How to Apply Makeup With Brushes

Applying base with a foundation brush

Makeup brushes are useful not only for an artist who works with clients, but for anyone who wants to give her personal makeup application a more professional look. Even though brushes are not essential every step of the way when applying a full face of makeup, having a variety of brushes gives you more options as to the textures you can create on your face or someone else's. Used alone or combined with a procedure already familiar to you, these tips will result in a polished look you would have to work twice as hard to achieve without the use of brushes.

Things You'll Need

• Foundation brush
• Liquid foundation
• Makeup wedge
• Concealer brush
• Creamy concealer
• Pointy concealer brush
• Dry concealer
• Translucent powder
• Small, stiff, angled brush
• Brow powder
• Spooly brush
• Eye-makeup primer
• Eyeshadow base
• Facial tissue
• Spray brush cleanser
• Powder eyeshadow
• Flat-head eyeshadow brush
• Fluffy eyeshadow brush
• Dark powder eyeshadow
• Mid-size, fluffy face brush
• Large, fluffy face brush
• Lip brush
• Lip gloss or lipstick

Instructions

1. Use a foundation brush to apply liquid foundation. Dip the brush in a pinch of foundation and apply the product to the center of the face outwards. To get rid of any streaks in your application, use a makeup wedge to blend away demarcation lines.

2. Dab a creamy concealer onto the undereye area and on the inner corners of the eyes by the bridge of the nose with a concealer brush. This is different from a pointy concealer brush, which has stiffer hairs and is used to apply concealer with a dry consistency to cover up blemishes. Set concealer with translucent powder applied not with a brush--as this can stroke away the product you've already laid down--but with the makeup wedge. Use patting--not swiping--motions to layer the translucent powder over the concealer.

3. Fill eyebrows in with a small, stiff, angled brush dipped into brow powder that matches your brow color or is slightly lighter if your brows are already dark. Use soft, short strokes to mimic the appearance of brow hairs. If you think your brows appear too strong when you are through, comb them in place with a spooly brush; this will lift away excess color.

4. Get the eyes ready for color with an eye-makeup primer applied from lash line to browbone with the same brush used to apply the creamy concealer. Let the primer absorb for about a minute before using the same concealer brush to layer on an eyeshadow base, also from lash line to browbone. In between products, wipe your brush off with a facial tissue. You can also use a spray brush cleanser for quick-dry cleaning.

5. Enhance your eyes by stippling powder eyeshadow on lids from lash line to slightly past the crease. Use a flat-head eyeshadow brush for precision. Maintain the pressing motions all throughout your application, as sweeping the product on will cause it to fall on your undereye area. Buff away any hard lines in your eyeshadow with a fluffy eyeshadow brush. This is also known as an eyeshadow blending brush. Work a dark powder eyeshadow into your top and bottom lash lines with the stiff, angled brush you used on your brows. This serves as an eyeliner if you don't have any pencils on hand or if you prefer the effect this produces to what you get with other eyeliners. You may apply the dark powder eyeshadow with a damp brush for a more vivid effect.

6. Dust your blush of choice onto the apples of your cheeks with a mid-size fluffy brush. If the color needs to be toned down, go over it with the makeup wedge. For the most natural look, blush should appear seamless so that you cannot see where it begins and ends on the skin. Another face brush that you might like to have in your makeup kit is a large fluffy brush. Use this to lightly go over your face with translucent powder after you are through applying makeup. You can even powder your face before putting on lip color to keep the powder from getting on your freshly applied lip gloss or lipstick.

7. Spread on a coat of lipstick or lip gloss from the center of your lips outwards using a lip brush. If you apply either of these products from the lip line inwards, the product is more likely to bleed or feather into fine lines outside of the lips. A lip brush gives you a more-even application and more control over where the product goes as compared to slathering lipstick on straight from the tube.

Tips & Warnings

• A foundation brush can also be used to lay down moisturizer on the face prior to foundation if you are working on a client and are refraining from touching her face with your bare fingers for sanitary purposes. Smooth it on from the center of the face outwards, just like the foundation.

Resources

• Applying makeup with no brushes
• Shopping for essential makeup brushes
• Knowing which makeup brushes to use