I recently bought myself a fresh new kit of makeup brushes from Urban Decay from their awesome Naked collection and boy, was I slightly overwhelmed. There were more brushes than I have ever owned and I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with each of them. Some just seemed like bigger sizes of the same brush – was this for eyeshadow? for blush? for my brows? 

I wanted to make sure I was using the brushes to its best, I know there were some for shading and the basics, but am I really using them right? After all, I’ve never attended a class in makeup or brush technique, so really most of my know-how has been from watching youtube videos and research here and there. I realised most of the time I’m probably just winging it.

Here are the Must-Have Makeup Brushes and Some Tips to Using Them.

1. The angled brush for eyeliner

This brush works best to apply gel eyeliner or liquid eyeliner, it also gives you great precision to do a winged look. It helps you achieve a very defined line – the ones that work best are those that have stiffer bristles so it’s easier to create that line.
Image: cosmopolitan.com
Image: cosmopolitan.com

Related: Basic Rules to Tweezing Your Eyebrows

2. The blending brush

This is one of the few brushes that I actually knew – the one that perfectly blends eyeshadow into the crease of your eye, perfect for that smokey eye effect and to blend any harsh lines of eyeshadow.
Image: painted-ladies.com
Image: painted-ladies.com

Related: [Tutorial] Here’s How to Apply Mascara Like a Pro

3. The fan brush

This is perfect for fluffing away any fallen powder product, like eyeshadow, or to gently apply powder.
Image: popsugar.com
Image: popsugar.com

4.  The powder brush

Another must-have is the powder brush with it’s long bristles and fluffy effect that evenly diffuses powder, it’s also great to apply a light layer of blush along your nose, chin, and forehead.
Image: makeupusa.com
Image: makeupusa.com

5. The angled blush brush

Image: karlasugar.net
Image: karlasugar.net

One of my favourite brushes to get that right amount of blush onto your cheekbones. The angled effect makes it easier for it to be swiped along your cheekbones in a natural way.

6. Concealer brush

This is my new found friend. It gives you the ease of applying to areas that need concealing and allows you to apply it in a more concentrated way for more coverage and gives you easier access to those tighter spots.
Image: cosmopolitan.com
Image: cosmopolitan.com

7. Smudge brush

An essential when you’re doing the smokey-eye effect, this brush creates that smudged effect which is all the smokey eye effect really is. It’s taking a bit of eyeshadow and smudging it, while blending it into the creases.
Image: cosmopolitan.com
Image: cosmopolitan.com

– Cover Image: youbeauty.com

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