A Guide to Brushes: Concealer Brushes

Concealer Brushes are used to apply concealer.  I'm making this real difficult, I know.  This post features brushes for applying undereye concealer, blemish concealer, concealing redness around the nose, or anything else you might want to hide. 

 

Medium Concealer Brushes

The most classic of concealer brush, the medium concealer brush, here a Paula Dorf Camouflage brush, Sephora Classic Concealer, and Sephora Platinum concealer, resembles a flat eye shader brush, but is usually synthetic, as these three are.  Good for basic concealing on blemishes, under the eye, or around the nose.  I think they work best for redness or under the eyes, as I prefer a more precision brush for blemishes.  I like these best with cream concealers, as I prefer smaller brushes with harder concealers (like Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage) or liquid concealers (like Make Up For Ever Full Cover), but they are nice to blend after those are applied. 

 

The medium concealer brush is also useful as an eyeshadow brush (no surprise, since it so resembles an flat shader).  They're nice for applying cream eyeshadow (which reminds me I'd like to do a post on cream eyeshadow....), and can be really useful for applying those pressed loose powder products like Armani Eyes to Kill Intense and L'Oreal Infallible, since they're usually stiffer than natural bristle brushes.

 

Large Concealer Brushes

 

The large concealer brush is a larger version of the medium; these are Hourglass Large Concealer and Cover FX concealer brush both synthetic.  They work well for applying foundation as concealer, such as a cream or stick foundation.  They are also good for applying concealer over redness around the nose or on the cheeks, highlighting cheekbones or that triangle highlight everyone associates with Kim Kardashian even though Kevyn Aucoin was doing it on celebrities and models 20 years ago.  I also use them often for blending blemish concealer over my chin, if I'm using a more emollient concealer, like Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer.

 

Small Concealer Brushes

The smallest of the flat synthetic concealer brushes, these are by Japonesque and Real Techniques.  These are good for applying concealer to blemishes, especially the big swollen kind.  They also make great lip brushes, which is probably what I use them for most.  They can also be used for detail work with cream eyeshadows.

 

Fluffy Concealer Brushes

These are a Real Techniques Deluxe crease brush (also featured in the blending brush breakdown), and a Sephora Platinum Airbrush Concealer brush.  A lot of people also use eye shadow blending brushes, like oval blending brushes (MAC 217 and its dupes) or round crease brushes (MAC 224 et al.) similarly.  These are good for applying concealer under the eyes, and blending concealer over large areas of blemishes.  I like to use these with creamy or liquidy concealers, and I find them completely useless with hard concealers (like LM SC, mentioned previously).  They are great for blending, all formulations, though, and I like to use the Sephora like a mini buffing brush to apply something like KA SSE as a spot foundation. 

I think these are really useful brushes, as they're like tiny foundation buffing brushes, so I think they're easier to use and require less skill to apply and blend concealer. 

 

Long Concealer Brush

This Bobbi Brown Concealer brush (synthetic), is meant for applying undereye concealer, and I tend to use it exactly how Bobbi Brown intended (with her creamy concealer/corrector).  It's longer and thinner than the flat concealer brushes, and I can't imagine it being good for blemishes, though I am quite fond of it for creamy undereye concealer.  It doesn't blend well, though, so it requires the use of a fluffier brush or fingers to blend the edges.

 

Pinpoint Concealer Brush

The pinpoint concealer brush, this one by Kevyn Aucoin, is a must for precision blemish concealing.  I should say, this sort of shape is essential, but you may notice it's resemblence to gel liner brushes.  In fact, you may notice Lisa Eldridge, the queen of pinpoint concealing, using liner brushes to do so.  I'll include liner brushes in this idea, so don't think you need to buy this brush (I do have to make a massive recommendation for this brush though; it is truly phenomenal.  It really glides over the skin, as it's very dense and just the perfect stiffness.  I have honestly not used another brush to conceal zits since I purchased it).  

