How I Built My Brush Collection: Eyes Edition

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my initial foray into eye makeup (namely, eyeshadow) began with a cheap but good quality brush set that did not work out very well for me. The brushes just weren’t right for the jobs they needed to do and as a beginner, it made me ready to give up on eyeshadow all together. Then, as my research continued (and my makeup brush shopping spree gained momentum), I realized that it was a matter of practice and having the right tools to help you along.

For someone who is just a beginner, I have an embarrassingly large number of eye makeup brushes (and none of them, I should proudly add, cost more than A$17 even with shipping). And, unlike the face brush post from last week, I can’t quite recall the exact timeline of when I got hold of each brush. I do, remember that much of the research and decision-making I made around getting these brushes, so here we go.

All the eye makeup brushes I have ever owned are listed below. You’ll notice that there are no MAC brushes on this list, and the reason for this is that I am determined to avoid using MAC brushes for as long as I can. Even though they come very highly recommended and the temptation to get one or two is there, I can’t justify the cost of them right now. Maybe another time.

• Ecotools 6-Piece Eye Brush Set
• Ecotools Brush Set
• Makeup Geek Outer V Brush
• Makeup Geek Small Crease Brush
• Makeup Geek Bent Liner Brush
• Makeup Geek Crease Brush
• Urban Decay Good Karma Shadow Brush
• Makeup Geek Stiff Dome Brush
• Makeup Geek Soft Dome Brush
• Essence of Beauty Crease Brush Duo
• Sigma E25 Blending Brush
• Sigma E35 Tapered Blending Brush
• Sigma E30 Pencil Brush
• Sigma E55 Eye Shading Brush
  

Ecotools 6-Piece Eye Brush Set - When I say that my first set of eye brushes didn’t work very well, this is the set I’m talking about. Now, these brushes come very highly recommended and are of very good quality, but they did not work for me. Every single brush in this set was not right for me. The blending and highlight brushes were all too big so they put color where I didn’t want it (plus, to this day I still haven’t used the Angled Crease Blending Brush in the set). The smaller Shading Brush worked all right for a while because it suited my small lids, but I quickly tired of using it because didn’t pick up nearly enough color. The tiny Smudge Brush was what I used to smudge eyeshadows near the lashline, but I stopped using it once I got hold of something better, mainly because this brush just wasn’t stiff enough for the job and would make it very difficult to control the smudging!

Ecotools Brush Set (Angled Liner Brush, Lash and Brow Groomer, and Eye Shading Brush) - I mentioned this set in my other brush post, as this set came with two face brushes as well. And I must say, I still use these brushes quite frequently! I didn’t use the Angled Liner Brush right away because I wasn’t sure how to use it, but after buying my first gel liner, it’s been my go-to eyeliner brush! I like it so much that I actually bought a second one, though I tend to use one with gel liners and the other to set/smudge the gel liner with eyeshadow. I use the Lash and Brow Groomer to help clear up any mascara clumps (which is pretty often), and I used to use the Eye Shading Brush all the time to apply colors to my eyelids. However, since getting new, other shading brushes, my use of this one has kind of dropped off because it honestly didn’t pick up that much color and tended to send eyeshadow everywhere.

Makeup Geek Outer V Brush - From first use I knew this brush was not going to work in its intended purpose because, well, it’s just too big and fluffy. It might suit those of you with bigger eyes and much more space between your eye and your brow, but for me it just piled on too much color and it was so fluffy that it also sent the color going everywhere. So for my small and hooded eyes, I stopped using it in the outer V and instead started using it as a general blending brush; it works quite well in applying shimmer highlights that don’t need buffing out, and it also does a nice job blending out the mess I usually make under my lashline.

Makeup Geek Small Crease Brush - Compared to the Outer V brush, this brush’s smaller and denser tip meant I could draw my V much more easily and then blend in a more controlled manner. Since getting my Sigma E30 Pencil Brush I don’t use this much anymore, but in the past it has done a good job of setting up my outer v colors, which I would then blend in with another brush.

Makeup Geek Bent Liner Brush - I bought this after watching Marlena use one like it in many of her videos, and it appealed to me at the time because I had very shaky, unconfident hands when applying eyeliner. That this brush can actually rest on your eyelid while you’re applying it really appealed to me, since it allows for better control. I used it several times and while I like it, I eventually decided that I liked the Ecotools Angled Liner Brush better as I had better control with it and could apply a more precise line. I still use it from time to time to apply thicker lines but otherwise it’s gone largely unused since I bought it.

