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Think of your face as a blank canvas with your makeup as your medium. Perhaps all along you’ve been using your fingertips to paint colors, create contours, and play with light and shadow on your face. But when it comes to putting on eyeshadow, you can’t seem to get it right. So now you’re looking for the best eyeshadow brushes for beginners, right?
Well, I’ve got you covered! But before you get to the list of the best eyeshadow brushes in the market for a novice like you, first you need to know why an eyeshadow brush is important.
Benefits Of Using An Eyeshadow Brush
- It allows you a more precise, even application
- The colors on your eyes come off as more natural, not clownish
- It helps you in creating a more flawless, professional finish
- It picks up the eyeshadow well
- It’s more fun to do makeup!
Every Eyeshadow Brush That You Need
As an eyeshadow brush beginner, you may be surprised to know that you need many, not just one. Below is every brush that you need and its specific purposes.
- Large, domed blending brush – Can be used to blend, highlight, or bluff without creating unsightly creases.
- Flat shader brush – This is the brush that effectively picks up the product and helps you apply eyeshadow across your eyelid with startling precision.
- Blending brush – Designed to help you mix and match various eyeshadow colors. It looks like a little broomstick, but it’s one of the most essential eyeshadow brushes for beginners.
- Smudge brush – Pretty self-explanatory. Use it to create a smudged effect. But smudging is not its sole purpose. This comes in handy when blending eyeshadow that is too pigmented.
- Small, dense blending brush – Designed to apply the color base. The bristles are denser to assist you in impeccably blending the eyeshadow, whether it’s in cream or powder form.
- Script liner brush – Long and pointy, this is the most thrilling brush for experimenting. You can draw patterns, dramatic cat lines— the possibilities are endless with this brush!
- Winged eyeliner brush – Similar to the contour brush, but the corner is a little longer. Perfect if you’re using liquid or gel eyeliners to draw those sexy wings.
- Contour brush – With an angled tip, this brush is crafted to create contours around the edges of your eyes to add more definition to your face.
- Fluffy, tapered blending brush – This is the best type of eyeshadow brush if you want to create gradient colors. This is also the ideal pick if you want to create dramatic smokey eyes!
- Crease line brush – Designed specifically for your eyelid’s crease. This thin and small brush will allow you to draw a line perfectly.
8 Perfect Eyeshadow Brushes For Beginners
1. Wet n Wild Small Eyeshadow Brush
If you’re just getting started in eye makeup, this eyeshadow brush is perfect for you. The angled tip allows you to experiment on your eyes, whether you want to draw dramatic wings, blend, or contour. The brush’s handle is delightfully ergonomic, and its bristles are vegan and synthetic. All the while being super affordable!
What women are saying: “Surprisingly good quality for the price, I am actually impressed, I got both the large and the small Eyeshadow brush so I posted this review for both,…very soft and blends my eyeshadow exceptionally well! will be buying more of these for sure…”
2. Charlotte Tilbury Eye Smudger Brush
A pricier option, but this brush from Charlotte Tilbury is free of harmful parabens and sulfates and made of soft, synthetic bristles. This is great if you love the smokey-eye look, as it is effective in adding definition in the eye socket zone. It can even reach the lash line! Ideal for detailed work. Plus, the sustainable wooden handle won’t roll off a smooth surface. Its quality makes doing eye makeup easier- which is always great for beginners!
What women are saying: “Slowly I’ve become addicted to Charlotte Tilbury products and I’ve been watching a lot of her “how-to” videos. A lot of this videos reference this brush so of course I had to take the plunge. This is hands down one of the best brushes I’ve ever purchased and I have worked as a professional makeup artist. It is worth every penny and more. It creates such beautiful eye makeup looks so effortlessly. It’s smooth against the skin and the perfect weight. I love it so much!! I love it!”
3. ChefBee 80pcs Eyeshadow Applicators with Container, Disposable Dual Sides Eyeshadow Brushes
Convenient if you don’t want to keep washing your brushes! ChegBee sells an 80-piece package of disposable dual eyeshadows in a nifty plastic container. This is great if you’re on-the-go, or always traveling, and you can just pocket 3 or 4 brushes and throw them away after use.
