Brushes

I was talking to Daisy May Robin about make-up brushes and it got me thinking about how much I love my MAC and Bare Escentuals brushes.

I store my brushes in a glass, with the business end facing up. I have a few brushes that I never use (I HATE lip brushes), so of the picture above, the ones laid out below are the brushes that I use almost every day (I mix it up with the eye brushes, so they don't all get used every single day).

The brushes from left to right are: Bare Escentuals Flawless Face Brush (for mineral foundation and face powder), MAC 129 SE (for powder blush), an old MAC mascara brush (to tame my brows or de-clump mascara), Bare Escentuals max coverage concealer brush (for concealer for eyes, nose and chin - I actually have two of these), MAC 224 SE (for shading in the lid crease and all over color), MAC 228 SE (for more precise shading on the top lid and bottom lash line), and MAC 266 SE (awesome for wetting and using with powder shadow as a liner and also works with eyebrow powder, although brow powder leaves me looking very goth and overdone, so I stay away from that).

(I linked to the brushes on the MAC site that are closest to the ones that I have. Mine are from a travel set, so I'm not sure if that's why they have the "SE" in their name.)

Which one is my favorite? Well, I can't live without any of them, but my favorite would have to be the 224 SE.


It is the most versatile of all the eye makeup brushes. You can use it with a neutral color (like Stila Kitten) for a watercolor wash effect, or you can use it to shade the crease of your eyelid with a dark color or you can wet it and get a more intense opaque shade. It's also really great to use when you don't have a lot of time because it doesn't take much precision for lighter colors.

I got both the Bare Escentuals brushes for free with the Get Started kit. All the MAC brushes are from a set that I bought at the MAC store on Robson the first time Aaron and I ever went to Vancouver in December of 2001. So not only do I love those brushes
because they are fabulous, but also for sentimental reasons. (What's funny is I distinctly remember walking down the street and telling Aaron how much I never wanted to get married and he wholeheartedly agreed. What did we know?)

I wash my brushes once every one to two weeks. I try to wash the concealer brushes more, because they seem to get greasy faster. I usually use baby shampoo or some other cheap shampoo (like White Rain) because it really cuts through the oil and makeup residue.

A good set of brushes can set you back some serious coin, but if you treat them well, they will give you many good years of service and joy.