Did you know you can use Artist or "Paint" Brushes as eye-makeup brushes? Oh, YES, you can! My other eye brushes have literally taken a backseat ever since I've got these babies in my life. Artist brushes are EXCELLENT dupes for higher end "pricey" eye brushes. Same great quality (if not better) without breaking the bank. Now, I don’t think artist brushes can replace every makeup brush for your face, but it definitely can replace a few for your eyes!
A single, high quality eye brush can be very pricey and the “cheaper”, lower end ones tend to be really flimsy. Artist brushes are MADE for the precise & detailed work of an artist. These brushes are nowhere NEAR cheap! I am so impressed that they out-perform some of my other eye brushes. These brushes are really high quality, precise, sturdy and soft. Even after washing them several times, they have not lost any bristles or their quality.
 |
| From Left to Right: Artist Loft Scrumbler #8, Artist Loft Mop #2, Simply Simmon 5/0 Spotter, Simply Simmons 1/4 Angle |
WHERE TO BUY?
I bought my brushes from Michaels' which is a Arts & Crafts store here in Canada and the States. Artist brushes should also be available at any other arts and crafts store as well. Michaels' carry a HUGE selection of brushes! I’d recommend shopping when Michaels' has a sale (they do very often) and take advantage of their COUPONS! (there's always an active coupon, check here). The “regular” price range is $1.99 to $15.99 CAD for a single brush depending on the brush & brand. With discount/sale/coupons, each brush cost me around $1 to $7 CAD (TOTAL STEAL!). I love that when shopping in-store you can touch & feel each brush, compare them and find exactly what you are looking for.
PS. I had trouble finding decent links to purchase these exact brushes online, therefore I'd recommend just browsing your local Art store for them (Apologies!).
So here we go! These are my current top 4 Artist Brushes:
Flat Angled Brush:
Simply Simmons 1/4 Angle:
This brush has made WINGED LINER POSSIBLE for me! Not even kidding, I have always STRUGGLED with winged liner & thus would never dare to attempt it, but this brush makes it SO easy. The brush is sturdy and stiff yet the bristles so soft - no tugging!The angle is perfect for creating a sharp and precise wing. I also like using it for lightly defining my eyebrows and filling them in. You can achieve the most defined brows with this brush because of the angle. the As you can see below, the Simply Simmons Angle Brush is SO fine and flat compared to the Real Techniques Brow Brush.
 |
| Left: Simply Simmons 1/4 angle brush | Right: Real Techniques Brow Brush |
Fine Eye-Liner Brush:
Simply Simmons Spotter 5/0:
Every other “ultra-fine-precise-pointed” eyeliner brush I’ve ever owned has basically LIED TO ME or they were really meant for a GIANT. This brush is by far the most FINE & PRECISE pointed brush I've ever used. It does look "pointy and prickly" but it is actually so soft and glides on so smoothly when used. It is absolutely perfect for achieving a very thin line (especially for the inner-eye) and also great for drawing out a winged line. You can see below just how incredibly fine & pointed this brush is in comparison to other "eye-liner" brushes I own.
 |
| Left: Simply Simmons Spotter | Center: Real Techniques "Pixel Point" Eyeliner Brush | Right: ELF angled eyeliner brush |
Blending/Crease Brush:
Artist’s Loft Scrumbler #8:
Perfect brush for crease work and blending. Other “crease” brushes are far too big, get all over and make things messy. This one is perfect just to concentrate on the crease and blend it in beautifully. It is slightly tapered and not at all “floppy”. This is especially perfect if you have "smaller" eyes or not a lot of lid space to work with. For comparison, you can see below that the Real Techniques "crease" brush looks absolutely ENORMOUS next to the scrumbler brush.
 |
| Left: Real Techniques Crease Brush | Right: Artist Loft Scrumbler #8 |
Eye-shadow Packer Brush:
Artist’s Loft Mop #2:
This brush is great for packing on colour on the eyelids. It isn’t too big, so you place colour exactly where you want it. It picks up powder shadows really well for easy placement on the eyes. It is perfect for an all-over lid colour or just to concentrate colour on 1 spot. Just like all the other artist brushes mentioned, the bristles of this one are also very soft yet not at all flimsy. You can see below that the mop brush is a lot smaller in size in comparison to the Real Techniques eye-shadow brush.
 |
| Right: Real Techniques Eye Shadow Brush | Left: Artist Loft Mop #2 |
