e.l.f. Discovery
BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MAKEUP BRUSHES
By Jeanette Crutchfield
Now that you know what brushes you need, next is how to take care of them. The most asked question is how often should you wash your brushes. That depends on what type of makeup you used on them. If you used a powder product on your brush, simply swirl the brush on a clean, dry towel or tissue to get any extra powder off and then return to your makeup cup or bag. These can get by with being washed every 1-2 weeks depending on how often you wear makeup.
Foundation Brush
Start with a flat, tapered foundation brush. We recommend using the “dot method” rather than putting your foundation directly on the brush for a smoother application. Using your finger, apply 9 small dots of foundation on your face: three across your forehead, three across the middle of your face (cheek, nose, cheek), and then three across the bottom of your face (jaw, chin, jaw). Using your foundation brush, gently blend your makeup in a downward motion. Blending foundation downward helps your facial hairs lie flat giving your skin a smoother appearance.
You can use your foundation brush to also blend cream bronzers, blush, and highlighters into your complexion. The tapered end blends the colors beautifully.
Flat Concealer Brush
You want a small flat concealer brush with dense bristles to apply your concealer. This allows it to go on exactly where you want it and blend seamlessly into your skin.
An easy way to apply concealer is to put a pea-size amount of concealer on the back of your hand. Using the flat side of the concealer brush, dip the tip of the brush into the concealer and pat the concealer wherever you have discolorations that you want to cover. Always pat concealer in, never rub it in.
Once you’ve concealed the spot, wipe off any excess concealer from the brush and then pat the spot one more time to really blend the edges in for a flawless look.
This brush has more uses than just concealer. Try using it for cream eyeshadow for a fun smoky look, or use it to apply cream highlighter to the smaller parts of the face such as under the brows, the inner corners of the eyes and the Cupid’s bow.
Fluffy Powder Brush
When choosing a face powder brush, the bigger and fluffier the better. You want to be able to gently brush powder all over the face to diffuse and set your makeup.
To use with a loose powder, tap the brush into the powder, then swirl the brush into the cap. This pushes the powder into the brush and helps to diffuse it better across the skin.
To use with pressed powder, simply swirl the brush over the pressed powder and then swirl it into the cap (just like with loose powder) resulting in a beautiful soft finish that helps to set your makeup for long lasting wear.
Small, Fluffy Eyeshadow Brush
The main purpose of a small, fluffy eyeshadow brush is to put a base color of eyeshadow all over your eyelid.
Swirl the brush in your favorite powder eyeshadow, gently tap off the excess and blend onto your eye lids. You can also use it to put a lighter eyeshadow color under your brows to highlight their shape or on the inner corners of your eye. This adds brightness to the entire eye area.
Contour Brush
A contour brush will allow you to get into the creases of your eye to help define them. You can also use this brush to achieve the “C” method of putting on eyeshadow: starting above your iris in the crease of your eye, draw a C shape down to the outer corner of your eye. Using the small, eyeshadow brush, softly blend up and out.
Another use for this contour brush is to use it to put on under-eye concealer. Using this brush will give you a very natural looking concealer look. It will cover just enough to look like your skin without looking like you have makeup on. This technique is favored by people who want that no-makeup makeup look.
Eyebrow Duo Brush
An eyebrow duo brush has a thin, angled brush on one end and a mascara spoolie on the other end.
The thin, angled brush can be used to put on brow powder and liquid eyeliner as well as add more concentrated dark eyeshadow along the lash lines (both upper and lower). The spoolie end can be used to brush the brows up into place, but can also be used on your lashes after you put your mascara on. A clean, dry spoolie can help get rid of clumpy mascara and give your lashes a more natural, feathered appearance.
Now that you know what brushes you need, next is how to take care of them. The most asked question is how often should you wash your brushes. That depends on what type of makeup you used on them. If you used a powder product on your brush, simply swirl the brush on a clean, dry towel or tissue to get any extra powder off and then return to your makeup cup or bag. These can get by with being washed every 1-2 weeks depending on how often you wear makeup.
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