Why you need seven brushes in your makeup bag

A makeup artist is only as good as their tools and these are the seven brushes needed to create a well-balanced makeup look.

Seven is the minimum number of brushes you should have if you want to perfect your makeup application. As a makeup artist, I have a crazy amount of brushes. However, on a daily basis, I generally carry about seven brushes with me in my capsule makeup bag.

With those seven brushes, I can create just about any makeup look I want to. But why seven you might ask? I use three for my face makeup to create my base. Then I have four essential eye brushes. Bear in mind this is my absolute minimum. Of course, you can add more but with these seven brushes, you should be able to do your makeup to a pretty good standard.

The breakdown

Face

I like to have three brushes to apply my base. I need one for foundation another for powder and bronzer and a third for blusher and highlighter. Fingers have a place in makeup application too. Often, I apply foundation with my fingers. The warmth of your hands can help the foundation sit on your skin better. However, I always finish it with a brush.  A brush will smooth it onto the skin and make sure there are no streaks. Your powder and bronzer brush should be kept shimmer-free so it works for contouring. Your blusher brush can also be used for highlighter. It doesn't matter if your blusher has a shimmer through it to highlight your cheekbones.

Eyes

For eyes, I could use ten brushes, but in my capsule makeup bag, I carry my four essentials. A blender is the single most important brush for applying eye makeup. You can make any eyeshadow look professional once it's well blended. Then you need two small lid brushes with densely packed bristles. They will pack on your lid colour for a strong smokey eye. You need two, one for light colours and one for dark. Finally, the last essential eye brush is a slanted liner brush for brows and liner.

How many brushes do you use to do your makeup from start to finish.