Random Days: How many Brushes do you own?

I thought I'd do a mini post on brushes and applicators for make-up, I'm always interested to see what people use!

I've said this before, but I'm not the most sophisticated applier of make-up. It definitely didn't help that from age 16-18, when I was in sixth form and really getting in to make-up, I had major travel issues. Namely that my school was an hour's bus ride away, which meant me leaving around 7.15am 5 days a week. Being the night owl that I am, this was a form of torture for me. It also meant make-up for me was a definite second to sleep. So my solution? Put it on... on the bus (I didn't say it was a good solution). It also was terrible for reasons you will understand if you know my hometown Sheffield. It's corner and hill city baby. The twistiest, turniest, most up and down route you can imagine. Brushes then were out of the question for most things, I just used my fingers. I am still proud of how well I can put mascara on in a car though!

Now that I'm a lazy (but nearly ex) student, time to put make-up on is at a peak for me. I've also realised that the quality of application with a brush is always going to be miles better than whatever I can do with my fingers (I need all the help I can get). So here is a runthrough of my brush collection:

Foundation brushes (l-r): Gosh Duo Fibre Foundation Brush, Ecotools Bamboo Foundation Brush. Both of these are good for the classic brush for foundation, they are better for heavy coverage. The Gosh brush is a bit more fluffy than the Ecotools. Both are soft and don't shed (a big plus).

Different Foundation brushes (l-r): Sigma Flat Top Kabuki Brush F80, Elf Studio Stippling Brush: These are better for giving a sheerer, more blended and airbrushed look to the skin. Both are lovely and soft. Although they are a little different to get used to (the shape in the Sigma, the idea of stippling with the Elf) the effects are worth it. The Sigma is a pain to get (you have to order from the USA) and is a little more expensive than normal but not outrageous, the Elf was £3.50 I think, so totally worth it!

Mineral Foundation Brush: Elf Studio Kabuki Face Brush: Love this for mineral foundation! It's a good size so you can cover a big area quickly. Not great for small areas, so I use a standard powder brush for those tricky areas like the side of the nose. Make sure you get the Studio Version and not the Standard version (Elf are annoying at making several versions of the same thing) as the Standard version sheds like a nightmare!

Cosmo Blend Perfection Sponge: New, but I don't love it. I bought two (this is the clean one), it's ok to use, although I'm not sure it'll replace my Stippling brush, but it's a HORROR to clean! After two uses the other one is stained already and hard to rinse clean. Good to have, but probably won't be my first choice.

Random Ecotools brushes: These aren't used much at the minute (I lost them for ages). I bought them in America last year really cheaply, but now Boots sell them. If you want eco-friendly, good quality brushes at a low price then give these a whirl, they are super-soft, don't shed and look pretty.

Big brush collection: This was my big purchase that started my collection, because I had nothing to work with. It was only £11.99 or something on eBay, and I don't know the brand....

but look how many you get!! I think there's about 50 or so. There are so many I never use most of them even. Quality wise they're ok, not mindblowing, but as I use most of these once in a blue moon (I don't do a lot of eye make-up) it's just a good set to work with to expand my look.

I use this shampoo to clean them with:

There is no particular reason I use this, I just find it leaves them soft and rinses easily, it also is a huge bottle at 400ml AND only cost a pound from Poundland! I'm quite happy using most shampoos though, I'm not fussy as long as it gets them clean.

Phew! So that's it for now. How many brushes do you own? Hundreds or just one?

Loves, Luxie xx