Makeup Geek Crease Brush - This is one of my current go-to brushes, which I love because it’s small enough to get into my crease without sweeping color all over the place and giving me what amounts to a “I just got punched in the eye” look. It’s not as stiff as it could be, but that’s fine because its size makes up for it. I use this to blend colors into and up from the crease. It did take me a while to figure out what I was doing with this brush, but once I did this made my eye makeup look 100000% better than it did before. I’m actually contemplating getting a second one of these in the near future.

Urban Decay Good Karma Shadow Brush - This brush came free with my Urban Decay Naked Palette, and I’m glad it did because it essentially replaced my Ecotools shading brushes (neither of which, as I mentioned, could pick up color worth a damn in my opinion). It’s a very good quality, stiff brush that picked up and packed on color like a champion. Though I’ve since moved on to an even BETTER brush, I still use this from time to time when the other brush is dirty or when I need to draw a thick but sharp line with eyeshadow.

Makeup Geek Stiff Dome Brush - As I watched Marlena go on and on about this brush, I figured I’d give it a try. As it turns out, I do use it, but not the way she does. This brush is ENORMOUS (for me anyway), so I can’t use it in the crease like she can. It’s also not a very round brush; it’s actually quite flat on one side, which I think is what makes it feel stiffer. Anyway, I now use this brush mostly to apply blend in my highlight shade, or to blend out any concealer I’ve applied under the eye.

Makeup Geek Soft Dome Brush - This was, initially, not a brush I thought I’d need, even though plenty of “Youtube Gurus” have used them to blend colors together or soften harsh lines in their eyemakeup. However, I began to notice that the other brushes I’ve been using for this purpose tended to be a bit too stiff and thus buffed out the colors I’d been applying, meaning it was fading the intensity of the applied colors. That sucked, so I turned to this brush, which I now use for many different purposes. I never use it with any color on the brush; I just sweep it over existing colors to help bring them together without fading them or blurring them. I also use it to blend out concealer on my face.

Essence of Beauty Crease Brush Duo - I ordered this on recommendation from Marlena at MUG and I have to say that they are the PERFECT size and shape for a variety of different uses. The larger one is great for blending color in the crease while the smaller one functions well as an eyeliner smudger or an outer v brush. That said, the quality of these brushes leaves something to be desired. At $10 for both I shouldn’t complain too much, but the amount of shedding these brushes did was phenomenal. I’ve used and washed them several times now and the shedding still hasn’t stopped and it’s starting to become a pain. Maybe I just got a faulty pair, but I don’t know that I’ll be using these very much again in the future.

Sigma E25 Blending Brush - This was sent to me as a gift from Sigma and I quite like it even though I don’t have much use for it. It’s very fluffy and it has an oval (not tapered) shape, which makes it great for blending in highlight shades and also concealer on the face. So depending on the state of my other brushes, this one is frequently called on for any fluffy, blending needs.

Sigma E35 Tapered Blending Brush - Similar to the previous brush, but this time with a different shape. It also feels a teensy bit stiffer than the E25. I like this brush a lot but it’s a teensy bit too big for my crease, so I’ll generally apply crease shades with my MUG Crease Brush and then blend it in using this brush (with no additional color on the brush itself). It seems to work quite well this way. I’ve also used it to apply and blend highlighter shades.

Sigma E30 Pencil Brush - Currently my favourite brush, I use this brush for a bunch of different things. Mainly, I use it as an outer V and crease brush, which suits my eyes very well because they are so small (it may be a bit too small for larger eyes). Plus, its smaller head allows for more intense and precise application of those darker outer V colours. I also use this to smudge out eyeshadows and eyeliner underneath my lower lashline, which this brush does pretty well, if a bit messily from time to time.

Sigma E55 Shading Brush - My third favourite brush, after the Sigma Pencil Brush and MUG Crease Brushes. This has replaced my Urban Decay brush as my go-to shader brush. It picks up heaps of color with only the smallest bit of effort, holds onto that color, and really packs it on the lid with almost no fallout, even when using powdery, talc eyeshadows!

So that’s where I currently am with eyeshadow brushes. The Sigma Pencil and Shading Brushes as well as the MUG Crease Brush tend to be the ones that get the most use, followed by the MUG Soft Dome Brush and the Sigma Tapered Blending Brush. I don’t think I’ve missed any but if I have I’ll be sure to add them to this post or make a new one. Anyway, like I said in my other posts, getting the right tools that suited my eyes definitely improved the look of my eye makeup, but some of it is also practice!