My Favorite Drugstore Brushes

I had an authentic cheesesteak from Philly today. I mean, it actually came from Philly. And it was pretty good. Now that I'm thinking about it I kind of want more. Maybe I could make one? Hmmm. But here I am with food on the brain and I'm supposed to be talking about brushes. 

Not too long ago I did a post of my favorite brushes, then I realized most of those are super expensive so I thought I would do my favorite drugstore brushes. I started out with drugstore brushes-an Ecotools set actually.Before that I had a no name set of brushes I got for Christmas one year. I threw most of those away pretty quickly though. As I could I replaced those brushes with higher end brushes. I do tend to save most of my money for a higher end brush as opposed to buying a ton of drugstore brushes so I don't have a lot. But this is what I do have that I love!

Sonia Kashuk Dense Blush Brush- Sonia Kashuk is on the pricier side of the drugstore. You can pretty much only get it at Target. I bought mine years back and they have since redone the handles. It's called number 24 now. This brush is so soft and dense and works well for blush, powder and bronzer. I've even seen some use it for foundation. I don't think I've tried it for that yet. But it's a solid brush!

Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Flat Top Brush- It's called number 4 now. It works great for foundation and blending out creme products like blush and contour. Years later and mine is still in excellent condition.

Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush- I forgot to take a picture of it but I love it! I haven't used it for years because I don't have gel liner at the moment but when I was using gel liner it was amazing.

Real Techniques Contour Brush- Love this for blending out creme contour. I thought it was too small when I got it but I've since figured out I love a smaller contour..so this works perfectly. I like either this or the beauty blender for creme contour.

Real Techniques Buffing Brush- Best thing ever for foundations! It's interchangeable with the Expert Face Brush. The only thing is I think these brushes are ugly. All of them. No exceptions.

Real Techniques Setting Brush- Works great for setting powder in small spaces like the under eye area. Works well to highlight too.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush- I use this or the Buffing Brush and love both. The Expert Face brush has denser bristles but they both work great to blend out foundation. This is a great option if you don't want to purchase the set since the buffing brush comes in the set.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush- Another that works great for foundation or creme blush. Or even powder blush. Just whatever you want to use it for. All mine appear to look the same as the day I bought them and they've seen some decent use.

Real Techniques Blush Brush- I hated this brush when I first got it. I still don't like it too much for blush. It's way to large and I just don't like the way it applies. But if you use it for powder or bronzer it is a great brush. And it's super soft. They really should rename it.

These I forgot to take pics of because they were hidden in the back. I recently rearranged my makeup and they ended in the back where I couldn't see and I didn't feel like taking another picture.

E.L.F Powder Brush- This can double as a foundation brush in a flash. And I love it for powder because it really presses the powder into the skin. You can't beat it for $3.

E.L.F Complexion Brush- I use this for everything. It's a great starter brush and works well for powder and bronzer. It's not the best application but I still can't stop myself from reaching for it...a lot. It's not as dense as other versions but it's nice anyway.

E.L.F Small Stipple Brush- Very comparable to the MAC 130. The MAC one is slight softer but they both work nicely for foundation, creme blush, highlight, whatever you want!


I also have an Essence of beauty brush I have that I absolutely love but I don't think they sell it anymore. They used to have some great brushes!

So I think that about sums it up.

What are your favorite bargain brushes?