concealer brush addiction

Ohhhh my god this post has been a long time coming. I think I've finally found some concealer brushes really REALLY worth the money. 

EcoTools Correcting Concealer brush ($5)- really excellent for spot concealing and blending. It's on the smallish side, so it's perfect for covering hyperpigmentation and acne. There are short thick hairs and long thin hairs, and the long hairs are great for blending, while the short ones give it a stiffness that you need to apply the concealer. Nouveau Cheap has a great review of this.

Real Techniques Detailer brush (part of a set, $18)- If I have a little more time, I looooooove using this to apply concealer before blending it. Normally I just swipe on, blend a little and go, but this brush is PERFECT for getting really really good coverage over the little tiny spots. After this, I'll use a fluffier brush to blend everything out, like...

Sephora Pro Airbrush #57 Concealer brush ($24, ouch)- PERFECT!!! I love this for both blemish and under-eye concealer. Normally I don't actually use under-eye concealer, but this brush does a super good job of airbrushing it around so it doesn't crease (which is WHY I don't usually bother with it). It's also excellent for blending out full-coverage concealers, like MAC Studio Finish or Hourglass Hidden Corrective concealer. Love love love this, would purchase a thousand more but it's expensive. Also, honestly, a little bit large for use on blemishes, but it works for me because I usually spot-conceal some places and then do a whole smear around a certain area, which this brush is awesome for. It's the most expensive brush in this post, so it's up to individual preference about whether to get it, but the quality is definitely there. This is the most expensive single brush I own and it's damn worth it.

Real Techniques Domed Shadow brush (part of a set, $18) - Smaller than the Sephora one, and the brush isn't the same length and texture all around, this one gets finer towards the end of the brush head-- where the Sephora brush is an even, airbrush puff, this one is a sparser, gentler fluff. Good for liquid concealers especially since it has more movement. It's really awesome. Sadly, only available in a set (but a good set). Real Techniques does have a single shadow brush available and I bet it would also be good for concealer. Who needs to use brushes for their assigned purpose?

Real Techniques Concealer brush ($8)- this one has the FUNKIEST shape I have ever seen in a concealer brush. It's like an angled blush brush. Why. I don't know. But it is super nice for some of the same purposes as the Sephora brush- under-eye concealer and blending out larger areas. It doesn't have a precision tip for spot concealing, but I grabbed it anyway because I am absolutely stunned at how quickly the Real Techniques brushes dry. I mean, it's like magic. Two minutes and you can use it again. Oh! I also like this one for highlighting with concealer for a contoured effect.

Sephora Pantone Lip brush (part of a set, discontinued)- Also awesome like the RealTechniques detailer brush, this one is slightly larger and stiffer. It's from the Radiant Orchid ombré brush set, which is no longer available but I've heard it's popping up at Marshall's!
Also, you can see that I most recently used this for orange eyeshadow, not concealer.

Bonus: Flower Beauty shadow brush ($8)- for setting under-eye concealer. When I do use it, I find setting concealer under my eyes with a powder helps a TON. Having a separate brush for this is a little unnecessary, but it sure does the job. It's pretty similar to the Sephora brush but I haven't tried it for applying concealer, since it doesn't seem dense enough. It is very very luxuriously soft.