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Thursday 14 October 2010

Awesome but inexpensive brushes

Good evenng all! Hope you're having a great Thursday :)

It was my nephews 2nd birthday today and I ate so much that I feel slightly ill. On the plus side he seemed well impressed with the Bob the builder digger I got him. Kids are easily amused, eh?

Anywho, just figured I'd do a little post on makeup brushes cos regardless of what kinda makeup we use I reckon decent brushes can make the application a whole lot easier!

When I was younger I used to apply the majority of my makeup with my fingers; everything from liquid foundation and concealer to eye shadow and cream blush. These days I reckon I can achieve a much better (I’d love to say flawless but it’s never quite that good) finish by using fantastic brushes!

Now I personally don’t like to spend a fortune on brushes – I want great quality but I could never afford a complete collection by brands like MAC, Bobbi Brown or Sigma. The brushes that I use on an everyday basis were all pretty inexpensive and do a brilliant job so I figured they were worth a mention :)

Eye makeup brushes


Bellapierre super thick concealer brush £19.99 - most expensive eye makeup brush I use. I actually use this for packing on powder although it’s designed to apply concealer I’ve never found another brush quite like it!
GOSH round eye shadow brush £6.00
ELF small precision brush £3.50
ELF Small smudge brush £3.50
ELF contour brush £3.50
QVS eye shadow brush £3.99
AVON eye shadow brush with smudger £5.00

Face makeup brushes

ELF concealer brush £1.50
AVON angled brush £5.50
GOSH foundation brush £8.00
Ruby & Millie foundation brush £12.00 (got mine for £7 with one of the £5.00 off vouchers at Boots!)
AVON all over face brush £6.00
ELF complexion brush £3.50
ELF blush brush £3.50 For storage I picked up these cute cupcake tins from my local TJ Hughes
Is there a particular brand of brushes that you really love? Or any bargains that you’d recommend?

29 comments:

Leticia said...

Great post! I use a mix of inexpensive and more costly brushes. I go by what works, not by price.

Liss said...

What's the Avon angled brush like? I have a different version with coloured hair and a silver handle and it's awful but I've been wondering what the new black one was like :)

I've got a fair few of those, I do have a couple of MAC brushes as well and would completely recommend the 217, it is expensive but it really has changed the finished look of my eyeshadow, I've not found anything cheaper that blends as well and I probably spent more trying to find one that was cheap than I spent on the 217 lol.

Unknown said...

I have an obsession for eyeshadow brushes! I particularly love the MAC and Sephora (natural bristles) ones.

Liss said...

Sorry, just re-read and that sounds a little arrogant, I buy mainly cheap brushes, and love ELF in particular but what I was trying to say is the 217 was worth any penny *blush*

One of my favourite brushes is a Revlon Vital Radiance brow brush I got from poundland!

Hannah said...

I have yet to try a cheap makeup brush I like. The more expensive ones show more clarity in a product and have antibacterial properties. :)

www.madeupbyhannah.blogspot.com

Rachelx said...

I've heard good things about elf brushes, I might try a few out, they are cheap enough which is always a good thing!

Love the tins!

FunnyFaceBeauty said...

Great post! I need some more makeup brushes but don't want to pay MAC prices. Thanks for the info
Alicia

Miss Jones said...

i am a huge elf brush fan so inexpensive i order loads at once because i work on other people i need a lasrge stack of brushes elf gives a pro result everytime xx

nicoletta said...

You have so many brushes hun. What a great idea for storage the tins are really cute xx

Natalie said...

Wow, thanks so much for this post!! A treasure of informatioN!

Anonymous said...

I have a few elf ones as well and i love them...bargain of the century!!

petitderriere said...

haha i used to apply everything with my fingers too.

i wish elf would ship to australia. those little cupcake tins are to die for!! so cute!

kali said...

I realllly wish we had GOSH here. I hear so many great things about the brand and I'd really love to try the eyeliners.

Great post btw!

Leslie said...

I have a CoverGirl eyeshadow brush that I carry in my purse for shadow on the go. I love my Clinique blush brush and face brush. My other brushes were from a cute inexpensive brand.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for checking out my log :) and don't worry lol my skin is NOT flawless, that's why I love make-up haha

My favorite brushes are basically anything that isn't too rough and the hairs won't fall out!!!

Emily♥ 에밀리 ♥エミリー said...

Thanks for the info! I'm always on the lookout for nice cheap brushes ;) Those tins are such a cute idea, I love the lids to keep dust out of my brushes :D

Stacey said...

Great post! You have a beautiful collection, they all look brand new too! I have that small QVC brush, I use it everday, good but inexpensive x

http://thehqofbeauty.blogspot.com

daisychain said...

I love GOSH brushes, and eco tools.

Lucie - A Taste Of Vogue said...

Such a great collection of stuff! I love MAC everything, but i dont rate their brushes very much. Clinique for brushes all the way (MAC for makeup)

x

Anonymous said...

great post! I love the elf studio line for brushes :) xx

rebeca.cd said...

I have to try ELF products! I haven't tried them yet, and I've read great reviews about them (^_^)

Becks' Make-Up Corner

All Made Up said...

Thanks for all your lovely comments! It's almost midnight on a Friday so it must seem seriously sad that I had to log on and see what you'd all said :)

Small town girl your comment didnt sound arrogant at all! I love the AVON angled brush for applying highlighter slightly above my blush (or I'll do the same with a bronzer in summer) so it's dead handy! The MAC 217 looks awesome and I guess £14.50 isn't insanely expensive if I'd be using it every day :)

I kinda wish I could pop into my local Boots and try Cover Girl stuff cos so many of you Americans rave about the products and it's seriously hard to come by in the UK!

BeautyAmbition.net said...

i had no idea Avon had brushes! i have to buy a few to test them out

Hope Adela Pasztor said...

those cupcake tins are too cute! =)

http://pinkchampagnefashion.blogspot.com/

Christine said...

loving these brushes :)

x Christine

http://christineiversen.blogspot.com/

All Made Up said...

beauty ambition, my sis said the same thing - she was poking through my makeup collection and loved the AVON brushes so I reckon she'll definitely order a couple online :)

Christina Marie said...

I love ELF brushes, such great value for your money. I love Royal brushes aswell, they're so soft and very cheap! x

All Made Up said...

Thanks Christina Marie! I'd never even heard of Royal brushes so just had a wee look on eBay and they look awesome(not to mention seriously inexpensive!) Not sure which to go for so I might just order one of the sets :)

~Caro~ said...

Thanks for sharing! I will definitely check out elf's brushes now... I just hate paying $50 or more for one MAC brush!

~Caro~
caroleena85.blogspot.com
PS: I'm a new follower ;)