The Key to Flawless Makeup is Using the Right Brushes—Here, the Best Ones for Every Step of Your Routine

There’s nothing like the feeling of spending time on a makeup look and it actually turning out exactly as you hoped. Cheekbones chiseled to perfection with contour, just the right amount of blush on the apples of your cheeks and a flawless, beautifully blended foundation base—it’s so satisfying when it comes out right. On the other hand, it’s ultra frustrating when you put precious time into your makeup only for it to turn exactly the opposite of what you hoped: patchy, cakey and not blended, for example. The good news is that there is an easy fix, and it all comes down to your makeup brushes. Here, we get into why it’s so important to use the right makeup brushes, what to look for in a brush set and the best makeup brushes to try out.

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How to choose the right makeup brushes

We get it: you may be thinking, “a makeup brush is a makeup brush, how can they all really be that different?” Well, we’re here to tell you that makeup brushes can differ drastically, and using the wrong ones—whether the wrong ones for a specific step in your makeup routine or the wrong ones in terms of overall quality—can completely change the outcome of your makeup.

Let’s start with why you need to know what each of your makeup brushes are intended for. Most makeup brushes are intended for a certain step in your makeup routine (i.e. contour, blush, eyeshadow, etc.). Brushes aren’t one size fits all, meaning using one brush for every step typically won’t work out well.

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For your base, aka your foundation or skin tint, you want to look for a dense, slightly domed brush, which will ensure proper blending and even coverage. For concealer, you’ll want a smaller, dense brush that makes it easy to cover small areas of skin. As far as liquid contour, bronzer and blush products, look for an angled brush that is on the denser side, and for powder variations of these same products, an angled brush that’s on the fluffier side will work best. For your eye look, you’ll want a small, fluffy blending brush for your crease and small, flat, dense brush for your eyelid.

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When it comes to overall quality, it’s important to look for makeup brushes that are soft and durable. You shouldn’t be having to replace your makeup brushes constantly due to bristles falling out, the handle not holding up, etc. Synthetic bristles are often preferred by makeup artists compared to natural bristles, aka animal hair, as they not only do just as good of a job or better for a more affordable price, but they also offer more longevity.

19 best makeup brushes for each step in your routine

Keep reading for the best makeup brushes that we tried and tested to add to your collection, based on each step of your makeup routine.

Best makeup brush sets

It Cosmetics for Ulta Your Beautiful Basics Airbrush 101 5 Pc Makeup Brush Set

If you’re looking to completely refresh your brush arsenal, a kit/set is typically your best bet. I am absolutely obsessed with It Cosmetics for Ulta Your Beautiful Basics Airbrush 101 5 Pc Makeup Brush Set. All of the brushes are oh-so-soft and feel ultra-luxe—plus, the set has all the basics including a powder, foundation and concealer brush as well as two eyeshadow brushes. The one thing I wish it had was a contour and blush brush, as I’m a big bronzer and blush girl, but it’s great if you don’t wear those often. One thing that I really appreciated about this set is that it labels each brush with what it’s meant for (i.e. concealer, powder, etc.). This was so helpful to me throughout my routine.

Sephora Collection 8-Piece Pro Brush Face & Eye Set

This set, Sephora Collection 8-Piece Pro Brush Face & Eye Set, has a brush for every step of your makeup routine, including base, contour, blush and eyes. I especially like the handles of these brushes—they aren’t too bulky and flimsy. Also, the bristles are super soft and blend my makeup well.

Real Techniques Everyday Essentials Makeup Brush Kit

You can’t beat the price and quality of Real Techniques Everyday Essentials Makeup Brush Kit. It’s less than $20 for the entire set, which includes five tools: a face brush for foundation, a setting brush for setting powder, a crease brush for eyeshadow, a fluffy powder blush brush and a complexion sponge. It’s perfect for the basics and an everyday makeup look.

Best base/foundation makeup brushes

Anisa Beauty Pinnacle Foundation Brush

Anisa Beauty Pinnacle Foundation Brush is sure to set your makeup up for success from the first step. What I liked about this one is its triangular shape, making it easy to cover every single spot on your face, including in those easy-to-miss places like the sides of your nose and hairline. It’s precise, soft and blends foundation seamlessly.

Elf Complexion Duo Brush

You can’t beat Elf’s prices, and that includes their makeup brush prices. I love Elf Complexion Duo Brush because it’s just $8 for a double-ended brush, meaning you can use it for two different steps in your routine. The larger-ended size is for foundation, and I found it’s the perfect density—it’s not too dense or stiff, but it’s also not too fluffy. And the other end is for concealer, and I found it really great for blending out concealer in small areas like under my eyes and spot corrections.

Tarte The Buffer Brush

This pick, Tarte The Buffer Brush, makes foundation application super quick and easy. It has a larger size and lots of bristles, making it dense enough for foundation, but it’s simultaneously soft and fluffy so that the foundation blends smoothly. The large size means it covers larger areas of skin, making the application process speedy.

