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Create IG-worthy looks!

Best Makeup Brushes in 2020

Makeup Brushes Source: @freestocks/Unsplash

Best Makeup Brushes iMore 2021

Whether your preferred look is dramatic or soft and subtle, a good set of makeup brushes is a must. BS-MALL Makeup Brushes are an excellent overall set, offering a nice variety of brushes at a low price. Blend your makeup to perfection with one of these makeup brush sets.

Best Overall: BS-MALL Makeup Brushes
Blogger favorite: Sigma Beauty Basic Face Makeup Brush Set
Most popular: Real Techniques Everyday Essentials
Best for travel: Matto Travel Makeup Brush Set
Best value: VANDER LIFE Makeup Brush Set
Most whimsical: MYSWEETY Unicorn Makeup Brushes

Best Overall: BS-MALL Makeup Brushes

BS-MALL Makeup Brushes Source: BRUSHSET

This 14-piece set has a wide variety of brushes at a low price. The wood-handled set includes five different large Kabuki face brushes and nine precision eye brushes for eyeliner, eyebrows, and eye shadow. The 14 brushes are Angled, Flat Angled, Face Flat, Round, Tapered, Blending, Angled Eyeshadow, Classic Eyeshadow, Concealer, Precise, Detail, Angled Detail, Classic Detail, and Eyeliner. The synthetic brush hair is dense and shed-resistant. Choose from a variety of colors.

Pros:

Wide variety of face and eye brushes
Great price point
Wood handles

Best Overall

BS-MALL Makeup Brushes

Staff pick

This well-rounded set includes a nice variety of brushes at a great price point.

Blogger favorite: Sigma Beauty Basic Face Makeup Brush Set

Sigma Beauty Basic Face Makeup Brush Set Source: Sigma

Read any beauty blog, follow any beauty influencer on YouTube or Instagram, and you're likely to come across Sigma brushes. Sigma is a popular brand of makeup brushes because of the high quality and reasonable price point compared to most luxury brands. This set includes five brushes for foundation, concealer, blush, and powder application. The super-soft brushes are synthetic, vegan, cruelty-free, antimicrobial, and hypoallergenic.

Pros:

Beauty blogger recommended
High quality
Vegan

Cons:

Definitely a splurge
Smaller set

Blogger favorite

Sigma Beauty Basic Face Makeup Brush Set

Five brushes to flawless

Treat yourself to a bit of luxury with these beauty influencer-recommended brushes.

Most popular: Real Techniques Everyday Essentials

Real Techniques Everyday Essentials Source: Real Techniques

I own several Real Techniques brushes along with several high-end brushes, and I cannot tell the difference. You can find Real Techniques brushes at many big box stores. They are easy to find, high quality, durable, and look great on your vanity or counter. This set includes the four brushes: Blush, Expert Face Foundation, Deluxe Crease, and Setting Finishing Powder. It also includes the Miracle Complexion Makeup Blending Sponge.

Pros:

High quality
Reasonable prices
Great basic set

Most popular

Real Techniques Everyday Essentials

Solid basics

You can't go wrong with these high-quality, reasonably-priced brushes.

Best for travel: Matto Travel Makeup Brush Set

Matto Travel Makeup Brush Set Source: Matto

This convenient travel set comes with eight brushes and a roll-up travel case that has a slot for each brush. The following brushes are included in the set: Eyebrow, Lip, Foundation, Concealer, Blending, Highlight, Eyeshadow, and Powder. The first three brushes listed, which are intended for use with liquid makeup, are made from synthetic hairs. The latter five brushes, for use with powders, are made from goat hair.

Pros:

Mix of synthetic and natural hair
Convenient travel roll
Bargain price

Best for travel

Matto Travel Makeup Brush Set

Travel buddy

The roll-up case has individual slots for each of the eight brushes, perfect for travel.

Best value: VANDER LIFE Makeup Brush Set

VANDER LIFE Makeup Brush Set Source: Amazon

Whether you're just starting out with makeup or you want to build your collection quickly and inexpensively, VANDER LIFE has you covered with this enormous set of brushes that has just about every kind of brush you might need, and then some. The whopping 24-brush set comes with a case you can use for travel or storage. Each brush is vegan, synthetic, and cruelty-free.

Pros:

Great value
24 brush set
Vegan

Cons:

May be more brushes than you need

Best value

VANDER LIFE Makeup Brush Set

Mega set

This 24-brush set contains just about any makeup brush you might need.

Most whimsical: MYSWEETY Unicorn Makeup Brushes

MYSWEETY Unicorn Makeup Brushes Source: Amazon

Rainbow-colored unicorn horn handles add a fun touch to this set, perfect for a younger makeup fanatic or the young at heart. This colorful set includes ten brushes: Powder, Foundation, Angled Blush, Contour, Fan, Lip, Angled Eyeshadow, Eyeshadow, Flat Concealer, and Fluffy Blending. Two silicone makeup sponges are included. Also, you get a makeup brush egg for cleaning your brushes.

Pros:

Beautiful rainbow colors
Whimsical "unicorn horn" handles
Brush cleaning egg included

Cons:

White portion of bristles may stain

Most whimsical

MYSWEETY Unicorn Makeup Brushes

No unicorns were harmed

This adorable rainbow-colored makeup brush set is sure to please any unicorn fan.

Bottom line

Apply your face, lip, and eye makeup with task-specific brushes for the ultimate precision. Brushes are an excellent way to blend out your makeup, so you don't have harsh lines or streaks. Which type of makeup brushes you buy depends on your specific needs. When shopping for a makeup set, check carefully to see that each type of brush you might need is included. Also, think about if you prefer natural or synthetic bristles or a mix of the two. Natural bristles tend to diffuse powders best, while synthetic bristles are ideal for liquid makeup and precision application. If you'll be traveling with your brushes, a set that includes a container tailored to your brushes is convenient.

BS-MALL Makeup Brushes are a nice, well-rounded and well-priced set. The wood handles and synthetic bristles will do the job for most people. Regardless of which set you choose, be sure to clean your brushes regularly with a gentle cleanser.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Karen S. Freeman is a teacher, writer, social media person, and family woman. She loves to travel, play with tech stuff, drink coffee, try new beauty products, discover amazing new restaurants, and experience new things.

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