My Essential Makeup Brushes

Traveling really makes you scale down your beauty clutter, so I thought it would be a good idea to post about the brushes I brought with me as well as the makeup that made the cut. I guess that makes these brushes my essentials since they are the only ones I packed. I'm also sorry for pictures of dirty brushes. Maybe it let's you know how much these are truly loved.

Face Brushes
e.l.f. Studio Flawless Concealer Brush
This is my favorite brush to use for exactly what the title says. I love it for packing a full coverage concealer on those annoying zits or any other problem areas.

e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush
I love this brush to buff on powder foundation. It allows the foundation to perform at the fullest coverage possible without appearing cakey.

It Brushes for Ulta Live Beauty Fully All Over Powder Brush #211
The. Best. Powder. Brush. Ever.

The Original Beauty Blender
I have a really hard time getting foundations to blend into my skin instead of just sitting on top and looking like a mask. I am a firm believer in the dampened beauty blender. It applies every foundation flawlessly.

Sigma F25 Tapered Face Brush
The shape of this brush is perfect to set your under eye concealer.

Small Stippling Brush
Real Techniques Stippling Brush
e.l.f. Studio Stipple Brush
I own both of these, but only one is necessary. I use one to apply cream bronzer, and I actually use the other one for cream AND powder blush. I recently started using it with powder blush because I find that it's the perfect size to apply blush directly to the apples of my cheeks.

Eye Brushes
Note: I bought a lot of Sigma brushes, but I ended up not liking them as much as I thought I would. There are a lot of drugstore price brushes that I wish I saved the money and bought instead, namely brushes from e.l.f. and Sonia Kashuk are really nice.

Blending Brush
Sigma E25 Blending Brush
A brush like this is used to apply a darker blending shade to the outer crease.

Fluffy Crease Brush
Sigma E40 Tapered Blending Brush
These kinds of brushes are nice for blending a transition shade in the entire crease.

Flat Shading Brush
Sigma E55 Eye Shading Brush
A flat brush like this is the best for packing shadow onto the lid.

Pencil Brush
Sigma E30 Pencil Brush
Pencil brushes are useful for precision in the outer corner and shading shadow onto the lower lash line.

Small Angled Brush
Sigma E65 Small Angle Brush
This is my favorite kind of brush to use with gel liner to apply a winged look.