Brushes Part Two: How To Use Them

Now that I have covered the types of brushes you will need I would like to go into how and where you use each one. For someone who is very new to makeup it can be overwhelming and confusing trying to use new brushes when you aren't even sure how you're supposed to do so. I am going to make this as simple as I possibly can.

Basic Eye Shadow Brush

Use in a dabbing motion if you are using eye dust (loose powdered eyeshadow) but with regular shadow you can just use a small sweeping motion on your eyelid.

Tip: Using a slightly damp eye shadow brush and dabbing motions will help the colour stick better. This particularly applies when you're using eye dust which tends to 'fall out' a lot. It will help the dust to stick and the colour to look stronger.



Fluff Brush

Use in circular motions along the eyelid.

Crease Brush

Use a 'windshield wiper' (dragging it back and forth following the natural shape of your eyelids) motion where your lid meets your brow bone toward the outer corner of your eye with this kind to create a defined look with your shadow.

Liner/Smudger Brush

With a liner brush using small strokes is best because if you aren't good at lining to start with you can end up making a mess by trying to go all in one so take your time and apply the liner/shadow bit by bit.

Smudger brushes are extremely simple. You just use a back and forth motion to smudge your liner. Be sure to go inbetween your lashes so that the liner doesn't appear gappy or broken up and so that it looks soft.

Blusher/Bronzer/Powder/Kabuki Brush

Blusher: Smile and look for the fleshy part of your cheek. That's where you apply your blusher. Avoid going up toward your hairline as it will just look like a streak of colour that never ends. Once you have found the fleshy parts of your cheeks use your blusher brush in patting motions to apply the colour and then small circular motions to blend it into your foundation if you wish.

Bronzer: Generally you follow a similar technique with applying bronzer as you do with powder. Dab your brush into your bronzer and go in circular motions to blend it evenly all over your face. If you are contouring your cheeks (which means applying a darkish coloured bronzer to the space underneath your cheek bone to emphasise your cheek bones. Suck in your cheeks and you apply it to the hollow part.) you use a 'back and forth' motion. Bronzer goes all over the face/neck. Use a little at a time rather than lots at once because once this stuff is on it's tricky to remove without having to start over again.

Powder: Take a little powder on your brush and tap off any excess. Powder goes all over the face or in any 'shiny' areas you may have. Sweep outwardly so start inward at the nose and sweep out over the cheeks, chin and forehead.

Kabuki: Use fairly active circular or sweeping motions with one of these all over the face.