Step up your eyeshadow game! My holy grail makeup brushes!

Hi there makeup lovers!!

This is the first in my favourite makeup products series! Today I’m going to talk you through my most loved eye brushes.

My favourite makeup brushes!! 

Thanks to Nikkietutorials and Jaclyn Hill (I’m sure you know them from YouTube, if you don’t, go check them out NOW) I’m a total blendaholic! Perfectly blended eyeshadow makes me so happy and is very appealing to the eye! I really think having seamless eyeshadow is the mark of a true makeup artist. With blending, practise makes perfect! Of course I’m nowhere near perfect, but there are tools that help me come closer!  You’d be surprised at what a different the right tools can make. Not only do they produce better results, but they produce these results quicker and more easily. And don’t worry, better doesn’t always mean more expensive! 

So, as I've already mentioned, the key to flawless eyeshadow is to blend until your arms ache. I have a few favourite blending brushes in my collection which I use on an everyday basis. 

Firstly, the famous Sigma E40 Tapered blending brush. This is valued at $16-21 (depending on whether you buy it in Silver, Copper or Gold). It is sold on the Sigma website. Stockists for different countries are listed on the Sigma website. 

Sigma Beauty E40
 Tapered blending brush

If you have ever watched a beauty video on youtube, you are more than likely to already know about this brush. It's job is to diffuse colour throughout the crease, so it will softly apply any eyeshadow. It is very large so sweeps across the whole eyelid with ease. This brush is best use with the transition shade you are using for your look as it will flawless blow out any colour you apply. You can also use it clean to blend throughout the process of applying your eyeshadow. I use this brush to blend my look after every stage of applying my eyeshadow to achieve the most flawless look. On an everyday basis, I use this brush to apply flesh or pale brown coloured eyeshadow such as 'Peach Smoothie' by Makeup Geek. This brush is definitely worth the investment and will definitely up your eyeshadow game! 

Ok, so if you have heard of the Sigma E40, you have more than likely heard about the E25 or the Mac 217. I use neither of these brushes, though the E25 is on my wishlist! Instead, I use a couple of dupes which I love and are a fraction of the price! 

Morphe alternative to Mac 217

The brush is by Morphe Brushes, which is also a company floating around YouTube thanks to Jaclyn Hill. This brush is from set 684 - 18 PIECE PROFESSIONAL SET by Morphe Brushes, which retails for $79.99. You can also get individual brushes similar to this by Morphe, should you not want the set.This can be purchased on the Morphe Brushes website. This brush is perfect for blending colours more precisely into the crease or packing a colour onto the lid. Again, you can also use this clean to go back and blend all your eyeshadow out after each colour application. This brush really is fantastic! It so soft on the eye and blends flawlessly! As soon as this brush was added to my collection, my eyeshadow became more precise and blended. 

Coastal Scents Pro Blending Fluff. 

Another brilliant dupe for the Mac 217 is the Coastal Scents Pro Blending Fluff, BR-250. This retails for $4.95, which is a brilliant price compared to Sigma and Mac. This brush is less flat than the brush from Morphe, so I like to use this for less precise blending. I tend to use the Sigma E40 first to place the transition colour in the crease. Then I place a slightly darker colour in the crease using this Coastal Scents brush then use the Morphe brush for an even darker colour to be blended precisely into the crease! How does this brush compare to the Morphe Brush? The Coastal Scents Pro Blending Fluff is more densely packed and less soft than Morphe brush Both blends flawlessly, and at the price, I would recommend adding both to your collection. After all, you can never have too many blending brushes! 

Smaller Morphe blending brush

Another brush I love from the set by Morphe is very similar to the last blending brush, but smaller and thinner. This brush is perfect to really carve out the crease. I even love this to blend out cut crease looks! This is the perfect precise blender! It can also be used to pack colours onto the lid because of the flat shape. It really is useful to have a brush that can do more precise blending for more precise looks! 

Coastal Scents Classic Blender
Crease Synthetic brush 

Another brush I love for precise application of colour into the crease is the Coastal Scents Classic Blender Crease Synthetic, BR- C- S08, which retails for just $2.49! This brush is small and very tapered allowing you to apply and blend a colour very precisely in the crease. I also like to use this brush to blow colours out on the lower lash line for a more smokey look, as it can act like a large pencil brush. Its multiple uses make it a great addition to any collection. 

Coastal Scents Classic Blender Natural

The last blending brush I'm going to mention is, again, by Coastal Scents. It is the Coastal Scents Classic Blender Natural, BR- C- N06, retailing for $2.95! I like to use this brush clean to go back and blend all of my eyeshadows together. This final step makes all the difference! It is very tapered, more so than the Sigma E40, and very soft, so is really able to blend and blow out your eyeshadow look! I feel that going back in at the end with a clean brush and giving the eye a final blend is a very crucial step that should not be skipped! 

Coastal Scents Classic Shader Medium
Synthetic 

And so we progress onto the lid... Until I purchased this next brush, I did not feel like I should invest in a flat shader brush. I was previously using flat blender brushes on my lid and was quite happy with the results. While placing an order on the Coastal Scents website, I decided to order the Classic Shader Medium Synthetic, BR- C- S52, for $2.49. I was blown away by how I had been wrong. Having a decent shader brush is an essential part of any brush collection! This brush packs on colour, whether neutral colours or darker colours for a smokey eye, like a dream. It is also very good for packing on pigments and glitter. It has enabled me to create more versatile looks and has been one of my best investments! And for the price you can't go wrong! 

Morphe Pencil Brush 

For me, the lower lash line is an important part of my makeup routine as I'll take any excuse to smoke it out! I've so far found that the best pencil brush for this is, again, from the Morphe set I mentioned earlier. It dense enough and tapered enough to use for both colour application and blending. I also love to use this if I want a really precise application of colour in the crease e.g. when I'm doing a cut crease. It's so soft and is really easy to work with. This is an all round great, multipurpose brush! 

Estée Lauder Eyebrow brush 20  

And finally.. Phew! The next brush is very close to my heart, as this is the only brush I've ever used on my eyebrows, and I love it. It is the Estée Lauder Eyeliner/Brow/Brush 20, which retails for $25. So that makes this the most expensive brush in this blog. I love this brush because of its size: it is very thin, so allows you to draw in and mimick individual brow hairs but is long enough that this does not take forever. You could probably find a cheaper alternative if you can't afford to spend $25 on a brow brush, but if you are willing to pay, it will be a great addition to your collection! 

So there you are guys! These are my favourite brushes for applying my eyeshadow, and have enabled me to really step up my makeup game. I would love to hear some of your favourites too! Don't forget to stay tuned for my coming blogs, including my favourite face brushes! 

Love you guys,

Starrzbeauty xoxo