Cream products are a-ok for jabbing your finger into and smearing on – the heat of your hands actually makes them more workable so the formulas literally melt into your skin (in a good ‘dewy’ way, not a drippy Jason Pollock way). The same goes for liquids – shed loads of make-up artists use their hands to rub in base products but then go back in with a buffer to fake that amazing ‘flawless’ effect.
But therein lies the golden chalice. Whilst your fingers might work sometimes, you’re never going to get a pro finish without the right tools. But which of those endless brush types do you actually need? We twisted make-up artist and head honch at Smashbox, Janine Bird’s arm to tell us the brushes she has as her constant companions…
Your multi-tasking base brush: The fan
We love: MAC 184 Duo Fibre Fan Brush, £19
Janine says: 'This is the most under used and misunderstood brush,' says Janine. 'NOT just for dusting on face powder to set foundation, it’s great for contouring and targeted bronzer application. The shape means it can really scoop under cheekbones to create a lifted effect while the width diffuses the colour and stops it looking stripy and Kardashian-like.'
We say: 'It’s also a fab tidier-upper to get rid of excess product, especially mascara flakes and black smudges after you’ve done your smoky eye. And this one is a mix of synthetic and natural goats hair so it works with powder and cream products.'
Your precision tool: The angled brow brush
We love: Japonesque Angled Brow Definer Brush, £11
Janine says: 'I always use pencil followed by brow powder applied with a brow brush. The slant takes the hard work out of creating those ‘invisible’ hairs you need to make brows look fuller and fatter. After experimenting, I also discovered I prefer this type of brush for creating sex bomb feline flicks with black gel liner because it doesn’t tug at the corners of the eyes as much.'
We say: 'The angle on this brush is epic for creating cupid’s bows on pouts that are flatter than a pancake. Just make sure you clean it before you transfer between the two.'
Your buffer: The clever foundation brush
We love: Smashbox Telephoto Face Brush, £39
Janine says: 'Brushes are generally only designed for use with one type of formulation but no-one just uses one type of foundation type anymore. This brush is really clever because it gives you the power to choose how compact you want the bristles to be so can loosely dust on powders or paint and buff in liquids or mousses. It's also fantastic for stippling so you can create every coverage option from full to super natural and sheer.'
We say: 'If you want glowy Olivia Palermo skin (don’t say you don’t), use the brush on its most fanned out setting to apply your moisturiser. It disperses it over your face really evenly and it doesn’t leave you with any obvious shiny patches.'
Your smoky eye staple: The definer
We love: KIKO High Definition Blending Brush, £10.90
Janine says: 'Impactful placement and colour blocking on lids needs a good brush because you want to be able to create shapes and blend right into the lashline. My favourite thing to do is to define the outside corner of the eye with a darker shade, drawing it out and under the eye bone and then bringing it back underneath the lower lashline.'
We say: 'Don’t just save this for colours and dark shades, it’s narrow enough to dot lighter shadows in the inner corner of your eyes to make them look bigger.'
Your perfector: The crease brush
We love: Zoeva 221 Luxe Soft Crease, £6.50
Janine says: 'Tapered shadow brushes give that light veil of colour from lash to brow that usually creates your base shade. You can use it to contour if you work it into creases in a light circular motion or try it to blend in your under eye concealer. To cover spots you need tightly packed bristles but under the eye concealers tend to have light diffusing pigments so the way the brush spreads on the skin helps scatter the particles across shadows and disguise darkness.'
We say: 'FYI these brushes are great for highlighting cheek and brow bones with no stripy after effects.'
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Photographs by Agata Pec
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.