Recomendations for BLENDING BRUSHES???

[**Blondie**]

Hello,
I couldn;t find the right thread to post this in so it's here. I've been doing makeup for quite some time & I've always been pretty happy with my blending. But I see some fabulous looks out there & the blending is FLAWLESS!!!! I purchased the 217 brush from MAC, & I'm not all that impressed. I sometimes wonder if it's the base I use. I use a few that work well for me. My favorite for my eyes is UDPP fade not crease not, and a new one by Limecrime. Both of them help my colours to POP & not crease!! I have oily eyelids, so thats important. So I don't know what the deal is. Also sometimes If I try to do a black smokey eye, or darker colour, right in the crease area it will kind of "fade" UGH!!!!! WHY??!!! & how can I fix this?? I want more flawless perfect eyes!!
thanks, Jen

 

[shellygrrl]

Sometimes after you've blended a bit, you need to reapply colour, then blend some more. I have oily lids, and I use UDPP, and I use a 217 as a blending brush, and I've not had issues. That said, it's entirely possible the 217 isn't a good match for you.

 

[**Blondie**]

Thanks for the reply. I definatly reapply colour after blending. I don't know what it is. I don't want to buy a million blending brushes though,ugh. Hopefully, I'll get the hang of it soon. I try different bases, I try blotting my lids first, some days my makeup looks great, some days I'm so/so about it. I always get alot of compliments on it though, I'm probably my worst critic!!

 

[ashley8119]

I suggest the 224! I received the recommendation on Specktra awhile ago when I posted photos of my work and asked for input. I pointed out that I really needed some help with blending and asked for a brush recommendation. A few helpful members recommended the 224 and I am very happy with it, I highly recommend it!

 

[Mabelle]

My 3 fave brushes are the 217, 224 and a pencil brush!

So my steps for a smokey eye are as follows

1. base all over
2. neutral shimmer free highlight from brown to crease
3. colored base where i want on lid, smudged out. If i want a classic smokey eye, on the lid by the lash line. If i want a more "modern" smokey I'll do it in the over v.

I always work light to dark and then intermediate. You will have to keep adding a highlight back in, and keep a clean blending brush on you to diffuse the lines without depositing any more pigment.

If you go dark then add light back in, your colours might look muddy, and you will have a harder time blending in the crease.


I love the 217 for laying down a decent amount of product and then blending t out.
I use a pencil in the outer v to deposit a lot of intense colour, or by the lash line.
The 224 is the one that will give you the lightest deposit of colour while doing all the delicate blending work.

 

[**Blondie**]

Thanks Ladies!
I will check out the 224 brush. Thats pretty much how I do a smokey eye, so it must be a combo of the brushes & base. Trial & error I guess,lol

 

[poupoune1607]

I also use the 217 to blend my eyeshadows and have no issues (I use 224 to apply eyeshadow in the crease). But it's normal to have to reapply eyeshadow after blending, it's how you can build the color payoff you want.
For your smoky eyes, a friend of mine, who is MUA gave me this tip : apply a medium brown in your crease before applying your highlight and your smoky color. So both colors will be applied over another layer of eyeshadow, and the line between them will be more easy to blend.
Hope it helps!

 

[**Blondie**]

I think I will try that tip, thank you!!