CHERYL STUART

Purchasing Cosmetic Brushes

The topic of purchasing cosmetic brushes is one that can get overwhelming. They all look so pretty, and fluffy, and they almost give the impression that regardless of your skill level they will perform miracles. The truth is that just as an artist has several brushes to achieve the final look of their painting we must do the same thing. The key to purchasing brushes is easy once you understand how to choose them. Each size, shape and material of the brush will create a different wash of color. Follow these steps to find the ones that will best suit your needs.

Materials

• Natural brushes – Natural brushes might be made of sable, squirrel, or goat hair and can be a little more expensive. They are soft to the touch and have movement when you put pressure on the face. They are best for use with dry products such as shadows, powders, bronzers, and highlighters because the hair will absorb products. They are ideal for blending your makeup so that you achieve a smooth flawless finish. Today you can also find a variety of brushes that are made of faux bristles, (vegan) that feel amazingly like natural bristles for those of you who want the feeling of natural hair and the benefit of blending but don’t like the idea of natural bristles.
• Synthetic brushes – Synthetic brushes are made with nylon, polyester, or other synthetic materials. These brushes are usually flat and stiff in design and the bristles won’t separate when pressure is applied to your face. Unlike natural brushes synthetic brushes don’t absorb cosmetics so they are best used with cream based products like liquid foundation, cream shadows, and concealer. They are not used for blending but are wonderful when wanting to achieve an opaque look that can then be blended with the warmth of your fingers, or a cosmetic sponge. They are also excellent for applying your gel eye liners, and because they are stiff you can get a clean line when needed.

Size and Shape

Once you determine the type of brushes you want you need to choose the size and shape of the brush. There is an easy rule to follow when picking the size of the brush.

• Large fluffy brush – An example of this would be a dome powder brush, blush brush, or longer hair shadow brush. The larger the brush and looser the bristles, the sheerer the application of color and product will be. This will create a more diffused application.
• Small short hair brushes – An example of this would be a shadow, liner, or detail brush. The smaller the head of the brush and the shorter the bristles the heavier or more opaque the application of color will be.

Brush sets

As appealing as they are, brush sets are not always ideal because you seldom need or will use most of the brushes in the set. I like to help my clients create their own set that will serve their own individual needs. Another thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need a different brush for each eye shadow color you are using. You can easily dust off the brush in between colors with the exception of very dark colors like black. That will take a bit more cleaning. With the help of a professional, you can purchase brushes that you will use daily.

Try Cheryl Stuart Filbert Fluff #3 for shadow and Tapered Angle for liner


Like with anything practice makes perfect!!!!!

For more instruction on what colors and products are best for you visit us at the salon for a “Let’s Color”