"MUST HAVE" MAKE-UP BRUSHES

By THONIA IDEGWU

This is sequel to how to get a make-up ready skin. Remember I made mention of your face being a canvass and must be ready so that when you use the right brushes, the expected result (which should be a flawless look) should come out well. Yes, now we will move to the next part: Tools of the trade- BRUSHES. So unless you can effectively use your hands to apply foundation, powder and blush, this article is for you.

A make-up brush, just like a paint brush, is used to apply cosmetics to a make-up ready face in order to accentuate the features of that face. We have a wide variety of brushes used to apply different, and sometimes, even the same products. The shape and texture of a brush matters a lot as that is what differentiates one brush from another.


Before we begin listing and explaining the "must have" brushes according  to how I use them, (wish I could do on all the brushes, but you would be reading till thy kingdom come, because there are a lot!), let's understand the kind of hair they are made of.

Brushes are made up of all of the following except human hair.
  - Synthetic: Just like your regular Darling Yaki, synthetic hair is made from nylon or polyester filaments. They are inexpensive, a bit coarse to the touch and shines when held against bright light. They are a bit disposable and hence can be used to apply glitter glue (for shimmer eyeshadows), gel liners and even liquid products as it almost doesn't absorb the liquid. They are necessary and are easy to clean/maintain.

  - Natural: These brushes are made from animal hair- squirrel, goat, horse, etc. They are best for blending and application of highly pigmented colours, creating a soft and flawless look. In contrast to synthetic, they are expensive, difficult to clean and absorb liquid which makes them less ideal for  concealers, foundations and primers .

Moving on; I have taken the liberty to outline a few important tools for your make-up application.

   Referencing the picture above, on the LEFT hand side, we have the lip brushes consisting of the Flat Synthetic Brush used to pack colour from the lipstick, tube or palette and apply to the lips and a Pencil Brush used to blend in any lip liner and/or to clean the edges of the lips for a flawless look.

On the RIGHT hand side, we havusede Eye-shadow brushes (from top to bottom) consisting of the Shader which is to pack eye-shadow onto the eye lid,  Blending Brush used to reduce the amount of shadow by swishing to and fro above the area of concentration. This gives the shadow a natural look to it. It can be used to create transitions too (we will discuss transitions another day). The third brush on the Right hand side is called the Pencil brush, which unlike the lip pencil brush is used to contour the eyes by cutting the crease neatly with eye shadow, giving your eyes depth. The Last brush is a Small Flat Brush. I use this to nightlight my under eye with gold, silver, peach, etc to give my eyes a sense of continuity. These colours , when applied here, tends to wake/open the eyes (a tip for all the ladies with small eyes).

As for the middle brushes, that will be a discussion for another day.. Feel free to drop your comments or questions.