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Best Lip Brush

What's the Best Lip Brush that you've tried?

Honestly, I haven’t found one that I’ve hated by any means, and it’s probably a brush I use least (since I typically apply from the bullet itself!). I look forward to seeing if there are some favorites among you guys!

Thanks to Di for today’s question!

— Christine

30 Comments

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Mariella Avatar

Eons ago, Max Factor made a great one. I still have one but the little “tab” that allowed it to open is pretty much broken off. Some years ago, I discovered the QUO retractable lipstick brush and it’s the only one I use. I have 3 or 4 of them – one in my vanity, one in my purse, one in my gym bag and one in my yoga bag!

Kat Avatar

I only have every used one, which is the MUFE 304 lip brush. It has a nice long handle, which makes it balance nicely in my hand when I’m using it (like a chopstick!), but the handle pulls off to turn into a cap, which also makes it half as long to fit in my purse. The tip is nice, large enough to cover enough of my lip at a time, but it has a rounded tip to get the edges and corners really nicely. The fibers themselves are nice and stiff to get enough product but they’re never painful. Expensive, but I get tons of use out of it!

I never used to wear lipstick at all, not even sheer or MLBB shades, so I didn’t “get” why you’d even need a lip brush, but now that I wear super bright (usually matte and hard to clean up after the fact) lipsticks on the regular, I’d say it’s one of my most essential brushes. I usually apply lipstick to the majority/center of my lips straight from the bullet, use the lip brush to “line” the outer edge with the lipstick, and then use the brush to fill in all the blank spots and pack on a thinner second layer if necessary.

Grace Avatar

I agree with you Kat! I never wore bright / deep colors as well, but now that I do, the lip brush definitely helps with getting clean lines without having to use a lip pencil. I do my lipstick exactly the way you do as well. Filling majority of my lips with color and then finishing up with the brush 🙂

I personally like ones with a tapered end, and the bristles cannot be too flimsy or long. I actually just got Real Technique’s lip brush, and its pointed so its nice to get into the corners of the mouth and draw out the cupid’s bow.
For a while I used Bobbi Brown’s eye definer brush, cuz it was synthetic and it drew beautiful clean lines.

Linda Avatar

My favorite lip brush is by Cozzette. It’s got a nice, long brush tip that makes applying lip color a breeze. Cozzette’s entire brush line is amazing.

Rachel R. Avatar

I’ve had some really bad ones, but I’m not sure I’ve had one that made me say, “Wow! This is the best lip brush ever!”

I like the Coastal Scents telescoping lip brush. It works fine, doesn’t shed, and I don’t have to worry about losing the cap.

Eileen Avatar

As we get older and our lips lose volume, wrinkles develop which makes it hard to get a smooth, even coat of color from the bullet alone. For everyday use, I have an oldie by Sephora. It’s fairly thick and broad so it does a great job of spreading the lipstick out evenly. For dark colors and when I want precision, I like Chanel’s. It is much finer and beautifully shaped for creating clean definition. Both brushes are retractable and can be safely carried in a purse.

TheOtherHelen Avatar

Billy B paint brush 5 and the chikuhodo retractable. I hated lip brushes until I used the chikuhodo one. It’s got a square tip and it more dense than I knew a lip brush could/should be. But the results are flawless and the square tip helps with precise edges. Also the billy b brush I originally bought for eyeshadow but tried it for lips when I was in a pinch one day. Also, flawless results. That one is more traditional shape but the bristles are somehow soft and stiff at the same time and it doesn’t remove lipstick as you add more.

Nancy T Avatar

Believe it or not, I’ve never used one! Well, with the exception of the one you get with OCC Lip Tars. My lips are fairly plump, unwrinkled and on the fuller side, so the lipstick bullet tends to work just fine. If I do wind up with a more tricky shade, I’ll just use a coordinating lip liner.

Grace Avatar

I only really use it for bold colors, but the Real Techniques pink one does the job. My everyday colors I just apply from a bullet though. I find I really need it to keep Urban Decays F Bomb from feathering.

