Brush Up On It!!

I don't have a lot of makeup brushes. I probably have the same amount of brushes that any makeup lovin' girl has. I don't have a ton of high end brushes either. My most expensive brush is my Sigma F80 and I got it on sale and with a gift card. I'm frugal, people!

  

Even though I don't have a lot of brushes, I have played with them enough that I know what I like. I really mean I play in brushes. I've gone to the store and just picked up makeup brushes, felt the bristles, examined the barrel and even sniffed them. Yes, I did. Sorry. I touch and feel brushes the same way I swatch makeup colors. I bounce the bristles on my palm and see how much give they have. Some brushes need firmness and others need give. And well, is it pretty? I'm not an expert people! When in doubt, go with pretty!

  

My most recent brush purchases have been eyeshadow brushes. I'm pretty set on what I like in a smudge or crease brush and I sometimes use my finger to pack on color. I've also been known to use the sponge tip applicators that come in eyeshadows (not often though). What I've been playing with lately are blending brushes and getting a feel for what I like in a blending brush. I have about 10 blending brushes and out of those I have 4 that I really love and use first. The rest are backups.

My faves right now are my e.l.f. Essential Blending Eye Brush and cmakeupstore 'I am smoked brush' #40. The e.l.f. brush is just your everyday $1 blending brush but I just feel that it blends my colors together perfectly. My 'I am smoked brush' is one from a set that I purchased at a convention. On the website, one brush is $9.99 but I bought the entire set (love it!). I have 2 of both of these brushes (backups) and they both stand up very well to everyday use.

Right now I'm eyeing a few more blending brushes. Sonia Kashuk has a blending brush that I like the fluff of and Sephora has a crease blending brush that looks nice.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite blending brush? What do you think I should add to my blending collection?