The Makeup Minimalist's Brush Collection

As I have said many times before, I am a makeup minimalist. I am a makeup hoarder and covet all things high end, but, despite my longing for a full blown set of Zoeva brushes, I am happy to stick to humble collection of 4 brushes. If I am entirely honest, I find my fingers do a splendid job of blending everything from concealer to eyeshadow, although I do find brushes to come in handy every so often. My makeup stash may say otherwise, but I like to keep things very minimal when it comes to covering up my skin.

The four brushes I’m going to talk about today do the job of ‘making me up’ extremely well. I own two eye brushes and two face brushes, of which two are high end and the other half are drugstore. I’m no expert at anything makeup, so am actually clueless when it comes to using brushes for the right things. But, as true as this is, here are the 4 makeup brushes that work brilliantly for my every need, whether I’m using it for it’s purpose or not.

I’ll start with the two drugstore brushes that make up half of my collection. I own two brushes from Real Techniques, a brand created by makeup artist professionals and YouTube personalities Sam and Nic Chapman. Find their personal YouTube channel here, their brand channel here and their website here. My first brush of theirs is the Expert Face Brush. Ready for my very embarrassing reveal? Until recently, I was using this foundation brush as a blush/bronzer brush. I know, terrible! Seeing as I don’t wear foundation or any base at all, I’ll only use this the odd time I put on concealer. But, nevertheless, it is a soft, firm brush that I recommend for base application, be that concealer or foundation (still...it worked pretty well for blush!)  My second Real Techniques brush is a very recent purchase: the award winning Blush Brush. This works wonders when dusting on bronzer or applying blush delicately. The brush is massive, soft and fluffy, and since it doesn’t pick up a ton of product, it’s impossible to go overboard. I’ve had it less than a week and I’m smitten!

Finally, for my two high end eye brushes. These next two brushes are classic MAC eye brush favourites - or so I’ve heard. After having one of the lovely ladies working in MAC help me out with some eye techniques, I have been recommended these next brushes. For me, as I don’t wear any eyeliner, these two tools fulfil every job perfectly. My first eye brush is the MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush. This is a beautiful brush that picks up so much product and applies it like a dream. It is possible to blend with this, although I wouldn’t say that it’s best quality - but not to worry, that isn’t it’s purpose. However, were I to choose one eye brush to conquer all, it would be my second MAC eye brush; the 217 Blending Brush. This is probably no surprise to most, as this multi purpose brush is fantastic and completes almost every job beautifully. It can pick up lots of product on the flat side and is perfect for blending into the crease. It is soft and simple - a big win for a beginner like me. For a little more on both of these brushes, check out this post here.

So there you have it; my minimalist brush collection that consists of a humble 4 brushes. No, I am not crazy, these 4 tools are all a beginner needs to master the basics. What are your favourite brushes and what do you recommend?

Niamh x