You asked: My brush collection

I've received several requests over the past few months to share my brush collection with you. It's not snazzy or extensive, but I love it and truly, each of these brushes gets the job done for me (and with the exception of one, all of these brushes retail for under $4, which probably shouldn't surprise you at this point!).

1) e.l.f. Professional Bronzing Brush (Special Edition, purchase at Target for $3. Currently not available on the e.l.f. website, so hopefully it will reappear at Target in March.)

I don't use this brush for bronzing because, well, I rarely wear bronzer. I actually use this brush for blush, and I LOVE it because it's sturdy, angled, and it fits the apples of my cheeks perfectly (I hate it when blush brushes aren't narrow enough to apply color on *just* the apples of your cheeks if you're going for that type of look).

2) e.l.f. Small Smudge Brush (retail: $3 on the e.l.f. website)

Not so great as a smudge brush, but HANDS DOWN the BEST liner brush I have ever used. I really need to thank Tyna and Stef at WeHeartThis.com for sending me this brush a while back to review on their site, because had it not been for them, I'd still be using a sub-par liner brush and getting mediocre results. I simply refuse to use another brush now for applying gel or cream liners. Try it once and I think you'll be convinced. Can't recommend this one enough.

3) Coastal Scents Deluxe Crease Brush (retail: $2.95 - I do not see this on the CS website currently, however the Blender is extremely similar and is also $2.95)

I received this brush from CS to review, and I have been meaning to talk about it for a while. This is one soft brush, let me tell you. And while my Deluxe Crease brush isn't great for applying crease colors (for me it's not firm enough for that), that's OK because I use it as a blending brush (aka windshield wiper brush) for blending my crease color into my lid color. It's excellent for that and a great value too.

4) Coastal Scents Deluxe Shadow Brush (retail: $2.95 on the CS website)

Here's another brush I received for review from the folks at CS, and it has also made its way into my permanent collection. If you take a look at the reviews on the CS site, the main complaint is that it's a huge brush. Take a look at it compared to brush #5 in the above pic (the e.l.f. eyeshadow brush) and you'll see that yes, this baby is large and in charge! But that's perfectly fine for me, because I've found a great purpose for it and it's one I use quite often. If I'm running late and I don't have time to apply eyeshadow but just need something on my lids, I like to apply the same powder blush I'm wearing on my cheeks to my lids as a sheer wash. I've been doing this trick for YEARS now and it really gets me by in a pinch. And this is the best brush I've used specifically for this purpose. You can just swipe this brush over your entire lid and crease area in one quick swoop and be out the door in seconds. Love love love it because it's super soft, yet dense enough to load with color and sweep across your lids in a hurry without having to fuss with blending.

5) e.l.f. Eyeshadow Brush (retail: $1 on the e.l.f. website)

The one. The only. The original. The best and most versatile eyeshadow brush I have ever owned. And I've owned this brush for so long it's not even the current color (the handles on these are now white while mine is old-school cream). I've heard people complain that the bristles on this brush aren't soft enough, but honestly that has never, ever, ever been an issue for me. I've written about this brush before on Nouveau Cheap, but it bears repeating: I just haven't found a brush that picks up color, holds it, and distributes it as well as this little $1 brush. The bristles are perfectly dense and I can use it to apply lid color, crease color, highlight color and also to blend all three. I bought it so long ago I can't even remember what year it was at this point, but let it stand as a testament to the quality of this brush that I'm STILL using it, and haven't ever had issues with shedding. It's still as perfect as the first time I used it.

6) ecoTOOLS Eye Shading Brush (retail: $3.99 at Walgreens and most major drugstores)

I haven't owned a lot of taklon brushes over the years, but this is one that I wouldn't part with even if you paid me. It seems to be a running theme in this post that I don't like to use my brushes for their intended purpose, and this one's no exception. I don't use this for shading--I use it for applying loose pigments. For me, it's firm enough and slick enough (thanks to those taklon bristles) to be able to pack on loose pigment while avoiding major fallout on my cheeks. (Note: the fluffier the brush, the more fallout you'll get when you apply loose pigments, so that's why I stick to this one because it's flat, uniform, firm and dense.) Once I've got my pigment where I want it, I can use another brush for blending. But for actually applying a loose pigment, I'll take this ecoTOOLS baby any day of the week. I know there are lot of ecoTOOLS fans out there already, but I'd just like to say that if you're just beginning your makeup journey and you need an inexpensive, quality set of essential brushes for cheap, definitely consider getting this set at your local drugstore for around 10 bucks. Worth every penny. BTW, I think I bought this brush at Ulta and it's $4.99 there, so definitely hit up Walgreens or Rite Aid for a better price.

7) Coastal Scents Chisel Angle Fluff Shadow Brush (retail: $2.00 on the CS website)

I have searched high and low for the THE perfect crease brush and I really want to thank Coastal Scents for sending this one to me. Let me tell you why I think this is the perfect crease brush: I like to use a dark crease color and then blend the heck out of it. If you use a brush that's a bit wide to apply your crease color, you risk depositing too much color in that area. That dark color is just going to travel down onto your lid and up into your browbone area once you start blending, leaving you with a dark eye from top to bottom. So the key to a defined, yet blended crease is using a brush that's just small enough to deposit a strip of dark color to your crease area. Then you can use a blender brush to blend it into your lid color, no problem. And THIS brush delivers. It fits the crease perfectly and applies the perfect amount of crease color every time. And it's SUPER soft yet firm enough to really get into your crease and apply color exactly where you want it. If your current crease brush has been letting you down lately, you really might want to consider this one--it's a true steal at $2.

8) Coastal Scents Wide Buffer (retail: $14.95 on the CS website)

I kinda missed the whole kabuki craze a few years ago and was late to the party until I received this brush to review from CS. It is so beyond soft that I feel like I'm running a piece of silk across my face whenever I use it. The only complaint I have about this brush is that, because it's SO dense and the bristles are so soft and baby-fine, it takes about a full 24 hours to dry. So when you wash it, you really have to think and plan out your next-day's makeup look so that you won't be sad that you can't use it. Other than that, if you're looking for a pamper-yourself type of kabuki brush for mineral makeup or (as I use it) for finished powder, this one is pampering and then some.

If you have any questions at all about my brush collection, please just ask! Also, I apologize that some of these brushes aren't perfectly clean in the pic above, but that's because I really do use them daily and I don't wash them all at the same times. When I took this pic, some had just been washed while some are overdue for a wash. :)

Do you own any of these brushes or other brushes from the brands I've listed? I'd love to know about your brushes and why you love 'em!

Samples of some of these products were given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.