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Do you have a preferred color of your makeup brush bristles?

I like black, only because it hides use better, so it doesn’t look as dirty. They’re also more forgiving if you clean and can’t get every last bit of makeup out of it, too.

— Christine

49 Comments

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Katherine T. Avatar

Brown is nice -they usually hide stains, but you can still see how much pigment you have picked up. I absolutely hate brushes with white hairs, they stain so easily

Heidi Avatar

I like black for the same reasons, however I also like the ones that are ombre or gradient colored (start off with black and then grey and then white at the bottom). I also like the pink tipped colored ones from Wet n’ Wild. Some of those are not horrible and actually work well.

CeeBee Avatar

Not really. I value softness, ease of product pickup and application and drying time over colour. I do like the ones I have that are vegan/artificial fibres that are a medium brown with white tips but that’s mostly because it’s easy to see how much pigment you’ve picked up. And they’re super soft!

Black is practical but I have one blush brush that is otherwise great but EVERY time I wash it, it leaks black dye everywhere – and it’s not new either! I may have developed a slightly irrational sense of frustration over that one brush, though 😉

nicole Avatar

I just received my order of Spectrum brushes from BeautyBay yesterday and they are beautiful! I got the powder and blush brushes and the bristles are a lovely spectrum of colours from green to purple with a baby pink handle. Very lovely to look at definitely.

I’ve used brushes with brown, white or black bristles and never really gave a thought to it. They usually wash out well and revert to their original colour without too much trouble. The beautyblender though is another story… mine is the nude one and no matter what just can’t get it back to that colour! looks icky and i’ve stopped using it though it’s still new.

Nancy T Avatar

Good question! Ya know what? I never actually gave that any thought until right now. Like literally. Right now.
Hmm, black definitely DOES hide wear and tear. And also if I have gotten lazy about cleaning them.
But lighter shaded bristles will let me know that I had better clean those bad boys! Yes, I am very lackadaisical about having a good brush cleaning schedule…?

Shana Avatar

I like unusual colors on good quality natural bristles. Pink, fuchsia, and purple are the most irresistible for me. But I never found those colors with natural bristles and good quality in stores around.
White is pretty too and much easy to find. Most of my brushes are white.

LindaP Avatar

No preference here.

I wash my brushes religiously every Sunday (HA! like church!), so the white ones stay pristine. I really don’t have a problem every getting them totally white again, no matter the product on them.

I use the Sephora solid clean, although I think the Beauty Blender solid works a *bit* better. But it’s not enough of a difference to make up for the delat in price for me. I also use a mat like the one in the link that I got for $14 on Amazon. The one I received, truth be told, said Sigma on it, and it sells on the Sigma site for $32. The mat helps a lot and makes short work of the cleaning. . https://www.amazon.com/Cleaning-ESARORA-Cosmetic-Portable-Scrubber/dp/B01GDRQ3EU/ref=sr_tnr_p_7_11059461_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1471787441&sr=8-7&keywords=makeup+brush+cleaner

Julia Avatar

Same! Most of my brushes are black, but I recently bought a white Sigma E25… every time I look at it I’m slightly grossed out but it works really well! I should probably use that one as an indicator to wash the rest 🙂

MacKenzie Avatar

Personally, I actually prefer white bristles, mostly because I know when they’re clean and when they’re not. They’re not as pretty after you’ve used them, but I use cheap brushes anyway (the Wet N Wild brushes are honestly some of the best at the drugstore and at $2.99-$0.99 (and they’re usually on sale at Walgreens anyway) you really can’t beat em!

Alecto Avatar

Never thought about it. The vast, vast majority of my bristles are mid-to-dark brown, and that seems fine. I have 5 with all light bristles, or light-at-the-tip bristles, and with the exception of my blush brush and a smudging brush, they’re used for light-colored applications (powder, highlighter), which seems appropriate.

kjh Avatar

Generally prefer black, but with light or white bristles, you get a far better idea of how much product you picked up. So I use the whites pretty exclusively, with more intense shades. Staining after wash is an annoyance, though.

Lea Avatar

I actually like white hair brushes; they remind me to clean regularly, but it’s also easier to know which brushes I’ve used certain colors with, so I don’t mess up my shadow my accidentally getting a dark pigment in there because some was left on the brush. I don’t use brush sprays because of the alcohol content. They may spot clean quickly, but the alcohol is bad for natural bristles. It’ll dry them out and ruin them long term. From an aesthetic point of view, I like tortoise colored brushes with a brown-black mixture, but I think those are less common than they used to be.

thirteen Avatar

I guess I don’t care? Although I do have one white MAC brush (the 168) and it does get pretty colorful. I am religious about washing my brushes though so it’s not a huge problem.

Maggie Avatar

As long as it doesn’t bleed color but I would much prefer if it was not dyed (better for the environment, better for my skin). White bristles won’t stop me from buying a good brush–dirty is dirty, after all. However, I am not a MUA who has brushes lingering around while working with people or a blogger who displays her vanity so I never have to think beyond whether or not my stuff is clean or stored properly.

