Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Face Brushes!
my answer: When face brushes shed (more than just initially), it drives me bananas! Those little hairs can be a total pain to remove from the face. Really dense face brushes can also be a challenge to clean, as so much product can get trapped in-between the bristles, so then they take awhile to dry. I love all the various shapes and options there are, though!
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Rave… they make my foundation look nice and keep my fingers clean? Haha. The rant would also be the shedding. I’m not a fan of brush hairs on my face.
I use a wet sponge to apply my liquid foundation, because I feel like some brushes make my dry skin flake even more when you buff it on with a brush. However, I use them for blush, bronzer, and sometimes concealer. It is really annoying when you get one that sheds a lot, and you have to constantly pick the hairs off your makeup.
Rant: it’s a less tactile experience, so for things like blush I tend to find it harder to gauge exactly where and how much is going on, if you know what I mean.
Rave? The good ones feel so soft – could just have a kabuki brush on my desk to stroke while I write my thesis, LOL!
What brush sheds the least? I’m looking for a new powder/finishing brush because the one that I have sheds horribly.
The obscenely high prices some brands charge for brushes, while there are so many other brands available now that are just as good, and at times even better. Admittedly, a few years back, the hogher-end brushes did outperform the bargain brushes, but with brands like Sonia Kashuk, Real Techniques, Posh, Essence of Beauty, among others, there’s no reason to have such a price discrepancy.
I’ve only had one brush give me any problems with some shedding, which is a random kabuki brush, but it does such a great job otherwise with certain products that are normally difficult to deal with, the minimal shedding is something I’ve just adapted to. However, since I bought the RT Buffing Brush, I reach for that kabuki brush only when the RT is dirty.
I second this. I don’t like that certain companies charge a premium for mediocre quality brushes. Even though I have ventured into the bottomless pit of Hakuhodo and the like, I still look at bargain brands for specific shapes, bristles, and styles I need (ex. Sigma F80, Sigma P82, Sigma P86).
On the rave side I love that they make application easier. I was never good at using my hands for anything besides concealer! Lol. I stil don’t know how my mom does it.
I squeeze a little Dr. Bronners or baby shampoo on my hand and swirl the brush on my palm. If I am washing my foundation brush or a dense powder brush sometimes I swirl, rinse (but not a thorough rinse) swirl and then rinse till all the suds are gone. It is really fast and completely cleans the brushes. Occasionally dense brushes take a bit longer because getting the powder out of them and making sure all the soap is out can be a pita
Rave: brushes are better for me, I hate using my fingers to apply makeup.
Rant: HATE cleaning them
I also agreeing with shedding being my main issue with face brushes! And I also can’t stand scratchy bushes!
Shedding brushes are a pita!
I’m sort of a brush collector, so I’ve acquired a good number of really nice face brushes – 5 Chikuhodos, a Suqqu cheek, the Koyudo Red Squirrel cheek, Tom Ford cheek, the Chanel retractable kabuki, and a Hakuhodo finishing brush… Using these brushes is one of the happiest moments of my day! Some people might not think they’re worth the money, but to me they absolutely are… the squirrel hair brushes feel like little puffs of air on my face.
The biggest con is how afraid I am to wash them… I haven’t washed the Koyudo, Suqqu, or any of the Chikuhodos yet. I’ve just been wiping them off on a tissue after every use, but I know I’ll have to wash them all eventually. I don’t want to harm them in any way!
I love face brushes because the right one can really change your life lol. Besides the shedding I absolutely hate cleaning them. Especially foundation brushes. It seems like it takes forever lol. It’s so much work!
I like how many options there are out there even though the plethora of choices can get a little overwhelming. I like how many non animal hair brush lines are available now- I’m not entirely against animal hair brushes (and my experiences might be colored by using cheaper brands) but I have found synthetics shed less and are softer.
Rants are shedding, dye leaking (ew), I hate cleaning brushes I use with liquid products like foundation because I always worry I’ll either damage the brush or not fully clean it. I’m not a fan of retractable brushes, ones with tiny handles (or really long unwieldy handles), or huge brushes that are hard to use with precision, though obviously those are things I can avoid generally. I’m also a bit annoyed by how hard it is to guess quality by price, my most expensive brush purchase (a Guerlain one) has been the biggest disappointment, but an el cheapo Eco Tools brush is one of my favorites. I also dislike how much certain brands can drop the quality of brush sets or brushes sold with palettes.
the brush i use for bronzer sheds like mad and it makes it feel like i have spiders/spider webs all over me! but i love that brush. another thing i hate is that it takes me so long to wash the brush i use to put on liquid foundation. any tips?
I use a solution of Dr. Bronner’s castile soap & warm water, and dip the bristles in the solution, and rinse. Repeat until the water runs clear. I do this after each use, so there isn’t any caked on build-up. HTH
Rant: I feel like using a foundation brush wastes so much product and it takes forever to apply – using my fingers gets the foundation on completely in mere seconds, which is important before work, and gives me much better coverage. Rave: well, I love brushes for every other purpose. I love trying different ones, I love that changing a brush can change a product completely.
Rant: I feel like I need to wash my blush brushes after each use. Otherwise trapped pigment keeps coming out and mixes with the new shade of blush the next day, regardless of how much I shake, blow on the brush or run it on tissue paper. It would be okay if it didn’t FOREVER to dry…
I also hate when a new brush’s black dye bleeds the first time I wash it 🙁
Rave: I actually love the feeling of a very soft brush on my face.
I hear ya’ on that blush color mixing if you don’t wash them. I hate that.
I tried using paint brushes made from animal hair because i saw charlotte tilbury using it. And it is really surprising how soft the brushes are! It doesn’t shed too!
What I do to clean dense brushes easier, I soak them in Bioderma before I wash them. I try to keep them soaked for as long as possible, then use a pore cleansing pad to clean them.
I hate that as well, nothing more annoying when your makeup comes out really good and you spot a brush hair you can’t get off! Argh ¬.¬.
I love the difference they make to finish of my base product. I often apply my BB cream with my fingers and use my Real Techniques Expert Face to blend the hairline and jaw. I HATE WASHING THEM THOUGH.
I wish some companies would not make their blush brushes so huge. No one’s face is that big. 😛
Cleaning face brushes is the difficult part for me. Foundation brushes are concealer brushes the hardest ones to clean. I secretly curse myself for insisting on using two of each face brush daily. However, brushes are better for my sensitive skin than using fingers, saves product, and makes my makeup look amazing.
Rant: cost, shedding, cleaning and length of time to dry.
Rave: Does a better job of blending than sponge applicators and my fingers.
Love: the way it looks when others use them.
Hate: shedding, paranoia about cleansing, not being sure which are necessary.
Rant- I hate it when an eyeliner brush has a hair that sticks out sideways and refuses to go back in with the rest of the pack. It messes up your eyeliner big time. Then if you decide to try and cut it off, the stubble jabs you.
I like brushes for eyes, because they can get in the small places. B. Blender for foundation. And fingers for highlighter because you can feel your cheekbones and get better placement. Lipstick is straight from the tube, and blush- haven’t found the right brush yet!
They make foundation application easier. Also it’s great for moustrising face before makeup.
-I hate huge brushes.