The Hit List: Worst Brush for Eyeshadow Application
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
What’s the Worst Brush for Eyeshadow Application…?
What brand/product wins this category? Any particular reason it wins?
Ulta brushes are pure junk!
Stila's used to be really bad, but they've improved them considerably! (thank heavens!!!)
Sponge! I hated it and it made my eye makeup look awkward when I was younger and a newbie. How about Sigma brushes guys? Any thoughts?
*looks around*.. ok, i'll say it.. the MAC holiday brush sets.. Never, ever, ever, in any of these, have i ever gotten a decent brush that didn't fall apart, scratch, shed, chipping handles, brush heads falling out or just feel like crap. I bought them a few times over the years and thought how great they would be to take when i went on vacation instead of risking losing my full size. Forget it. I hate them.
That must have been a ruined vacation as far as make up went!
I completely agree, they are awful! I got the one last year for Christmas, and the 224 was so scratchy! And the 266? WTF was that? That was my first experience with MAC brushes. I couldn't believe people raved about MAC brushes, I thought they were horrible quality. Then I found out their brush sets are machine made, not hand made and that's why they sucked so horribly.
The Sigma SS239 is TERRIBLE. At the time, when they used their old numbering system, they made most of their brushes similar to the MAC ones. I'm not saying similar quality, but each corresponding number served the same function and looked similar to the MAC ones. The 239 is made of different bristles, it's super stiff and bigger.
The Bare Escentuals double-ended brush that came with the Smoky Eye Tutorial set. I received it as a gift almost two years ago when I was in my beauty junkie infancy stage. It was so scratchy and poke-y that to paraphrase my favorite acerbic wit Dorothy Parker, this is not a brush to be tossed aside lightly, it should be thrown with great force!
The SS239 from Sigma...no where near the MAC 239. I doesn't deposit color as well. It's also a bit wider so getting the inner and outer corners is harder.
It's hard to pick a worst with brushes because some no-name crap from where ever is always going to win. in terms of known brands Eco tools has some really terrible ones. they also have the best ones I've ever used too though (their shading brushes are holy grail status)
Most of the Quo eyeshadow brushes.
As much as I love ecotools brushes, I can't stand the eyeshadow brush for powder shadow. It's just too smooth to pick up a useful amount of product. For creams and concealers, however, it's the bomb!
Omg I agree!! The ecotools eyeshadow brushes just eat up powder! I did make a drat in my e/s pan when I used tr ecotools one for 6 months (before I found better brushes). Thank god I got the MAC 239 (for free ;]]]). They're amazing at applying a cream shadow or paint pot! Omg I remember getting these mini eyeshadow brushes from a lancome GWP two years ago - omg they were awful!!! The brushes splayed and looked like an upside-down triangle... How could I apply anything to my eyes with it...?!
Any brush made of natural hair is my least favorite. I've never tried one that wasn't scratchy and prickly- even ones that lots of people describe as "soft." They're downright painful on my skin, and always leave red bumps behind. On top of that, I'm quite sensitive to smells, and natural brushes smell awful. (I can even smell them when they're dry. Yuck.) Give me a Too Faced, Urban Decay, or EcoTools brush over any natural brush any day!
If they leave bumps behind, you might be allergic, just FYI!
I know this probably doesn't count, but THOSE FOAM TIP "BRUSHES" IN SOME PALETTES! GRRR!
OH, I got of Beauty's Eyeshadow shading brush a bajillion years ago because I had temporarily lost my Sigma one... omg that thing sucks, I ended up using a concealer brush for those few days!! IT'S LIKE THICK AND TERRIBLE! :(
***Essence of Beauty's Eyeshadow Shading Brush
The crease brush from Studio Tools. It sheads!
The sponge aplicators!!!!
I really dislike Sephora brand brushes personally, I can't seem to do anything with them well enough to my liking.
I use their contour brush and a couple for eyeshadows and find they are pretty decents, especially cos it is the BEST brand I can find in my really small city in Spain. (no mac or whatever here). I really LOVE their retactable purse blush brush
Same here. I like sephora brushes. I have an "all over shadow" one and a smokey eye one which has 2 different tips. I bought them in Spain last year because we don't have Sephora in Denmark. I also have a retractable blush brush from Sephora
*waits to hear everyone say sponge* Sponge tips do a have a special place in my heart. I find that most brushes are really good at 1 maybe 2 things. If you hate it you are doing it wrong. I don't have a hate brush for eyes. I did hate a blush brush though (Quo) but I found out after I tossed it that I just needed to use a different cleaner.
