30 Makeup Brushes Every Part of Your Face Will Enjoy
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It’s fun to draw on your face with makeup sticks and finger paint with your pigments now and then, but it’s hard to top the accurate application, beautifully blended finishes, and luxurious sweep that a high-quality makeup brush can deliver. Whether you’re applying a fresh batch of concealer, getting uncomfortably close to your temperamental waterline, or placing a strategic dot of highlighter near the tear duct to look more sentient the morning after, here are the 30 best makeup brushes for every product you’re putting on your face, organized by type and with input from makeup artists.
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The Affordable Brush
Real Techniques Expert Face Makeup Brush
$9
$9
If you want proof that drugstore makeup brushes can hang with prestige ones, here it is. This firm foundation brush went viral on TikTok this year for its ability to seamlessly buff and blend out liquid foundation and get you flawless full coverage, all without breaking the bank or blowing your entire beauty budget. And even though it’s a drugstore pick, makeup artists like Amber Amos love it. “It’s perfect for liquid or cream foundations, and the dense short bristles allow you to blend or buff product on for a medium or fuller coverage.”
$9
at Amazon
$10
at Target
The One Celebs and Influencers Love
The Brush for Every Type of Foundation
Sigma 3DHD Kabuki Brush
$23
now 8% off
$23
This dense brush is packed with extremely soft bristles that are shaped to set you up for success. Use one slanted side to apply your product (be it liquid, cream, or powder) and the other to smooth it into the skin for an airbrushed finish. And don’t forget to run the ridge across all those hard-to-reach places, like along the sides of your nose and under your lower lip.
$23
at Amazon
$25
at Neiman Marcus
The Best Brush for Blending Concealer
Hourglass Vanish™ Seamless Finish Concealer Brush
$39
$39
Most concealer brushes have a characteristic flat brush head, but this one comes in a unique half-moon shape that comfortably hugs the contours of the face — especially under the eyes, where a lot of the concealing action typically takes place.
$39
at Ulta Beauty
The Best Brush for a Matte Finish
The Best Luxury Brush
The Best Buffing Brush
MERIT Brush No. 1
$30
$30
If you love a beauty blender, a buffing brush is your answer. The Brush No.1 from Merit is made from dense bristles that can be used on any product and gives your makeup a natural finish.
$30
at Sephora
$30
at MERIT
The Best Brush for a Smooth Finish
DIOR Backstage Corrector & Concealer Brush N°13
$32
$32
The Backstage line from Dior is supposed to mimic being a makeup artist backstage at runways — meaning it’s a makeup brush made for quick and easy application with flawless finishes. The firm flat brush has a tapered end that makes it ideal to use for concealers and for precise application. Reviewers and makeup artists alike love the smooth finish it has.
$32
at Bloomingdale’s
$30
at Dillards
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The Best Brush for Highlighter
Fenty Beauty Cheek Hugging Highlight Brush
$32
$32
The name says it all: This asymmetrical brush literally hugs your cheeks, making it extremely easy to apply powder highlight regardless of your skill level. The chiseled shape (inspired by the shape of a shark tooth) is also great for highlighting other curved, protruding things on your face, like the bridge of your nose, brow bone, Cupid’s bow, and collar bone. Plus it’s pink.
$32
at Sephora
$32
at Fenty Beauty
The Best Brush for Blush
The One That Fixes All Your Mistakes
IT Brushes for Ulta Airbrush Radiance Fan Brush #116
$19
$19
Think of this brush as a tiny, heavenly broom for your face. Its flat fan shape neatly sweeps away any excess product, like annoying eyeshadow fallout or a contouring session that got slightly out of control, with zero smudges or streaks. If you need more excuses to run this soothing fan of fluff all over your face (once you feel it, you will), it’s also great at applying a thin, even veil of setting powder and turning the application of creamier things like tinted moisturizers or your favorite face mask into a spiritual experience.
$19
at Ulta Beauty
The Rolls-Royce for Powders
SURRATT BEAUTY Artistique Face Brush
$260
$260
Yes, this brush is incredibly pricey. But it might be the softest thing you’ve ever felt in your life. Its tapered edges make it perfect for picking up blush or setting powder and pressing it into the grooves around your eyelids and cheeks. (It’s also made in Kumano). It would be a good gift for Mariah Carey, longtime lover of fluffy things who once asked for 20 white kittens for a public performance.
$260
at Surratt Beauty
The One That Chisels Cheekbones
Make Up For Ever 408 Small Paint Brush
$39
$39
This brush looks like a real-life paint brush, and that’s a sign that it means business. The short, dense bristles pick up a generous amount of product, making this an excellent choice for anyone looking for medium-to-full coverage. When used with a contour shade, the straight edge will quickly give you the sharp cheeks and jawline you never knew you had.
