Brushes: synthetic or natural?

There are a lot of brushes out there in the makeup world, and sometimes it’s hard to know which ones are going to be good or not. Yes, a lot of people just feel the brushes, are like “that’s soft, therefore, it’s good” then buy it and are on their way. I pay a lot of attention to the type of bristles, though.

There are two types of bristles: synthetic and natural. Synthetic bristles are cruelty free and not made from animal hair. Natural bristles are made from hair that is shaved off the animal (it’s not like every time you buy a natural brush a squirrel dies).

In my brush collection, there isn’t just one type of brush that I use. I have a mix, because each type of bristle allows me to do something different with a product.

I find that synthetic bristles are great for lighter applications of product because they pick up less of it, great for cream products, because unlike natural hairs, the bristles won’t absorb the product, and great for blending.

I like natural bristles better when I really want to pack on product. For example, I use concealer and a powder foundation. I use my fingers for my concealer, because sometimes those are just your best tools. They just really warm up the product and blend it into your skin. For the powder foundation, however, I really want to get some coverage, so I’ll take a natural bristle brush to really pack on the color. 

If I were to go for a loose setting powder though, I just want a light dusting of product. For that, I would use a large synthetic powder brush. It won’t pick up a lot of product, and it’ll just dust it on really nicely. 

So what tools do I recommend for each product?

Foundation: Fingers or dense synthetic brush

Concealer: Fingers or small dense synthetic brush

Powder foundation: Natural brush

Setting powder: Big, fluffy synthetic brush

Cream blush/bronzer: Fingers or synthetic brush (When applying cream colors, make sure you always put them on before your powder products. Applying creams over powders is going to get you a patchy application and a cakey look. Concealer can be an exception to this though. If I’m spot concealing, sometimes I’ll layer a light bit of powder on, then pinpoint conceal a spot, then repowder to really get the coverage I want. But in general, wet together, dry together.)

Powder blush/bronzer: If it’s so pigmented that it’s hard to work with, go for synthetic. If it’s a less pigmented one, try natural. If it’s the perfect pigmentation, still go for natural. I really like the effect I get from that.

Cream shadow: Fingers or synthetic brush

Liner: Doesn’t matter, just make sure the brush is stiff and fine.

Brows: I prefer to use a natural brush for this one. I find that the bristles are rougher are stiffer, so I end up getting the best natural application of powder to the brows.

My favorite brushes:

Trish McEvoy 5 Powder, 37 bronzer, 48 blending, Brow, precision smudge, 40 Medium Laydown, 50 liner, 29 crease. All natural. (trishmcevoy.com)

Real Techniques eye shading brush from eye starter set. Great for blending, great for lifting away fall out (not great for applying product to the eyelid). (drugstore.com or ulta)

Of course, there are so many factors that go into how a brush will apply your products for you. It depends on bristle type, density, where the brushes were cut, shape, etc. This is just in general how the hairs play into it. Hope that was helpful!

Do you have a preference for your brush bristle material?