which brushes and why?

[zeebs]

Hi ladies,
My brush post in the swap thread got me to thinking...

I have heard that synthetic brushes are better for mineral makeup than natural bristle brushes. I understand that synthetic brushes are considered more humane, but why are they better for makeup application?

TIA!

[karen]

For me, it was all about the softness. Before we started stocking the brushes that we have I ordered samples from a lot of different places and just fell in love with the synthetics. I think they grip the minerals better so there's less fall-out. They're also easier to clean because you don't have to worry about conditioning them like you would with natural hair.

[BlowFarAway]

From what I recall it's the fact that they don't "absorb" the powders like natural bristles do.

[Xarata]

i second the softness- i've been in love with synthetic paintbrushes forever and when they started making synthetic makeup brushes it was a no-brainer. Aside from the softness, synthetic bristles don't break as easily as natural brushes (which is why they stay softer), you can clean them without worrying too much about damaging the bristles, and supposedly they do grab onto minerals better which i think is because, in general, all of my synthetics are very dense in comparison to natural hair brushes and, because they don't bend or break, they stay dense. And ya know, the whole humane vegan thing is just a super bonus.

[Hester Mofet]

I find that natural hairs tend to hold onto powders more instead of depositing them all at once when you put the brush to your skin, so I like natural hairs for color products like blush and eyeshadow. But I prefer synthetics for my foundations and finishing powders (easier to clean and disinfect without roughing up the bristles). I think it just depends on the techniques you use for applying makeup, everyone is different so naturally different people will prefer different sorts of tools.

[feyith]

Karen, do you get any from the people behind EcoTools? Love their brushes.

[Cupcake]

I'm agreeing with those who say that the synthetics grip the powder more efficiently and allow more accurate placement. It's not as simple as saying 'synthetic' or 'natural' though - even within those groups, some work better than others for each different formula or mineral - such as the different mineral brands and their foundations, or eyeshadows. It's good to get recommendations from those who work with the different brands and know what brush type works best for their powder formulas.

[meheeeen]

I prefer animal hair for painting because I feel like it's 'stronger' when I need it to be. I paint with oils though and it's way different than makeup! I like synthetic makeup brushes because of ease of cleaning and low cost, to be honest. I don't have the time to spend caring for natural hair makeup brushes AND my hog's hair oil brushes too!

The softness is definitely a factor. My kolinsky sable watercolor brushes are the softest I own but they're too nice for my face... lol. I wouldn't use something TOO amazing on my face... I would be tempted to paint with it if it was too nice of a brush!

[kitten1711]

Like Cupcake and Hester Mofet have said, I use both synthetic and natural bristle brushes but it depends very much on the task at hand as to which I select.

Synthetics tend to have more tightly packed bristles which means they are great for applying products where you want more intense colour or coverage - so to pat on mineral eyeshadows for maximum colour payoff, spot & blemish concealing, applying cream shadows, and I also like the flat topped kabuki version for applying foundation as they are great for buffing and the powder doesn't vanish up into the bristles so feels like you're wasting less than with natural bristles.

Natural bristles tend to be fluffier so do 'eat' more of the product but can didtribute it further so you get a lighter (as in less heavy) application of coloured minerals; so I use this type of brush for blush & bronzer (where you can use just a couple of grains and really work it into your brush), finishing powders, eyeshadow blending & where you're looking for a sheer 'wash' of eyeshadow colour.

I prefer that synthetic bristles are easier to wash (although they seem to take longer to dry than natural ones here in the damp, cold UK) and tend to shed less than natural bristle brushes in my experience; some synthetic brushes CAN be super soft and great quality (all of the SN ones I've tried are excellent) but others are hard and scratchy, for example some I bought a while back from Superdrug in the UK. Nasty

[Phyrra]

I really prefer synthetic brushes, too.
My ecoTools and other vegan brushes are the softest I've found.
They also hold up well under my daily washing (because I find that a must for my eye brushes).
They apply minerals evenly and blend pretty well.
The very few non synthetic brushes I have are MAC and I just haven't found a comparable brush to them, like my MAC 224.