The tiny little point you see in this photo really allows the tiniest amount of product in exactly the place you need it, which is why this type of brush is so amazing for pimple coverage.  It works with all styles of concealer, and is especially good for really pigmented concealers, be they waxy or emollient.  It can deposit such precise amounts and placement, blending is barely necessary, though, especially if your concealer is not a perfect match, you may need to scribble a bit around the edges, and use a blending brush.  I often just press or pat the product into the skin with my fingers to blend, though.

 

Point Concealer Brush

Another great brush for concealing blemishes, it's wider and longer than the pinpoint concealer brush, but still tapers to a thin point.  This Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage brush is intended for use with her Secret Camouflage, and it really does work best with hard concealers like that. 

 

 

Pointed Concealer Brush

This is the concealer half of the Stila One Step Complexion Brush, this is a less fluffy version of the fluffy concealer brush.  It's good for under the eyes, around the contours of the nose, and for blending concealer on blemishes.  The tapered point allows more control, but less blending than the fluffier brushes. 

 

 

Square Concealer Brushes

This is an old Urban Decay Concealer Brush from an early brush line and a NYX small concealer brush.  The narrower square brush is good for spot concealer on blemishes, and the wider one is good for a dense application in a small area.  Not an essential brush, though the Urban Decay brush was one of my very first brushes over a decade ago and I still sometimes use it to stipple concealer on a zit, especially one that has dried out a bit (nicer to say that than "crusty and gross"), though it has been long discontinued.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros:     You can apply concealer with fingers, but it's still one of the first non-powder brushes you'll want.  A concealer brush provides more accuracy, better blending, and less wasted product, than using fingers.  Do you need every one of these styles?  Unless you're obsessed like I am, no.  The most useful of these are the pinpoint, point, and fluffy concealer brushes, and with either tiny brush and the bigger fluffy one, you'd be able to conceal anything, whether it's a blemish, undereye circles, or redness, and they'll work with pretty much any formula concealer you use (though with drier consistencies, the fluffy concealer brush would be just a blending brush).

Cons:     This is one of those situations where the most classic brush is one of the least useful.  Though the classic brushes are still useful, for under the eyes or blending, it's not likely to be essential.  In fact, they're probably better as a laydown brush for cream or loose powder than for concealer. 

 

The brushes featured in this post are:  Paula Dorf Camouflage Brush (from Travel Set), I think this may be discontinued, as I think the "Total Camouflage" brush currently on the website seems bigger, Sephora Classic Concealer 46, Sephora Platinum Concealer Brush 45 (The entire Platinum line was discontinued and replaced with the Pro line, this one appears to have changed shape in the switchover), Cover FX Concealer Brush, Hourglass No. 8 Large Concealer Brush,  Japonesque Concealer Brush from Touch Up Tube, Real Techniques Detail Brush (from Core Collection), Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush (from Starter Set), Sephora Platinum Airbrush Concealer 57 (This is carried over into Pro line), Bobbi Brown Concealer Brush, Kevyn Aucoin Concealer Brush, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Brush, Stila One Step Complexion Brush 33, Urban Decay Concealer Brush, long, long ago discontinued, NYX small concealer brush.  All were purchased and I received no compensation for featuring them.

 

A Guide to Brushes: Eye Brushes, Part 6: Detail Brushes

This post features a variety of eyeshadow brushes for use on small areas of the eye.  It includes pencil brushes and various smudge brushes.

Pencil Brushes

The most common and used of detail brushes, I believe.  The first on the left, which is an Essence of Beauty Fine Crease Brush, notwithstanding, a lot of pencil brushes are goat, like the MAC 219, Hakuhodo G5514BkSl, and Hakuhodo G5515BkSl here.  This picture makes them all look so big, but the Hakuhodo G5515 is about an eighth of an inch long.  These brushes are great for blending out eyeliner, applying shadow to the upper or lower lash lines, precise crease shadow placement, detail in the outer corner (like the dreaded "outer v") and highlighting the inner corner or the brow bone--basically anywhere you want focused or intense placement of eyeshadow.  Goat is a good fibre for this sort of brush, because it provides a good amount of stiffness and softness and holds up to cream eyeliners, but the white hairs get stained so badly (as evidenced by the faint pinkness of my 219.  The Hakuhodos are so pristine because they came straight out of the package before this picture.  The smaller one is now a lovely shade of blue.  The stains do respond usually to oil cleansing, but since oil cleans best when used dry, if you're halfway through cleaning when you realize that pigment is not coming out with cleanser, then you have to wait for it to dry.  At that point, the "Eh, it's clean, and I gotta do ma face" instinct kicks in and next thing you know, you're justifying a pink brush on the internet.  Uh, yeah.  These brushes do their job well, and as detail brushes go they're the most common and most used. 