Kitty Avatar

This was my question! 🙂 I just started using a lip brush because of wearing bolder and brighter shades. I also have asymmetrical lips and Cupid’s Bow, plus part of the line of my upper lip has faded. I tend to avoid using lip liners so prefer to use the lipstick I’m wearing to try to carefully line my lip.

For getting super nice lining using lipstick from the bullet, I use the retractable Dior Professional Finish Lip Brush. This thing works wonders–it has a very fine tip and has the firmness needed to make precise lines. It’s not good for filling in lips or spreading lipstick around though. For those functions, I just got the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Brush and it has just the right shape and firmness. I had tried one with a cap from MUFE but the cap would catch a bristle or two when it was put on so I ended up returning it.

Maggie Avatar

Real Techniques Lip Brush (the pink retractable one with the cap). That one is my absolute favorite. Some lip brushes actually make application uneven but this one seems to work with all my lipsticks.

Allison L Avatar

Ecotools lip brush with the cover. Really nice point on it and the cover is great for on the go touch ups. It might of been d/c but just spotted them for $2 at Five Below. I think I have 10+ of them now.

Cat Avatar

When I’m not leaving the house (which is most of the time), I use a pencil to line my lips and my lipstick — no brush. When I am leaving the house, I usually grab whatever lip product I’m going to use and apply it in the car. I could see myself… trying to use a brush in the car… ending up with Sanskrit scrawled across my cheeks… (The birth of a new trend!)

KJH Avatar

1. Billy B
2. Wayne G.
distant 3. Trish M. Retractable

Dislike: old (now my old is far older than your old…). Estée L. With screw on cap. OCC seems only good-ish for their products. Picked up these little tip ELF brushes for a buck at Dollar Tree, that were labeled ‘concealer’ I think, but they work fairly well (a tad stiff) for both lip & eye detail brushes. Still tend to use the bullet after clear and maybe colored lip liner.

Lotus Avatar

I’m not one to really use a lip brush but the one I’ve favored in my past when using s lip brush was from MUFE. 🙂

pePear Avatar

MUFE Lip Brush-300.I love the shape with staright edge,it so easy to creat a sharp line on the lip! 🙂 I often used this brush with bold/dark colors lipsticks(plum,red,bright pink) or a lipsticks that had a uneven colours when apply it direct from the tubes

Sarah Avatar

I have one from MAC… Too lazy to look up the number! It twists up and down. I’m not big on lip brushes, pretty much any one that is denser/firmer side that lets me pack on colour and line effectively! The flimsier ones are good for gloss I suppose, but too lazy for that.

Brenda P Avatar

My favourite is the OCC lip brush. whatever it is about that brush, it really helps to get in those pesky little lines that have appeared and makes my lips look fuller. I have a lip brush with a full sleeve cap from Annabelle that I keep in my bag and it’s pretty good too. Other than that I haven’t liked any others and used to use a L’oreal eye liner brush that came with a gel liner pot!

Sandra JT Avatar

Have never liked lip brushes, ever. I find them awkward, frustrating & pretty much useless. If a lipstick requires the effort of being applied with a lip brush, I simply won’t buy the lipstick, especially ones in lip palettes (gawd how I detest lip palettes) unless I plan on using them as cream blush.

But I have found a use for the random lip brushes I do have in my collection, which I’ve inadvertently managed to pick up in makeup or brush sets/kits. They’re definitely not brushes I would deliberately buy or hunt down, but they can make spectacular gel liner brushes. Lip brushes are actually my favorite brushes for applying gel/cream liners. They don’t drag on or pull the skin, they apply product incredibly smoothly, easily & evenly, they can also be used with liquid liners which come with crap brushes, and I find they pick up the perfect amount of product, which I don’t find a lot of brushes designated as ‘liner’ brushes do. They’re also very easy for me to get clean using just some Doctor Bronner’s & warm water – the only soap (other than the soap I make) I’ll ever use on my brushes.

Lip brushes can also work very nicely with brow gels/pomades like Anastasia’s, allowing me to feather in little hairs that look very natural, or for perfectly drawing a straight edge on the underside of my brow. Most of the ones I have seem to have just enough flex to make the job enjoyable, and doing my brows is the one thing I’ve always hated doing.

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