Sometimes, it’s just mind boggling to choose brushes, what more if we choose ones specifically for mineral makeup? I’m glad I have a great set of makeup brushes that are perfect for mineral makeup ( that’s another entry haha! )

Kathy of Coastalscents has been kind enough to grace our Mineral Makeup Blog to guide us in choosing our makeup brushes. I’m grateful for the information shared for Kathy has been in the mineral makeup business, and can provide great insight to us in terms of her expertise in scrutinizing makeup brushes, as well as her minerals!

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First it is important to know that your supplier achieves in this area and understands the product you are using, this will make all the difference. You need to know what those hairs are made of, synthetic, goat, pony, sable, badger and so on.

Poorly made brushes will show their true colors as soon as you dip and try to apply your minerals. Does the powder just lay on top of the brush? Does it fly all over as soon as you try to apply and buff? Is your makeup streaky and uneven? Is your brush going flat within 1 to 2 applications? If any of these are true or close you are having a brush problem 99.9% of the time, not a product problem.

There are more imitators out there today than you can shake a stick at. As you know most Cosmetic Brushes or the hair for them is constructed outside of the U. S. There are suppliers who purchase them fully constructed by the 1,000′s sight unseen, assuming to believe they are receiving lets say Goat Hair Buffers. The sad part is they did not know the supplier, they did not know how to test the brush prior, they only saw the $$ sign. There are imitation brushes being called Goat Hair when in fact they are mostly synthetic, are sparse in construction and therefore will be useless to you immediately. Now, I am not saying there are not good synthetic & goat hair brushes out there, most definitely there are, but again you have to know the quality of the construction and the history of these suppliers. A good way to find out in todays world is to get online, read up in the mineral makeup forums & blogs, ask questions, you will find out what the end user really thinks of a suppliers product line.

There are also suppliers who will buy the head to the brush over seas, the hair, already tied, bound and ready to be glued into a U.S. made handle. These suppliers are serious, they spend a lot of time traveling, testing and ensuring that the blend they receive is worthy. They will also call these Made In America, true on many points and usually these brushes are of the best quality you can find. These suppliers have worked hard to ensure they have a great product.

As for what brush to use for which product, this is my personal favorite coming your way, it works for me with my products and for our customers.

1. Foundation – I find that a sable blend (with Pony & Sable is ok) offers the best finish, it must be a very densely packed ferrule. The powder becomes one with these and stays right where I want it.

2. Concealer – Taklon for sure, real hair will absorb your concealer before you can get it to your skin. Again, quality is important; the cut of the hairs must be smooth and even with a great curve.

3. Blush – I love my baby buki or the angle sable blush brush – both offer an even and flawless look, not too much goes on and I have great control of the powder pigments with these.

4. Shadow – Real Hair, firm sable! There is nothing out there I have tried that beats the results other than Badger. You can also use these wet to apply your shadow, the synthetic and goat to me just do not hold the moisture and offer a smooth application.

5. Finishing Powder – I use my Kabuki , its perfect with my veil. In a pinch I also use a buffer with slight pressure.

6. Liner – this one has always been tricky for many, itâ€™s definitely a personal preference as to what you feel comfortable controlling. I use a taklon angle liner brush to achieve the look I like, wet or dry.

That said this is again my preference and I do recommend you try it. If you are in the market to purchase bulk brushes for resale, please try first, do not invest your hard earned $$$ until you know the quality.

Source : Coastalscents Mineral Makeup