The Eco Tools eyeshadow brushes were terrible for me. I actually enjoy the Sonia Kashuk brushes for eyeshadow.
Toothbrush? Oh! Oh! No wait... One of those rollers that you use to paint walls! That's got to be the worst, right? Does that count as a brush though? Hmm... ;)
hahaaa! I saw the latest sephora tips thing that said use a toothbrush to put on eyeshadow...I was like whaaaat? Why??
I saw that! I thought it was interesting but couldn't help but think, for the effect they were trying to create, there has to be a better brush/way to do it... I kept looking at all that gel eyeliner on the brush and their hands and thinking, "that's just wasteful!" Haha :)
I was thinking mason pearson...
The little brushes or sponges applicators packaged with eyeshadows are definitely the worst. But for individual brushes, I find the Loew-Cornell brushes a lot of people recommend for MAC dupes really scratchy compared to real MAC brushes.
YES! Agree 1000%! I have the ever so popular 3/8 inch Maxine's Mop brush and it scratches in the worst way! Very uncomfortable.
I will also agree here -- It was a good brush to start with, especially if you can't afford other brushes... BUT BUT BUT that was 5 years ago. Today, there are a lot of brush makers on the market that do a much better job with softer bristles than the Loew brushes--especially for eyes. You can get better brushes from E.L.F., Sonia Kashuk, Essence, etc.
I really like the Ecotools brushes for cheap brushes, but I don't wear makeup enough for it to be worth splurging on high-end brushes. The only thing I have to compare to is my Tsumori Chisato for Shu Uemura travel brush set (a total splurge but I'm in love with the bag), which is actually not as nice at all. I replaced the blush brush with an ecotools one.
Agree, agree, agree. Thought I was the only one who didn't like that brush.
Ugh, I agree as well! I bought them, even though I already had a 239 (I now have more 239's haha). They were awful, and the scratchiness would irritate my skin, and then my eyes would water, and it was just all downhill from there..
I bought some cheap QVS (Superdrug's own) eyeshadow brushes a while ago (before I discovered GOSH brushes which are great!) and they are really rubbish, now I only use them for applying eyeshadow base. I also find that most brushes that come with palettes are rubbish, I do agree about those UD ones with the first BOS, glad that nowadays they include 24/7 eyeliners instead.
The worst thing are sponge applicators, especially cheap ones like e.l.f.!
MAC's 252 brush is just scratchy & horrible. I hate its little brush-guts.
hahaha...that's cute!
Don't speak that way about my baby! I think you hurt her feelings :-(
I don't have any particular brand in mind - I dislike synthetic brushes for e/s applications. I feel like the bristles don't pick up as much product as natural hair which is a bummer because I'd like to have vegan products whenever possible.
Alicia, see if you can check out the newly released brushes from Urban Decay. I bought their crease brush and detail brush and they're working out really well for me.
2nd. I can't get synthetic brushes to work for eyeshadow.
I have found synthetic brushes work well for cream bases and paint pots. I wonder if there are companies that make cruelty free natural hair brushes...
Try ecotools :) they make great animal-friendly bamboo handled brushes!
those little double-ended ones that come with the Kat Von D palettes. Those things are useless as far as eyeshadow application goes, but they work okay for eyeliner. Also, (another double-ended one) the ones that come with some of the Clinique Colour Surge palettes. They have a brush on one end and a sponge tip on the other and the brush is AWEFUL!!! it's too small to do anything and to soft or fluffy to even put eyeshadow on the lid.
I was about to say the Kat Von D ones as well.. They're too small to apply anything on the eye, except liner. I wonder how they would fare as lip brushes though..
I have used them as lip brushes and they're pretty good. I also use them to blend out my eyeliner on the lower lid, and to apply a highlight to the inner corner of my eye. I find them very useful :)
**lower lashline
For me it would have to be those little sponge brushes you get with most eyeshadows. I'm not saying they are the worst but I know I can't do a thing with them.
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