makeup

MAKEUP BRUSH UP

TUTORIAL + PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY NADINE, GRAPHIC DESIGN BY EUNICE CHUN

I’ve spent 12 years building the perfect makeup kit to use on my celebrity clients. It’s super streamlined into two small, eclectic hat boxes on rollers (seen here!), and to make it into my kit, each item has to be the best of the best. So I spend my time curating what’s out there and when something comes along that performs better than what I’m currently using, I swap it out. Here are the current winners that I went so crazy over, I couldn’t replace the previous ones fast enough!

FACE:

• Liquid Foundation Brush — this splurge is my most favorite liquid foundation brush I’ve ever found. The bristles are dense but incredibly soft and movable instead of stiff and hard like a lot of foundation brushes. This save rocks too.
• Powder Foundation Brush — when I got my hands on this splurge last week, I couldn’t stop playing with it! Its flat head is mega wide, covering a lot of area as it blends. This save covers a lot of surface area too.
• Cream Foundation Brush — this divine one was especially formulated to softly buff cream foundation into the skin instead of sitting on top of it.
• Concealer Brush — if you’re an avid TBD reader, you know I’ve been obsessed with this 3DHD concealer brush for awhile now because its steeple-like head can sneak into the contours of your eyes (for dark circles) and around your nose (for redness) like no other brush out there.
• Powder Brush — This sculpting brush is actually a contour and highlight brush for this Bronze & Go Palette but I’ve been using it for months as a powder brush on my girls because I like to target powder just the T-zone and a big powder brush can’t get into the crevices as well.

CONTOUR & HIGHLIGHT:

• Cream Contour & Highlight Brush — contouring and highlighting has really taken hold over the last year thanks to YouTube and social media that all of the brands have taken notice and come out with amazing products and matching brushes to get the job done. Believe me, I’ve tried them all. And this dual-ended one is my favorite because the contour side is super long and narrow to really follow the hollow of your cheek while the highlight side is angled to glide over areas that you want to catch the light. And considering you get two brushes in one, it’s a fair price to me.
• Powder Contour Brush — I love this angled contour brush because I’ve found the fluffier the brush, the less muddy the contour looks (nothing is worse!).
• Powder Highlight Brush — This ultra-wide fan brush deposits just the right amount of highlighting powder to bring your face to life. Always use a fan brush for highlighting! It’s a game changer.

BLUSH:

• Powder Blush Brush — Okay, this one is the creme-de-la-creme of all the blush brushes out there. You use it once and you’ll feel why. It’s one of those things that hard to explain, but next time you’re at the department store, walk up to the counter and try it for yourself. It’s heaven on a stick! It’s a splurge though so if you don’t want to make that kind of an investment yet, try this stylish save.
• Cream Blush Brush — I like a densely-packed angled contour brush for cream blushes (with shorter bristles and way less fluffy than the one I use for powder contouring).

Keep you brushes clean with my DIY Natural Brush Cleaning tutorial and whenever you get your hands on a new amazing brush, please let us know in the comments below! And if you liked this post, I can go back into my kit and pull out my new favorite eye and brow brushes and share them with you too!