Maria Avatar

If it is a natural hair brush I prefer it not to be dyed if it goat I like it to be white and not dyed. I actually prefer if possible none of my brushes had any dye in them if they are black I would like it to be naturally black.

Diana Avatar

I feel like most would prefer black for that reason but I honestly prefer the opposite. I like to see exactly what’s on the bristles and, not all!, but many of my cheaper black hair bristles bleed which bothers me to no end! But yea. Prefer lighter colored bristles. Lol

Kesha Avatar

For the most part I don’t have a preference. I’m pretty anal about cleaning my personal brushes immediately after use so my white bristle brushes don’t tend to stain. I assume it’s my quick cleaning that helps and perhaps the quality of the brushes I use. My kit brushes I at least spot clean them after use to try and limit staining from occurring. It’s a few products I avoid using with light bristles (lip products, especially liquid long wearing ones in reds or deep colors for example). But for the most part I’m more concerned about the quality than I am about the color.

ShirlJ Avatar

I prefer white and don’t seem to have trouble getting them clean.

I use a couple of MAC217 brushes for blending. I separate them into a light/highlighter/browbone shade brush and a deeper colour brush. Then I wash every few days and I get them clean enough that I can’t tell which is which. But that way I don’t have to wash every day to keep my lighter colours from getting muddy.

BTW, just got my first Hakuhodo brushes (J5523) and used them once. So far very nice and soft. Very exciting! 🙂

Alicia Morris Avatar

I really don’t have a preference for the color of the bristles. As long as they are soft and of good quality, I’m fine with whatever color they are. My higher end brushes don’t bleed color, but I have had a medium price point brush that did and it drove me crazy. My Sedona Lace brushes are pink and black, and they really pretty, but it’s their quality that I really like. My few Wayne Goss brushes are black, but my favorite foundation brush (Marc Jacobs) is black and white. So yeah, no real preference.

Deborah Avatar

I am always about ‘pretty’ so the colorful brushes are fun but if they don’t perform well, I can just look at them and use those that do perform well : )

Nell Avatar

I prefer dark frostless because they don’t show and it makes my dressing table look nicer. I asked the question because my white brushes weren’t being used, and that’s why! I think they perform beautifully, it’s just not a nice look to me. I do use MAC 217 and 239 for light eyeshadow so they don’t show, and it’s easy to locate them for that purpose.

Sarah Avatar

I love turquoise bristles. Most of the ones I own have black tips but that’s fine by me. It’s just my favorite color! As far as “not childish colors,” as a friend once told me, I don’t have a major preference? I like brown “brush looking” bristles but it doesn’t matter much.

Pearl Avatar

I prefer black because it hides usage and wear better. I have a hard time using white bristles because I don’t want to dirty them. When I do end up using them, it seems like I can never get them as clean as they were when they were un-used, and they don’t look as “pretty”.

Jing Avatar

I like either an off-white like the Hakuhodo J series brushes or black or brown, i don’t like anything colorful–like pastel or candy colored, or with two colors when it’s not a duo-fiber brush, like those artificially colored brushes that start with the bottom being white and the tip with pink, yellow, blue…etc.

Marie-Estelle Avatar

I really doesn’t matter to me. Durty is durty, dark bristles or not! Without going OCD over the subject I do clean my brushes regularly and have wonderful tools and soap to make it easy and fast. I never have any issue eliminating remaining pigments.

I only pay attention to a bristles’ color when they are natural and only want them in they “natural” color -like a lot here!.

Mo Merrell Avatar

Never really thought about it. I’d say half of my brushes are black and the other half are a natural tan-ish color. When I buy brushes I’m not so much looking at the color, it’s moreso the feel of the bristles and the handle.

RMW (Rose) Avatar

Hi Temptalia,
No not at all. As long as it is a great quality brush. I don’t care for brushes that fall apart when you put your makeup on. You know the one’s where you have more bristles of the brush on your face that gets mixed in with your makeup! High quality brushes are just as important as the makeup that you put on your face! ?

Silvia Avatar

I think black blushes are the most sexy, sleek looking style but I like them all. I love a natural wood handle as the Bobbi Brown big fluffy brush I have. Also have some great eyeshadow and blush slanted ones from Bath & Body work wood handle and a thick fluffy tip wonderful softened but yet strong. Have found I on beauty brushes in T.J. which are full and awesome, also great eyeliners black brushes from Soho they turned out great for applying powder eyeliner stiff and small point. I think I on beauty and Precision arré both about the same quality awesome full brushes. Lastly am adoring the white set from WetnWild they are great for applying highlighter or a light hand on blushes! I think it looks so pretty and hygienic. Found recently while digging at Ross some duo Elite foundation and powder blush super nice, also the old Fergie Wetnwild black set for $6.99 what a great deal! They were already cheap at Walgreens I believe at $10.00. Love buying brushes! Mainly for applying blush and eyeshadows.

Magdalena Plewinska Avatar

Black, white or brown, whatever the natural color of the hair is. For man-made fibers I don’t care, although I don’t like the bright pink or green I have seen on some brushes.

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