B is for Brushes

No matter how many makeup brushes I have- I’ll always want more. I love how a nice brush feels in my hand and how soft the bristles are. I’m fascinated by the different shapes of brushes, the variety of uses and the colors. It’s amazing how I’ve become completely dependent on a few specific brushes, for example, my MAC 208 angled brow & 242 shader are my go-to brushes for filling in brows and blending shadow around the eyes for the perfect smoky eye. I’m also completely dependent on my new Sonia Kashuk angled precision brush for doing my own gel eyeliner.

With the average price of a single brush ranging from $4 up to $60, you can see how brushes are one of the biggest investments makeup artists make. Luckily, quality brushes that are properly cared for can live a long, full life.

I have to confess though, that I’m prone to leaving my brushes in weird places. I wish I had a Snickers bar for every time some film crew member came up to me at the end of the day and handed me a brush. Even though I use a set bag, I still manage to set brushes down and walk away.

I’ve been investing in some new pricier brushes lately and trying really hard to retire some of my older (well loved) brushes. That being said, I can’t seem to bring myself to take the older brushes out of my kit so I’m setting a goal, you are officially a witness. By the end of this week, the old brushes will be nestled away in my makeup storage.

A is for airbrush

I know I've blogged about airbrushing before, but I wanted to try to go in order and I can't think of a better use for the letter A. I've been using the airbrush for about a year now and I totally love it. You’d be really hard pressed to talk me into going back to traditional foundation. Airbrushing the foundation on is so quick and easy and I'm always hearing how relaxing the airbrushing feels. I've been doing a ton of film work and the airbrushed actors look great on camera and the makeup is perfectly imperceptible, even on the high definition cameras. I've tried a couple different types of airbrush makeup and my favorite is still Graftobian High Definition. I'm personally not a huge fan of foundation, I think it's important, BUT I don't like to feel like I'm wearing a mud mask all day long. I think that makeup should feel natural when you're wearing it, if you can FEEL it, something isn't right. That's another reason why airbrushing is awesome, it doesn't feel like anything, because it lays such a light layer over the skin it's really comfortable and it lasts much longer than traditional makeup. It actually lasts through sweat, dirt, tears and pretty much anything else you throw at it. Airbrushing has really come in handy whether I have a ton of actors lined up waiting for makeup or a huge bridal party in 95 degree weather. At this time I’d like to send a shout out to my airbrush….We’ve been through so much together, we’ve had our ups and downs, but thank you, I really couldn’t have done it without you!