 

Pointed Smudge Brushes

A variation on the pencil brush, pointed smudge brushes are most commonly found as "Smoky Eyeliner Brushes", like the one on the right from Sephora, which is synthetic.  The one on the left, also by Sephora is a discontinued point smudge brush.  Both these brushes, though they have different shapes, serve the same purpose, which is to apply or smudge eyeliner and apply eyeshadow to a small area.  I think they're more precise than pencil brushes, especially the point smudge, though it's scratchy.  The smoky version of the brush is great if you're looking for a synthetic detail brush, and it is quite good for smoking out liner.  It's less useful for applying powder, unless you want a subtle effect. 

 

Mini Smudge Brushes

These brushes are like tiny flat shader brushes.  Often they're proportionately shorter as compared to width of a shader brush, but neither of these examples really are, which are a Real Techniques synthetic Accent brush, and a Paula Dorf Smudge brush.  These are amazing for applying shadow around the eye, and I love them for smudging the edge of liner.  They provide more control than the previous two styles of detail brush and can be used to smudge or finesse the edges of liner.  Interestingly enough, they often make for excellent gel liner or tightline brushes.  While they do offer more control than a pencil brush, that makes them a little harder to use.

 

Domed Smudge Brush

Similar to a pencil brush, but with a dome instead of a point, this Make Up For Ever smudge brush, is useful for most of the same effects, such as smudging and highlighting, only it will provide a softer less focused or intense effect.  I think this is especially useful for a smoky eye, where you want a smooth gradation of shading. 

 

Pointed Detail Brush

This one (a Hakuhodo 5529, blue squirrel hair) is like a long thin pencil brush.  It's less useful for smudging liner ( especially this one's soft squirrel hair), but more useful for crease work.  It provides a soft, diffused line, but with exacting detail.  Perfect when you want delicacy and precision at the same time.

 

Round Detail Brushes

Similar, but sturdier, to the pointed detail brush, and obviously featuring a round end rather than a pointed end, these brushes (Kevyn Aucoin Small Eyeshadow Soft Round Tip, and Royal and Langnickel Smudger) are super precise crease brushes and are great for smudging around the eye and applying eyeshadow under the eye, in the outer corner, or along the top lash line. 

 

 

Pros and Cons

Pros:  These brushes do what none of the other featured brushes can do.  They are like an eyeliner brush crossed with a blending brush.  Tiny, but capable of blending small areas.  If you have small eyes, you may prefer to use one of these brushes for your crease instead of a classic crease brush.  These brushes' versatility means that you will probably want one in your brush collection. 

Cons:  They're tiny.  That's pretty much it.  If you don't want a small brush, or if you like to keep your brushes to a minimum (something which I obviously have no idea about), then you don't need one.  They're tiny brushes; that's the point, but that means they can't do the things a bigger brush does. 

 

The brushes featured in this post are: Essence of Beauty Fine Crease Brush, MAC 219 Hakuhodo G5514BkSl, Hakuhodo G5515BkSl, Sephora Point Smudge 16 (discontinued), Sephora Smokey Eye Brush 24 (from the discontinued platinum line, but the shape and number are still in the current Pro Line), Real Techniques Accent Brush (form the Starter Set), Paula Dorf Smudge brush, Make Up For Ever Smudge Brush 14S, Hakuhodo G5529BkSl, Kevyn Aucoin Small Eyeshadow Brush Soft Round Tip, Royal and Langnickel Smudger Brush.  All brushes were purchased and I received no compensation for featuring them.