About six months ago, I discovered that Melbourne makeup artist Dean Nixon (AKA Master Makeup) had released his own range of makeup brushes.  Dean and I have crossed paths many times over the years, so I was interested to see how he had incorporated his years of knowledge and experience into these brushes. Dean was lovely enough to meet with me personally to show them to me.

The 'Eyeshadow Brush' is my new favourite brush. It has taken over from my previous favourite brush for applying colour to the lid. It is firm, dense and wide and makes applying colour to the mobile eyelid a breeze. I really can't express how much I love this brush without seeming a little too obsessed.  I have two of them, one for me and one for my kit.

The 'Blending Brush' can be used to blend your eyeshadow, but is also great for contouring your eyelids. It's soft, wide and slightly tapered so it blends the edges of your contouring with little effort. Use it to pick up some dark coloured eyeshadow, tap off the excess and put the brush in the socket of your eyelid. Move the brush back and forth along the socket line and you have blended, contoured lids!

I must admit, I wasn't sure about the 'Eyeliner Brush' when I first saw it. But Dean assured me it was great for blending eyeliner to smoke it up. And he was right. I have also been loving it for applying smoky colours under the eye. It's pointed design blends your eyeshadow as you apply it. Super easy!

The 'Kabuki Brush', is the softest brush I have ever felt. It is made from pony hair and feels like velvet when it touches the skin. It can be used to apply powder, or turn it on a slight angle and use it to apply blush to the apples of your cheeks and sweep up you cheekbones.

So, if you are wanting brushes designed by an Australian (Melbourne) local, look at Master Makeup brushes. They are available online and through selected stockists. Each brush can be purchased individually, or as a set which also contains the above brushes plus a foundation brush, a concealer brush, and a free brush roll (for a limited time).

www.mastermakeup.com.au

This year, I decided I needed some new makeup brushes.  I purchased a selection of individual brushes from Rae Morris, Makeup and Glow and the Italian Badger range from Crown Brush Australia.
I bought several eyeshadow brushes as I am always looking for the perfect combination of softness, density, shape and length of hair.
Rae Morris "medium oval shader" is exactly what I have been looking for! It is really soft and dense, and perfect for applying colour to the moving eyelid, with minimal fallout.
The "medium precision shader" and "deluxe precision shader" are both great for doing socket work. I prefer the medium as it is a little smaller and easier to work with on small eyes. The tapered shape means that the brush does half of the blending for you. The "deluxe kabuki" is great for blush. It's tapered shape helps to apply colour and blend the edges at the same time.
Italian Badger "deluxe oval shadow" is fantastic for applying your base colour eyeshadow.  (The colour that you apply all over the lid, up to the eyebrow). It is super soft, and reasonably dense, so it is great for blending as well.  The "pointed crease" is great for applying colour to the socket. The hair is shorter than the Rae Morris range so it is less flexible, but great if you want a bit more control and ease of use. "Chisel deluxe powder" is a huge soft powder brush.  Some might find it  a little large for the face, but is good for applying powder and bronzer to large areas like your chest and neck.
Makeup And Glow "angled contour/blush" is a really dense brush, perfect for contouring cheekbones and temples. "Pro blush" is a soft, flexible, rounded brush. This is a gorgeous classic style blush brush.
These brushes are all my new favourites and I use them all every day.  Now I need doubles of them for my kit, as I can't part with them!

*The Italian Badger range can also be purchased as a 10 piece set from Makeup and Glow. It contains the three brushes I have mentioned.  The Rae Morris brushes come in a professional 27 piece set and a personal 10 piece set. The 10 piece set does not contain the "deluxe precision shader".
www.makeupandglow.com.au
www.raemorris.com
www.crownbrush.com.au

**It was difficult to photograph the brushes, particularly the Rae Morris ones as some of them have magnets in them. Thanks again to my bathroom for supplying the backdrop.