New Makeup Brushes

Like most girls, I’m constantly building up my collection and searching for the perfect combination of brushes to perfect my makeup looks. Using a good makeup brush is like being softly kissed by a flock of heavenly makeup angels who make you look flawless at the same time. A bad makeup brush is like a small angry cat: does not like being bathed, sheds and may occasionally scratch you. I’ve had my share of the bad brushes over the years but here are some of my recent brush purchases that are much closer to the angel end of the spectrum.

Crown Brushes C452 Infinity Flat Bronzer Brush $19.95

This is one of the brushes I picked up at IMATS (you can see my entire haul here). Although this is technically a “bronzer” brush, I feel that it’s perfectly suited for applying foundation. More specifically, it’s great for buffing in liquid foundation (which I apply using my Beauty Blender) or for applying powder foundation flawlessly. One of the reasons I went for the Infinity range of brushes over some of the others was because they’re just so soft! Not only do they feel great but I’m yet to have a bad day with this brush, the finish it gives is beautiful.

Crown Brushes C458 Infinity Jumbo Powder Brush $28.95

This is the second of the Crown Brushes I picked up at IMATS, also from the Infinity Range. I’ve been searching for the perfect powder brush for ages without success so I’m very glad to have found this one. As someone with oily skin, it’s extremely rare for me to apply makeup without a powder to set so this brush is definitely one of my most used. Just as soft as its sister brush and equally good at providing a flawless finish, this has to be one of my current most-loved brushes. 

bareMinerals Perfecting Face Brush $36.00 

I recently strolled into Mecca on my lunch break (as you do) to discover they were having a special bareMinerals event so I decided to get my makeup done (as you do) and see what bareMinerals had to offer. I’m not overly familiar with the brand but I really enjoyed having my makeup done and ended up purchasing both the new Brightening Serum Foundation (review coming soon) and this Perfecting Face Brush. The design is quite unique and I personally haven’t seen anything like it before. It’s got longer bristles on the outside and shorter ones on the inside forming a little bowl to hold and distribute your liquid foundation. I was very taken with this brush and I really love how quick and easy it makes foundation application, particularly with runnier foundations (I’m looking at you, Eau de Teint!). Like the Crown Brushes, it’s super soft but for me, it’s the unique design and speedy application that make this brush so special. 

Artiste Brushes Contour Brush $21.95

This little brush took the beauty world by storm when it first came out as it’s a great dupe for the NARS Kabuki Ita Brush. While the Artiste version doesn’t have the same striking design and flat brush handle that the NARS one does, the brush itself looks very similar. I scoured two different Priceline stores looking for this brush before finally finding an unpackaged one hiding on the bottom shelf. I was warned by a few fellow beauty bloggers that the dye in this brush runs like nobody’s business when washed and yes, it was true! The dye on my brush ran quite a lot but did eventually clear up. I’ve heard from a few people that the dye on theirs just continued to run and ruined a few towels in the process but Artiste (Manicare) have offered to replace those faulty ones. Back to the actual brush, I didn’t experience much shedding on this brush which I did with a previous Artiste brush. I found that the shape and texture of the brush (it’s quite firm) gave a really striking contour. Overall, I’m quite pleased with this brush and I thought it was worth the dye issues because it’s still a fraction of the price of the NARS brush, which retails for $74 AUD.

If you’ve had any experience with these brushes, I’d love to heard from you, especially if you’ve been using the Artiste Contour Brush or the bareMinerals Perfecting Face Brush. And let me know what your current favourite brushes are too, the comments section awaits you!

Dani xo