Best concealer makeup brushes

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Concealer Brush

When it comes to a concealer brush, you want one that works for both your under eyes and blemish areas and T-zone, so it’s important to find one that isn’t too small or too big. Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Concealer Brush is a standout pick because it truly is just the right size for every area you’d apply concealer. It’s unbelievably soft, and I really appreciated the angled tip which made it really great for my under eyes.

Morphe M131 Rounded Paddle Concealer Brush

This is a more affordable option, ringing up at $10. Morphe M131 Rounded Paddle Concealer Brush is a solid pick and is slightly stippled, which makes it nice for “pushing” the product into your complexion. My only critique is that I don’t love the handle—I feel like it’s a little too slick in my hand and an awkward size.

Refy Complexion Brush

I really, really love the Refy makeup brushes. They are some of the absolute softest of all the brushes I tested for this roundup, and it truly blends my makeup out so seamlessly. Refy Complexion Brush is amazing if you go heavier on the concealer, as each end (it’s dual-ended) is a bit larger. The smaller end is great for under eyes and the larger end is great for blending out the rest of your concealer over larger surface areas like the entire chin, under the cheekbone, etc. Personally, I also like using the larger end for my powder bronzer since it’s angled.

Best contour and bronzer makeup brushes

Anisa Beauty Crescent Contour Brush

Precision is key when it comes to contour, which is why I love Anisa Beauty Crescent Contour Brush. While most contour brushes have an angled tip, this one has a curved, crescent-shaped tip, which made it so easy to follow the natural curve of my jawline, cheekbones and temples. This was perfect for my cream and liquid contours and bronzers, but I wouldn’t use it for my powder bronzer.

Patrick Ta Major Sculpt Dual-Ended Sculpting Brush

This contour brush has gone viral for a reason, and that’s because it really is that good. For starters, Patrick Ta Major Sculpt Dual-Ended Sculpting Brush is dual-ended, which is always a plus in my book. I specifically love this one because one end works beautifully for your cream and liquid bronzer as it’s dense, angled and thin and the other end is perfect for your powder bronzer as it’s fluffier and thicker.

Elf Dual-Ended Nose Contour Brush

For $6, you can contour your nose to perfection with Elf Dual-Ended Nose Contour Brush. One end is thinner and denser, great for cream contour. The other end is fluffier to set your cream with powder bronzer. Both ends are small enough for precise application on your nose and both are angled.

Best blush makeup brushes

Laura Geller Angled Blush Brush

Just like with contour, you’ll want an angled brush for your blush to precisely cover your cheekbones and/or the apples of your cheeks. Laura Geller Angled Blush Brush is a great pick that isn’t super pricey and does the job beautifully. It really helped to define and sculpt my cheekbones and give me an overall lifted appearance. Plus, it works for liquid, cream and powder blush.

Iconic London Highlight & Blush Brush

Another dual-ended brush, Iconic London Highlight & Blush Brush, this one worked well for my powder blush and highlighter. I wouldn’t recommend it for cream or liquid blushes, as it’s on the fluffier side. But I did find it’s the perfect size for my cheekbones and apples of cheeks, which can be hard for me to find as I have a narrower face.

Elf Liquid Blush Brush

While the above isn’t ideal for liquid blush, Elf Liquid Blush Brush is. For starters, it rings up at just $5, making it a steal. But even more, it’s angled to perfection and the right size for my blush placement. It’s also dense, so your liquid blush will be fully blended into the skin.

Best powder makeup brushes

Makeup by Mario F2 Dual-Ended Powder Brush

Makeup by Mario F2 Dual-Ended Powder Brush is such a multi-purpose tool to add to your beauty collection. It works for just about any powder makeup product, including bronzer, blush, highlighter and setting powder. Personally, I find it best for setting powder as I prefer my bronzer and blush brushes to be angled and this one isn’t. The smaller end is amazing for setting my under eyes with powder to avoid creasing and smudging and the larger end seamlessly sets the rest of my face without dragging any product.

Hourglass Veil Powder Brush

Yet another dual-ended powder brush, Hourglass Veil Powder Brush, is so luxe and soft, and sets both the under eyes and overall complexion. Aside from using it for setting powder, I like to also use the larger end as a blending brush once I’ve applied all of my face makeup. I find it makes my entire complexion look more cohesive and seamless and ensures I won’t have any harsh lines.

Best eye makeup brushes

Sigma E33 Detail Diffused Crease Brush

For getting the perfect crease, try Sigma E33 Detail Diffused Crease Brush. I like that while it’s fluffy (which you want in a crease brush), it’s not too large or thick so my crease is still precisely defined. It picks up just the amount of product and makes it easy to build up my shadow slowly.

It Cosmetics for Ulta Airbrush Precision Shadow Brush #112

For my eyelids, It Cosmetics for Ulta Airbrush Precision Shadow Brush #112 made the application easy-breezy—and that says a lot, as I sometimes struggle to achieve a good eyeshadow look. It works well with both cream and powder eyeshadows, and I like the size and feel of the handle.