Brushes | Beauty and Fashion Tech

The Best Makeup Brushes and Tools

I particularly like this article, syndicated from Total Beauty, on the best makeup brushes and beauty tools. It has a good selection of good makeup brushes and other makeup tools and includes the smashbox eyeliner brush, which is hands down my favorite. I love the angle on it. It also includes the Shu Uemura Eyelash curler, which is another favorite of mine and is a cult classic. A few MAC makeup brushes, which are also always good, are included as well.

Do you have a favorite makeup brush beauty tool included in the list?

The 13 Best Makeup Tools

See which brushes, tweezers and eyelash curlers Total Beauty Readers love

Even if you use your fingers to apply most things, all of us have a few tools in our makeup arsenal that we wouldn’t want to live without. TotalBeauty.com readers shared their favorite makeup tools, maybe it’s time to add a few to your stash?

See tools

No. 13: Shiseido Eyelash Curler, $19

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 9.1

Readers call this “the most perfectly designed eyelash curler …”

No. 12: Too Faced Kabuki Brush, $30

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 9.3

It “provides fuller coverage than the usual brushes that eat up your powder …”

No. 11: Bare Escentuals Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush, $20

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 9.3

It is best when you want “skin tone perfection,” as it allows …

Want to see what’s no. 1? Click here!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Contest! Win a Six Piece ecoTOOLS Eye Brush Set.

This contest is now closed. Congratulations Erin M and Justine, you are the winners. I have sent you email!

Last week, I wrote about ecoTOOLS, a line of affordable and eco-friendly makeup brushes. Now, you can win a six piece eye brush set. I will be giving away two of these.

How to enter: ecoTOOLS has produced several short videos demonstrating how to use the makeup brushes, which are posted below. To enter, watch one or more of the videos and leave comment stating your favorite tip or something that you learned from the videos. If you are a blogger, you can earn another entry by posting one or more of the videos to your own blog. If you do so, come back and leave a comment with a link to the post.

The contest will close at noon central time on February 19, 2010. At that time, I will randomly draw the winners and notify them by email. Winners must respond within 5 days or the prize will be redrawn. One entry per household (two if you comment and do a blog post). Open to residents of the United States and Canada. Good luck!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Hair Art Duet Brush

I love this straightening brush! The HairArt Duet Brush has ceramic plates that will retain heat and provide shine while you used the brush and your hair dryer to straighten your hair.

I found that the brush was quite easy to use—easier than a flat iron. Just like using a flat iron, it can get a bit tricky in back, but it was much easier for me to use in back than a flat iron is. I like the look better than that of a straight iron too. The brush allows you to straighten your hair without getting everything so stick straight that the hair is just flat. Basically, you can still have some bounce and body. The brush is also pretty effective for flipping ends up or under.

At $15, it is much cheaper than a flat iron as well!

Note: This review is based on a product given to me by a representative of the company. For more, please see my disclosure page.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Estee Lauder Holiday Collection

Estee Lauder has some nice kits out for Christmas 2009. I especially like the brush kit. Estee Lauder brushes are attractive, and hold up well. The addition of a case with the set is rather nice.

Also rather pretty is the eyeshadow palette. It has an attractive holiday case and nice shades. Estee Lauder eye shadows tend to wear quite well, making the palette a nice holiday gift or simply a useful item for yourself.

Finally, the Holiday Blockbuster set is a $340 value that can be bought for $55 with any fragrance purchase.

Note: If you are reading this in the feed, click the title to veiw the post on the site. Then the shopping boxes will show up.

Popularity: 1% [?]

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Trio

MAC cosmetics has some new Mineralize Skin Finish items out for summer. I was sent a MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Trio in Triple Fusion, which works quite well with my fair skin.

The trios consist of a couple of bronzer shades and a pinker blush shade. They are fairly adjustable depending on where you sweep your brush. I mix the three shades together for a light bronzer/blush look. The effect is nice for summer where too much blush can look garish. The skin finish shades have a bit of shimmer to them, but are not overdone. So they work for natural looks and for night and day. My MAC Skin Finish Trio has become my go to bronzer/blush, which is not surprising since I frequently used a different MAC Skin Finish a lot before my trio arrived. It is a quality product with a fairly decent price.

I use a MAC Duo Fibre Face Brush to apply bronzers, which works wonderfully for either a bronzer or blush. Shopping hint: for a limited time, check out the Nordstrom Exculsives MAC 5 Brush Set which also includes this brush with a shorter handle for almost the same price as the single brush. This is a limited edition set, but they put out similar set again at the Holidays).

Popularity: 2% [?]

Prescriptives Bronzer Brush

Prescriptives Bronzer Brushwon the 2009 Allure Editors Choice Award for the Best Powder/Bronzer Brush.

I haven’t tried this specific brush, but I can tell you that I love my MAC brush that is quite similar and I have seen the Prescriptives one get generally rave reviews at product review forums or sites. My brush is wearing out, so this might be one I try as a replacement!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Makeup Brushes Make Great Holiday Gifts

Looking for a good beauty related gift? Consider brushes. During the holidays, a number of nice kits are available.

First off, this is one of the best times to get MAC brushes at a great value because MAC always puts out holiday travel brush kits with a good price. Take a look at the MAC Cosmetics Adoring Carmine Collection (one kit of several pictured below) for various selections.

For a great value, take a look at what Eco-tools has to offer. These environmentally friendly brushes are affordable, attractive, and good quality (read previous review). Comparison shop online for Eco Tools or look for them at CVS and Bamboo 5 Piece Brush Set .