18 of the Best Brushes for All Your Makeup Needs

From domed and stippled to fluffy and densely packed—we’ve tried them all and have chosen our favorites.

Set of natural wooden makeup brushes.Iana Kunitsa/Getty Images

Whether you can’t wait to dip into the new foundation and blush you just purchased or you can’t remember the last time you cleaned your decade-old makeup brushes, it’s always time for new ones.

If you’re a die-hard Beautyblender ($20) fan and execute virtually everything with a sponge, more power to you. But if you’re eager to try a new colorful or dramatic full-glam look, brushes are a total must-have.

Picking the right ones can be overwhelming. There are so many options out there and choosing which ones work best with which makeup products can be a tedious task.

We’re here to help. We’ve tried them all—angled, domed, stippled, fluffy, tapered—in every size and for every need.

Here’s a rundown of our 18 favorite makeup brushes for a variety of different products.

Base routine

e.l.f. Cosmetics Buffing Foundation Brush, $7 (elfcosmetics.com)

elfcosmetics.com

This tapered buffing foundation brush is perfect for giving you a seamless look and blending out both high-coverage matte foundations and thin skin tints.

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Brush, $47 (hourglasscosmetics.com)

hourglasscosmetics.com

If you prefer a dense foundation brush or are a fan of stick foundations, this brush should already be a part of your makeup collection. It’s formed with an angled shape to fit into all the contours of your face.

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Concealer Brush, $39 (hourglasscosmetics.com)

hourglasscosmetics.com

There’s a reason this brush is so loved by the TikTok makeup community. The densely-packed bristles vary in length and texture in order to ensure a seamless blend and work efficiently and effectively with both liquid and cream formulas.

BK Beauty 105 Large Buffer Brush, $38 (bkbeauty.com)

bkbeauty.com

If you’re a fan of the viral Mary Phillips makeup hack and are in search of the perfect fluffy foundation brush that offers a sheer coverage of any liquid formula, look no further. This brush is also 100% cruelty-free and made with vegan fibers. 

Hourglass Veil Powder Brush, $65 (hourglasscosmetics.com)

hourglasscosmetics.com

All of Hourglass’s brushes are vegan and cruelty-free and this double-ended brush is perfect for applying powder to smaller areas like under the eyes. The bigger, rounded side can be used all over the face.

Blush and bronzer

Sephora Collection Pro Blush Brush, $30 (sephora.com)

sephora.com

The Sephora Collection has slowly become known for its affordable and high-quality brushes. This one is the most highly rated, with 4.7 stars and a plethora of positive reviews noting that the “spade-like” brush head is ideal for blush application on the apples of the cheeks.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Blush Brush $23 (sephora.com)

sephora.com

Selena Gomez backs this brush. Do you need any other reason to click the purchase button? This angled brush works perfectly with the fan-favorite Rare Beauty liquid blush to create a “soft diffused finish.”

Saie Big Brush, $26 (saiehello.com)

saiehello.com

If you are a heavy bronzer user and love to look like you’re constantly in the sun, this short Saie brush is designed to evenly disperse cream products for a sun-kissed, “flawless” and “filtered” effect.

NARS Bronzer Brush, $38 (narscosmetics.com)

narscosmetics.com

This highly-rated NARS brush is made from dense and tightly packed hypo-allergenic fibers and is the perfect size for precise bronzer application.

Contour

Sephora Collection Pro Shadow Brush $20 (sephora.com)

sephora.com

Everyone knows that dense eyeshadow brushes make for the best nose contour blenders. This short, domed and densely packed brush is perfect to carve out the sides of your nose and blend seamlessly.

Patrick Ta Contour Brush, $35 (patrickta.com)

patrickta.com

This product from the makeup guru himself is a uniquely shaped brush that makes contouring almost foolproof. With synthetic tapered bristles, this brush can apply both cream and powder formulas and perfectly blends out any harsh lines. It won a 2021 Allure Best of Beauty award.

Well People Contour Complexion Brush, $22 (wellpeople.com)

wellpeople.com

This cruelty-free and vegan angled brush is the best for sculpting cheekbones and jawlines and delivers the most precise control with cream, powder and liquid formulas.

Highlight

Rare Beauty Positive Light Highlighter Brush $23 (sephora.com)

sephora.com

Rare Beauty just launched its powder highlighters and the products have quickly taken over the internet. The Selena Gomez-owned brand also dropped a brush that works perfectly with the new formula, as well as the stunning tried-and-true liquid blushes.

Fenty Beauty Cheek-Hugging Highlight Brush $32 (sephora.com)

sephora.com

Rihanna’s brand boasts this unique chiseled brush that is formulated with a “shark tooth” design to hug the skin and offer a perfect pop of shimmer to the cheekbones, brow bone, bridge of the nose and more.

Eyes

e.l.f. Cosmetics Fluffy Eye Blender Brush, $5 (elfcosmetics.com)

elfcosmetics.com

This is the perfect fluffy eye brush for adding all-over shimmer or adding a neutral shade to the crease. It works for any eye shape and for any product and is extremely affordable.

Morphe Precision Pencil Crease Brush $8 (morphe.com)

morphe.com

Morphe brushes will always be a staple in any makeup fanatic’s bag. This small pointed brush is best used to add depth to the crease or outer edge of the eye.

Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow Brush $39 (bobbibrowncosmetics.com)

bobbibrowncosmetics.com

This short and densely packed brush can be used with all eye shadow formulas to pack on color all over the lid or to add dimension to corners.

BK Beauty Blended Crease Brush $18 (bkbeauty.com)

bkbeauty.com

This brush is designed in a specific way to pick up the perfect amount of product and deposit it with no fallout. It comes with tapered bristles made out of extremely soft cruelty-free and vegan fiber.