I’ve always loved that quote about only being as good as the tools in your toolbox – and the same rings true for makeup artists with their makeup brushes. I love makeup and have loved learning about it ever since I was a teenager.

As a result, I’ve amassed quite a collection of makeup and brushes to apply said makeup, over the years. Good makeup brushes are essential to have on hand but of course there are so many kinds and its tricky about where to know where to start your collection.

Once you have the right brushes, you’ll be able to achieve any number of looks and be prepared for no matter the product you’re looking to apply. Today I’m breaking down the makeup brushes I think are essential for the everyday girl to have on hand to do her makeup.

15 Essential Makeup Brushes To Have

Foundation Brush

A good foundation brush should make putting your base makeup on significantly easier and it should help you blend and create a seamless finish easily. I adore my No. 7 Artis Brush for putting on my favorite foundations. It really helps to apply the product in a beautiful way that sits naturally on my face. The finish is natural and the brush helps for even distribution, too.

Powder Brush

To set your makeup a powder brush is an essential makeup brush. I have two that I love. I use the Bobbi Brown Full Coverage Face Brush to apply my favorite Ilia Setting Powder when I am setting my whole face with powder.

Then, when I want a more glowy makeup look and I am only setting my T-zone, I reach for this tiny tapered brush which does wonders to target the spots I’m looking to mattify. The super soft bristles on this one are a dream, too.

Angled Contour Brush

If you contour with powder, you’ll want a good angled contour brush. Having one with two sides with two different brush sizes comes in so handy for doing your nose contour as well.

Concealer Brush

If you don’t love the idea of blending out your concealer with your hands, a concealer brush will be your best friend. I also use this size of brush to apply powder to my under eyes and powder over any problem blemish areas. A dual ended brush like this one is also great for applying more high coverage products.

A concealer brush is also great to be more hygienic if you have any inflamed pimples.

Highlighter Brush

I prefer a tapered highlighter brush to a fan brush for applying powder highlighter personally because I think it makes it more precise when you go to apply a high wattage highlighter.

Powder Blush Brush

I am a fan of layering blushes so whenever I am applying my powder blush I use a powder blush brush like my beloved Laura Mercier one that I’ve had for years and years.

Cream Blush Brush

I can’t live without my Merit Beauty Blending Brush. It beautifully blends all my favorite cream blushes and also works in a snap on cream contour, too. 

Buffing Brush

I love a dense buffing brush for applying cream bronzer. The Saie Big Buffing Bronzer Brush works so well to really disperse product without it looking cakey or muddy.

Related: Saie Beauty Review.

Blending Brush

A good blender brush should be able to be used in a variety of ways – to blur out bronzer and cream blush, to apply bb creams and other base products or even to apply your primer.

Eyeshadow Brush

Because I typically don’t spend a lot of time on my eye makeup, I prefer a medium sized shadow brush to do most of the application.

Crease Brush

To better build out an eye look, I think a crease brush is great to have it on hand. I reach for it when doing my makeup for special occasions. 

Eyeliner Brush

A good eyeliner brush will help you really hug your gel eyeliner or powder eyeliner to your lash line. My go-tos are the Bobbi Brown precision brush for my beloved gel eyeliner and I recently started using this angled eyeliner brush which really helps draw a super, super precise line with gel liner and makes getting a cat eye a bit easier, too.

Angled Precision Brush

An angled precision brush is so handy for doing brows. It ensures you can get your powder in there to fill and fluff without a lot of lost product. I use this Anastasia Beverly Hills brush because it’s small for my brows and has a spoolie on the end which I love.

Be sure to check out my  Filling In Brows For Beginners Guide for more tips.

Lip Color Brush

If you like super precision lip colors and you often wear matte lipsticks or highly pigmented lip colors, a lip brush can be your best friend. I like Westman Atelier’s Lip Brush.

Touch Up Brush

I love this dual-ended brush for on-the-go touch ups. It is small enough to fit in most of my bags and allows for easy reapplication of powder to ensure I am blotting mid-day shine.

. . .

If you’re looking to start your collection, I definitely recommend you look at buying a brush set. There are so many good ones out there. I really like the brushes by Morphe, Sigma, It Cosmetics, Sephora Collection and Luxie in particular alongside the other brands included in this post.

Shop the Brushes

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And don’t forget to wash your brushes regularly! I swear by the EcoTools Makeup Brush Shampoo that makes the process a bit less painful.

Shop more of my beauty favorites in my Beauty Shop.