A Beginners Guide to: Make-up Brushes

Walking through any make-up shop, it's hard not to get distracted by the colours that jump off of the shelf at you, or the glimmer that catches your eye as you wonder down the aisle. Make-up is undeniably a beautiful thing, and that's why it's so easy to forget about the importance of Make-up brushes as you admire your ever growing make-up collection.

I used to not care about Make-up brushes at all. I was happy to spend all my money on products and very little on the tools to use said products. And this worked well for a while- believe me you don't have to break the bank to find good brushes. But as my skills began to develop and I wanted a little bit of a more flawless base, and I wanted to really define the cut crease, I realised the significance on investing in a decent brush set.

This feature is all about Make-up brushes for beginners. The basic tools you need to create a look- nothing fancy. This is your base set- one that you can add to as you really fine-tune your skills and work out what brushes you actually need. I hope you find this helpful, in starting, or revamping to your collection and helps you ditch the brushes that are just beyond saving ( no matter how many times you wash them.)

Spectrum Travel set

Undeniably my favourite brushes ever, Spectrum completely knock it out of the park with their travel brush sets. Cool, compact and easy to store, ( the makeup bag is super cute,) this set includes everything you need to get going. The set includes a face powder brush, a foundation brush, blush/contour brush and 3 eyeshadow brushes making it perfect for beginners. Sure, you could do with more eyeshadow brushes if you like to do more complex looks, but this set is perfect for grabbing to complete your everyday/ work makeup ( and, like its name suggests, is perfect for travelling.) I love the softness of these brushes, especially how durable they are after washing, having previously had problems with Morphe brushes becoming scratchy after cleaning. I would recommend this set to busy gals who just want to create their face and go. I just wish it included a highlighter brush!

Available here

Jeffree Star X Morphe eye brush set

Introducing the perfect set for people who create more complexed eye looks, requiring more eye brushes, or just for people who don't want to clean their brushes all of the time. I find this set of Morphe x Jeffree Star far more durable than the first set he created, which is why I highly recommend this set above the former. Containing a range of flat and tapered brushes, this set is perfect for beginners looking to expand their set to improve their eyeshadow skills. These brushes are soft and precise and great for making it easy to lay down colour. The larger brushes are a saviour when it comes to blending out transition shade, whereas the smaller flat brush is perfect for laying down shimmers to ensure they really pop! ( Top tip: Spray the brush with setting spray before picking up your shimmer to really make it shine!)

Available here

Jaclyn Hill X Morphe

While this set may seem expensive for a beginner, it really does contain everything you need, and more. With the added bonus of an eyebrow brush, this set will see you through from the start to the finish of your look, allowing more opportunities to add in steps to your routine in contrast to the Spectrum set recommended. While some of these brushes ( mainly the white tipped ones) can become a little scratchy after a few washes, this set is an overall winner, with the powdered brushes easily allowing product to be blended effortlessly into the skin. This set also contains my all time favourite brush for liquid foundation, allowing me to easily create an even base, without wasting too much product. The smaller eyeshadow brushes are great at picking up shimmer and delicately placing it precisely where you want it, to create more defined looks.

Available here

Real Techniques Make-up Sponge

I've tried tonnes of sponges in my time, from Morphe, to Lottie London, to Eco tools, to even The Beauty Blender itself. But time and time again, I find myself picking up the original Real Techniques sponge. Containing a flat edge, to allow precise application of both liquid and powder in all the crevices of your face, particularly the dreaded under eye area, this sponge expands impressively after being run up the tap and picks up just enough product to make laying your base a 5 minute job. Like all sponges, it does absorb some of your product, but I found the amount insignificant compared to how much The Beauty Blender absorbed. The best thing is that these sponges are really versatile: I use mine to blend my foundation, lay down my contour, and set my under-eye area ( with minimum creases.) If I was to recommend just one tool for your beauty station, it would be this one!

Available here