Beauty Must-Haves: Tools of the Trade
I do lots of sharing about which products I consider must-haves as part of my beauty arsenal, but today I’m talking about the tools, baby! I’m giving you my top 8 must-have makeup tools, taken directly from my book, The Everyday Supermodel. There are a few tools that are simply necessities. Certain brushes offer precision and keep makeup free of finger grime. Just try applying false lashes without a tweezers … not fun! Here are a few musts for your beauty tool kit.
The Eight Great Makeup Tools
- Foundation Brush: It’s flat, dense, and generally has synthetic bristles so it doesn’t pick up too much product. It allows for even distribution of your foundation and creates a smooth, even finish. It also is very useful for getting into the corners of the under-eye, where dark circles lurk.
- Bronzing/Contouring Brush: This is a medium-to-smaller-sized brush with a slight angle. It’s perfect for using in the hollows of the cheek to add lift and pop to your look.
- Powder Brush: Find a fluffy, round brush for blending, softening and finishing a look. It should feel light as a feather on your face! Look for soft bristles, not too stiff, so it blends and blurs, rather than sweeping product off and away.
- Easy Eye Shadow Brush: Choose something that fits in the crease of your eye and is firm enough to strategically deposit eye shadow, but soft enough to help blend. Most of the sponges that come with drugstore shadows don’t allow for blendability, unfortunately, but you can save them to soften and smudge eye pencil lines. They work well for that.
- Eyelash Curler: The Shu Uemura eyelash curler is, read-my-lips, hands down the be-all and end-all for makeup artists. Every artist owns one. Just sayin’.
- Egg-Shaped Sponge: We love this silly-looking gadget. The sponge is user friendly and creates a pore-less finish. It’s ideal for applying foundation and cream blushes.
- Tweezers: I can’t live without my Tweezermans. These are an obvious for shaping brows, but also come in handy when applying false lashes, snagging stray facial hairs, splinters and (in a pinch) food out of your teeth!
- Your Fingers: I love my brushes. But let’s be honest, sometimes it’s just faster and more travel friendly to use your fingers! Fingers are generally great for applying most cream-based cosmetics. Not to mention, concealers, foundations and cream blushes, when warmed by the hands, often blend more seamlessly into the skin.
#SupermodelSecret: Keep your brushes clean! Washing your brushes extends their shelf life, but also rids them of old makeup, dirt, oil and bacteria. (Gross!!) Clean makeup brushes = tools that will perform beautifully on your skin. Ideally, you should wash them once a week.
