year to loose that kind of money kills me) - so for this trip I've invested in train case to create "kit" that travels with me and only travels so that I can keep a list of what I take and hopefully not leave behind foundations, brushes etc... (last time it was the entire case of brushes I took with me and before that it was the entire bag that contained all of my face products) It seems I always get in a hurry to get packed back up and out that I always leave something behind (never been clothes though)

 

[tgooberbutt]

My go-to stippling brush is the Real Techniques stippling brush:

It's about $10 at Ulta or Amazon. 

I LOVE it - it has never shed a hair, is synthetic yet super soft. Easily washable, and the ferrule is built into the handle...is it will never come loose. I use it almost every day, and it get washed with shampoo about twice a week...and one year in, it is still in fantastic shape.