$39
at Make Up For Ever
The One With an Airbrush Finish
Lys Highlighter Brush
$15
$15
Fashion and celebrity makeup artist Katie Mellinger says that this densely packed brush leaves highlighter with an airbrushed finish. “You don’t have to use a brush for its branded use. I always think about the shape more than what I’m being told to use it for,” she says. This brush from Lys is a domed shape, supersoft, and cruelty free, making it a great option for applying different highlight and contour options.
$15
at LYS Beauty
The Brush for Precision
The Best Brush for Setting Powder
Real Techniques Professional Setting Makeup Brush
$6
now 25% off
$6
“This brush gives me life, and the price point is affordable too,” says makeup artist Amy Chin. This real techniques brush is perfect for powders, like highlight or setting. Chin likes to use this brush for precise application. “The bristles help naturally blend and create a soft look to the skin,” she explains.
$6
at Amazon
$8
at Ulta Beauty
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The Best Brush for Eye Shadow
The One for Anyone Who Has Small Eyelids or Loves Cut Creases
CHIKUHODOGSN Series GSN-10 Eye Shadow
$22
$22
If you’re a real beauty lover, you know that Kumano, Japan, is the Napa of luxury makeup brushes. The town is known for its artisanal production of makeup brushes (there’s even an annual brush festival). Beautylish and Kumano–based brush maker Chikuhodo partnered to make an affordable brush line. This one is a particular standout, with reviewers loving how its soft squoval shape makes it easier to blend pigment. The smaller shape ensures that it won’t dwarf those with smaller eyelids and makes it easy to make your cut creases look particularly sharp.
$22
at Beautylish
The Best Eyeliner Brush
Laura Mercier Flat Eyeliner Brush
$28
$28
The tip of this brush is a straight line — all the better for ensuring that your eyeliner doesn’t end up crooked. Dip this into eye shadow or gel eyeliner to stamp on liner at your lash line. Or use it to softly blend your eyeliner deeper into the roots of your lashes, to make them look thicker and darker. Used either way, it will help fix and prevent wobbly liner.
$28
at Nordstrom
$28
at Bloomingdale’s
The Best Brush for a Smoky Eye
Sigma E45 Max Small Tapered Blending Brush
$18
$18
The key to a good smoky eye is a bunch of blending, and that becomes a million times easier with this fluffy, tapered brush. The soft bristles seamlessly sweep over the colors you’ve already applied, creating smooth transitions between whatever’s on your lid, in your crease, and under your brow bone. It’s one of Mellinger’s favorites for eyeshadow since it blends so beautifully.
$18
at ASOS
$19
at Macy’s
The One That Makes Your Eyes Look Brighter
The Best Brush for Brows
The One That Makes Your Mascara Look Even Better
Sisley Paris Eyeshadow Smudge Brush
$68
$68
If you don’t like to fuss with multiple shadows, brushes, and blending techniques, this double-edged brush is perfect for creating an everyday eye look that still looks elevated, and in just a few sweeps it sculpts eyelids like no other. Use the flat side to brush a lighter shade of your choosing across the eyelid, then use the angled tip to apply a deeper shade into the crease and hollow of the eye and voila, a natural-looking eye that’s a step-up from mascara alone.
$68
at Bloomingdale’s
$68
at Bluemercury
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The Pink Brush
Trixie Cosmetics P-04 Flat Concealer Brush
$7
$7
“I know it’s branded for concealer, but I love it for lips. It’s fuller than the typical flat brush and it has enough bend to contour the lip line while also being stiff enough to apply more lipstick,” says Mellinger. For under $10 and coming in the cutest bubblegum pink, it’s a brush worth adding to your basket.
$7
at Trixie Cosmetics
The Best Brush for Liners
The Dual- Lip Brush
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The Starter Set
The Set With Everything You Need
Amoy by Tenelle Veira 13 Piece Magnetic Brush Set
$100
$100
A 13-piece brush set is the answer to almost all makeup needs, and this one from Amoy features Amos’s favorite contour brush. “The rounded contour brush is the perfect size to map out your contour and the rounded bristles make blending super-easy,” she says. Apart from it having great brushes, she loves that it comes in a magnetic holder so you don’t have to worry about brushes rolling around.
$100
at Amoy
The Travel Set
Surratt Artistique Brush Trio
$247
$247
Amy Chin also loves the quality of these brushes. “I love that Surratt is committed to Japanese philosophy of the Monozukuri Craftsmanship. You can just tell that these brushes are made with love and ultrasoft to the touch,” she says. While it’s on the pricier side, these three brushes are perfect for traveling or for keeping at home.
$247
at Surratt Beauty
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