What women are saying: “These are much better than the basic sponge applicators that usually come packaged with the eyeshadows. These have a smooth & firm tip so the pigment goes where you want it to go without dropping off. They make blending very easy.”
4. Flower Beauty Makeup Brushes | Dual-Ended Eyeshadow Brush
Say what? Two brushes in one? Love it! That will certainly make it easier for a beginner, don’t you think? One is a fluffy brush, while the other end is the large, domed one. Made for precise application, Flower Beauty (Drew Barrymore’s line) makes eyeshadow brushes made with ultra-soft synthetic fibers. Easy to clean, too— just wash in warm, soapy water and air dry!
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5. E.L.F. Fluffy Eye Blender Brush for Precision Application
If you’re a beginner and getting your feet wet into eye makeup, the e.l.f line is a good choice for you as they make affordable yet surprisingly good quality products.
This fluffy eye blending brush can also work to set your concealer with powder. This is one of the best choices out there if you are into clean makeup and beauty because all e.l.f. products contain zero parabens, nonylphenol, phthalates, triclosan, among other harmful ingredients. Its soft bristles create a soft-focus effect, creating a seamless and flawless finish.
What women are saying: “This was the first e.l.f brush I’ve ever bought and the quality is amazing. The bristles are soft and don’t tear, I have other brushes and this is the softest one!”
6. Eye Makeup Brushes Eyeshadow Brush Set
As a beginner, you may not be looking to invest a lot into beauty tools right away. That’s where this handy set comes in. Highly rated and loved by many, this 7 piece kit offers eyeshadow brushes that can blend, shade, crease, and everything in between. Perfect for experimenting!
What women are saying: “I bought these as a present to myself and I absolutely love them!…I used these for almost a month straight and they worked perfectly. I did some traveling and I didn’t want to worry about ruining my expensive ones, so I just brought these. They were surprising good and even now I reach for them over my Sigma brushes. I have washed them a couple of times now and they are still amazing. They are really soft and they don’t irritate my eyes. I can’t believe how well these worked, I am going to buy another set very soon. If you are thinking about these I would do it! For the price, you can’t go wrong.”
7. Sigma Beauty Basic Eyes Kit
From Sigma Beauty comes this basic eye makeup brush set, which is recommended for beginners like you! The 7 synthetic brushes are hypoallergenic, antimicrobial, and vegan. The brushes’ fibers hold the product and easily blend it— and it feels luxurious on the skin! This set has brushes not only for eyeshadow but also for eyebrows too.
What women are saying: “My dream brushes! I’m a wannabe makeup artist in my other life. Now I know what I’ve been missing by using sub-standard brushes. I’ve wanted these brushes FOREVER and now I finally have them. So worth the price. All the makeup techniques I’ve tried that I just could get quite right, remedied by using high-quality brushes. The blending and shading was so effortless it was amazing. Will be saving my pennies (for a loooong time!) to buy more from this line. Awesome!”
8. BS-MALL Makeup Brushes 14 Pieces
A best-seller on Amazon and with over 60k ratings, this is a set that can’t be missed. Not only does this kit offer quality yet easy-to-use eye makeup brushes, but you also get ones for your foundation, concealer, and more! Soft and silky to the touch, they make it easy to experiment and apply your products.
What women are saying: “Solid brushes for beginners. In my 30s, I decided I should learn more about makeup than just a touch of blush, BB cream, and eyeliner on rare occasions. I still don’t wear makeup often, so I didn’t want to spend a fortune on quality brushes. These have been great for me over the last six months or so. (I forget exactly when I ordered them). They come with a photo reference of what each brush is designed to do, which is great for me who still can’t tell one small brush from another without looking at my guide.”
Over half a dozen eyeshadow brushes for beginners to choose from? Yes, it can be overwhelming for someone who’s just starting to use a brush. But don’t fret! You don’t have to get them all. Allow the above list to be your guide on which ones you feel are the most essential for your eye makeup needs as you get started in makeup!
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