Makeup brushes: what for what, professional kits, review of the best brands: Zoeva, Feberlik, Mac, Rive Gauche

Makeup brushes are made from different bristles. About which of them is intended for what, you can find out further. Until recently, any makeup artist could say that all cosmetic brushes made from synthetic bristles are intended only for liquid, creamy textures, and from natural ones - for dry and crumbly ones.

But progress does not stand still, and manufacturers have learned to make such an artificial pile, the brushes from which are an order of magnitude superior to their counterparts from squirrels or ponies in the quality of distribution of dry textures, as well as in the art of shading.

For liquid textures, they began to use natural material with certain qualities. Duets of natural and synthetic pile appeared at the same time. They are versatile for foundation and dry blush. In such a variety, it is difficult for a layman to navigate.

The labels on the packaging do not help, because manufacturers do not want to lose customers by indicating the narrow application of their brush, so they often get by with generalized wording like “makeup brush; suitable for smoky shading. "

Well, how can a common man know: can you make smokey ice with dry textures or liquid, or use both at the same time?

Which brushes are suitable for dry textures

For dry textures (shadows, pigments, powder, blush, bronzer, highlighter), all natural brushes are suitable.

They are made from:

• speaker;
• pony;
• sable;
• proteins;
• foxes;
• goats;
• badger.

The pile of these animals differs in density and stiffness.

• The pile of the column is thinnest and most elastic, and at the tip it is pointed and soft. This bristle is suitable for petal brushes designed to apply shadow to the entire upper eyelid. Small brushes for working in pencil technique are also made from this pile. And although the pencil has a greasy texture, the column, due to its firmness and elasticity, stretches the product well on the skin.
• The goat has a dense pile. At the beginning of the purchase, it seems soft, the brushes are fluffy, but after washing with ordinary shampoo or soap, it coarsens and becomes wavy. Goat eye brushes should be washed with a special gel that softens the working part. Otherwise, the villi will be pricked, and instead of makeup, you can get allergies. The skin around the eyes is very delicate.

The best use for goat hair is for powder, blush, meteorite and bronzer brushes. It is worth noting that goat eye tools are made only in budget versions, and are suitable for home use. Its skin will endure everything. For salon make-up - bad form.

Goat makeup brushes are not suitable for precise contours, so they are good for blending.

• The fox has soft fur, suitable for all occasions. The pile is taken from a brown fox, not from a red fox. Powder and blush brushes are soft and pleasant to the face. Much softer than goat, and suitable for salon makeup.
• A sable pile looks like a fox.
• The pony hair is dense, elastic, but soft. Slightly rougher than a squirrel. The latter only has a tail, which is equally suitable for shadows and blush.
• Badger tools tough - can be compared with bristles, only slightly softer.

When choosing brushes, the question arises: why does the same squirrel brush cost up to 200 rubles from one manufacturer, and more than 2500 rubles from another, although outwardly they are no different? Both can be made of wood.

It's all about how the cartridge is stuffed, what kind of nap (cartridge and handle) is used.

In cheap brushes, the bunch of pile is automatically glue and inserted into the cartridge, after which the machine is trimmed to the desired shape. The cut pile has the same thickness throughout the trunk. Accordingly, his tips are rough, prickly. And the pointed tip of the brush is obtained only by cutting off a number of set hairs.

In expensive tassels, the bundle is collected by hand, picking up the villi along the length. Only the tips are cut there, which will be dipped into the glue. And those tips on which dry cosmetic textures will be applied do not touch. They are naturally narrowed, and the shape of the barrel in the tassel is given without cutting the hairs, due to the selection in length.

Even in expensive brushes, for durability, the villi are first tied to each other, and then set on glue.

Some manufacturers are cunning - they make brushes from a squirrel, using not a tail, but long hairs from the body, similar to bristles. Thus, the manufacturer has the right to indicate on the packaging that the makeup brushes are "made of squirrel", but in practice it is difficult to use it, as it pricks, picks up makeup poorly and distributes it unprofessionally to the desired area.

Also, dishonest producers can use the bristles of pigs or rats, passing it off as a squirrel or sable.

It is important for them to indicate "natural pile" in the composition. Such brushes are prickly, like porcupine needles, and what they are suitable for is not clear. The brushes appear soft upon purchase because the manufacturers have learned to soak the bristles in softening conditioners. But it is worth washing them once, like a blush brush, for example, you can use it as a shaving brush.

Which brushes are suitable for creamy textures

Some time ago, makeup artists got by with two brushes that could be used to apply lipstick and eyeliner.

Today, creamy textures mean:

• liquid and oily concealers;
• base for face, eyes, lips makeup;
• tonal foundations;
• liquid shadows and pigments;
• cream blush;
• liquid and cream concealers and highlighters.

For all of the above, you need brushes of different sizes and shapes. But for all, one property is required: synthetic pile. Natural bristles, like natural hair, absorb liquid products. Synthetic - no, and stretch the cream well over the skin.

In brushes for foundations, the artificial bristle should be thin and soft so that the cream with the pigment lays in a thinnest layer, and at the same time the skin does not injure, does not stretch, and does not undergo stress.

A brush designed to work with eyebrow pomade should have a thick, coarse bristle that will keep the bristles in shape.

Brush shapes

The minimum set of brushes for a complete makeup

The minimum makeup kit should consist of the following brushes:

• brush or medium sponge for tone;
• for powder;
• for blush;
• for eyebrows;
• flat petal for shadows;
• fluffy for shading shadows;
• universal brush for eyelashes and eyebrows.

The minimum set can be adjusted. For example, owners of ideal skin do not need a tone, so you can refuse a sponge or a tone brush. In rare cases, a pimple concealer can replace our finger. If the technique of darkening the outer corners is used in the makeup, then the petal should be abandoned in favor of a small or medium barrel.

You can apply shadow to the entire movable upper eyelid with your finger and blend the remainder with a fluffy brush. She can also gently apply shadows all over the eyelid.

MAC brushes

Until now, MAC tools are considered the best. Makeup brushes (which is why this manufacturer is always indicated on the package) work wonders for them. The technology of their production is so perfected and exclusive that no one has yet managed to replicate their forms exactly.

Pros of MAC brushes:

• Cosmetics lays down evenly, rosary lines, professional shading without difficulty.
• Long lasting. Each hair is woven with another by hand, additionally set on glue, and still tightly clamped with a chuck. The probability of fluff falling out is zero.
• Soft villi. It is a pleasure to use them, you can get unforgettable relaxation.
• Collected by hand, no haircut. Each hair is hand-selected according to its length and stiffness, using the hair-to-hair technique.

Minuses:

High price. It is justified by the service life, the quality of makeup application. However, for most casual girls and professional makeup artists, brushes are not available.

Zoeva brushes

German Zoeva brushes are in many ways similar to MAC in shapes, and are also assembled by hand.

Pros:

The price can be attributed to both pluses and minuses. When compared with MAC brushes, they are 2 times cheaper, but still expensive and not available to most.

Minuses:

2 times cheaper than MAS, respectively, in terms of the volume of filaments, they are almost 2 times less densely packed into the cartridge.

Faberlik brushes

Faberlik produces high-quality oxygen cosmetics at an affordable price - the company is professional in this. Makeup brushes (which one is needed for is not always clear due to their strange shapes) they have mediocre. In general - not their strong point, so we can say that the quality of the instruments is acceptable, but not professional.

Their tools are great for home use, but professionals don't work with them.

Of the pros:

• affordable price,
• good quality.

Cons:

• they are not up to professional brushes.

Rive Gauche brushes

Rive Gauche brushes can be classified as semi-professional.

Pros:

• the price is below average;
• natural pile.

Minuses:

• scarce assortment, so a complete set of brushes for a makeup artist cannot be assembled.

Kabuki brush

A true classic kabuki brush is always made from wood and natural bristles. Its handle is short, wide, flat, and the fleecy part is even wider, densely stuffed with the softest pile. With one stroke of the brush you can powder half of the face, with the second - the second.

A visual video about using a kabuki brush in facial makeup:

Kabuki applies powder in a dense layer, easily blends overshoots with both powder and blush. Thanks to the short handle, it can be taken almost at the base to increase the pressure, and the powder lay in an even denser layer, or, on the contrary, gently brush off (stretch) the too dense layer over the entire face.

Many manufacturers are cunning: they make synthetic brushes that look like classic kabuki, while replacing the wooden leg with a plastic or metal one.

Duofiber

Classic duofiber is made of two types of pile: goat and synthetic. Goat - short, absorbs excess foundation; synthetic pulls the product in the thinnest layer over the entire face.

When there is no more product left on the synthetic pile, and it becomes dry, then the goat, which has absorbed the previous excess, begins to give them back when pressed, and the white pile picks them up and continues to stretch over the skin.

Duofiber is also excellent at extinguishing greasy correctors.

Fan-shaped

The fan-shaped brush is designed to remove excess dry product. It can be natural, densely packed, - for shaking off powder, and shorter natural and synthetic, - for shaking off loose shadows. A natural fan can be used for a highlighter, as it is convenient for them to distribute it on the cheekbone.

For foundation

Makeup brushes, namely for tone, are different, and which one is for what depends on their design and size.

But each is good in its own way:

• Duofiber stretches the product thinly.
• Flat nylon is easy to control the density of the product. In the area of ​​defects with this brush, it is convenient to apply the tone in a dense layer, while on clean skin areas you can stretch the foundation as if it were not on the face.
• Densely packed, short, straight cut or beveled brushes are also convenient in that they distribute the product evenly, but in a denser layer.
• They also use a sponge. Moistened with water, it works economically with the product.

Some tone brushes are suitable for sculpting the face and applying blush.

For concealer

There are 2 brush options for concealer: a flat barrel and a petal. It is convenient to use a petal to treat areas with a coin, redness under the wings of the nose. The concealer is spread in an inconspicuous thin layer. With a petal brush, you can easily block the burgundy vessels, but the brush can no longer cope with relief problems, for example, a bulging pimple.

For these purposes, a flat barrel, the size of which corresponds to a pimple, is suitable. Keg applies concealer in thick layers to eliminate skin problems.

For powder

Powder brushes are made from natural bristles. Their size and shape are different, depending on the manufacturer. Kabuki will do the job best. If the powder brush is not too wide, it can be used for blush and bronzer.

Contouring and strobing brushes

For contouring, a thin duofiber is suitable. It can be distributed with a liquid or stick contour in a thin layer. They also use a flat synthetic brush. In profile, it is convenient for her to draw thin stripes in the area of ​​the intended cheekbone, and in the front, she shades this strip to an imperceptible state.

Fish brushes and brushes similar to toothbrushes, only round, appeared on sale. They are very tightly packed and do a good job when there is no more than two minutes to contour the face. For a liquid highlighter, use brushes with synthetic bristles, and duplicate with a dry highlighter and tools with natural ones.

For blush

For blush, small oval brushes are made, torch-shaped, egg-shaped, slightly oblique and lush.

You need to select them according to the type of person:

1. For a diamond-shaped face, cut brushes work, because this type of blush is recommended to be distributed in the area below the cheekbones, where the contour is usually applied. The contour itself is superimposed on the side wide cheekbones. This will bring the face closer to the oval shape and help with this beveled blush brush.
2. An oval face is suitable for medium-sized torch-shaped brushes. They are easy to brown apples that are formed when you smile.

A synthetic brush or duofiber is suitable for working with a creamy blush in a stick.

Eyeshadow brushes

• Dry shadows are well distributed with natural bristle brushes.
• Kegs of different size and shape apply shadows in a dotted manner.
• The petals distribute the shadow over most of the eyelids. Thin, flat, short-haired brushes are designed to apply shadows at the ciliary edge.
• All eyeshadow feathering tools are like a small torch.

For eyeliner

Thin synthetic brushes are suitable for liner. With a flat cut line, you can drive the eyeliner into the eyelash. You can draw a line. The thinner the work area, the more graceful the arrow line will be.

For eyebrows

For eyebrows, a beveled brush and a brush are suitable. Beveled - you can draw eyebrows, and with a brush - shade, comb, style. To work with eyebrow shadows, you need a brush with natural bristles, thin and elastic. For eyebrow lipsticks - synthetic.

For lips

Lip brushes are medium, flat. The shorter and harder the pile, and the sharper the edge, the less convenient it is for her to apply liquid lipstick, but she can apply a lipstick contour in a stick. They also produce disposable lip applicators.

They are not rinsed, so they are convenient to use in the salon when customers are on molasses.

Storage and care of brushes

Special shampoos and fluted pillows are now being sold to care for brushes.

For leaving you can:

• use regular shampoo;
• any corrugated surface;
• dry naturally.

You can't:

• soak in water for a while;
• wash with soap;
• dry with a towel or hairdryer;
• comb with a comb.

Brushes should be rinsed well. The remains of cosmetics, which are clogged at the base of the hairs, contain many bacteria, which then enter the pores and inflame the skin.

It is impossible to soak in water to the brush for 3 reasons:

• the glue will swell, stop holding the hairs;
• moisture will remain in the place of glue and villi, mold will appear;
• the cartridge may rust.

Makeup brushes (information on which one is useful for visage is fully covered by the information in the article) can last longer with proper care. How to dry them? Can be spread out on paper napkins, but it is better to hang them down with the "hair".

Lip brushes and eyeliner can be cleaned well with any oil and paper towelif there is no tap, soap or water at hand. So that after washing and drying the brushes keep their shape well, you can put on a "compression" mesh or stocking.

Article design:E. Chaikina

Helpful Video on Makeup Brushes

A plot about which brushes are used for makeup, and in what cases they are used: