mikazuki
03-04-2004, 12:57 PM
Yea! So good to see the forum I suggested come to reality! Thanks admins!
I LOVE makeup. I love the textures of makeup and how you can transform yourself into anything with makeup. Hopefully some of my tips will help the serious cosplayer apply their makeup easier and better as well as other people posting their own tips and tricks.
So lets talk about brushes in this thread. Regardless if you use stage makeup or normal makeup two of the essential things anyone should have (cosplayer or not) are quality brushes and sponges to work with. Sure you can buy the cheap nylon brushes that loose hair quickly but in the end you'll spend more money then you should.
First thing any person should have a box to store their brushes in. I use, at home, normal school pencil boxes since they are large enough to hold my brushes yet flat enough to fit in a drawer.
When I travel I have a train case that my brush box and makeup can fit into. NEVER store your brushes at an angle or crush the bristles. It ruins the shape of the bristles and your brush is ruined. I tend to wrap my brushes in tissue paper when not using them so that the bristles are even more protected but that's just me.
Types of brushes:
There are all types of brushes one can use but I'll go over the basic ones you should have.
Foundation brush - Typically this is a large flat rounded brush. If you use a cream or liquid foundation then this is a must have brush. Instead of blending your makeup with your fingertips or sponge use this brush to acheive a more natural looking finish. Of course this does not mean you dip the brush into the makeup and use it like a paint brush. No, no, no. You apply the foundation with your fingertips or sponge but BLEND the makeup using this brush. I use the brush after I applied my foundation completely in order to remove traces of application.
Powder brush - This is a big fat typically round brush used to set powder on the face or remove excess powder. There are also large flat brushes that work well. I apply my powder with a puff pad but use the powder brush to remove the excess. I have three different types (goat, sable and pony) of powder brushes but found that I like the sable brush the best.
Tickler brush - It's a feathery brush used to apply glitter or shimmer powders. Never use a powder or other brush to apply glitter or shimmer powders since it will deposit too much causing you to look cheap.
Blush brush - Similar to the powder brush only its smaller. There are MANY types of blush brushes ranging from medium round ones to angle ones to fan types to short fat stubby ones. I use, when I use blush and that is rare unless the character requires it, is a squirrel fat top brush in order to blend the blush. To apply the blush I use a dome shaped blush brush made of pony hair.
Concealor brush - When you need to do highlighting or shadowing or even apply a concealor under the eye you really need this brush especially since the skin under the eye is tender. Typically this brush is flat and domed shaped like a paint brush. I have three - one for highlighting, one for shadowing and one for concealor.
Now I'll go into the brushes used around the eyes. Note that these brushes look similar to paint brushes as they are typically flat brushes.
Eye primer brush - Used to apply a base primer or cream to your eyes. Typically flat dome shape brush.
Smudge - a short round, sponge type brush OR a very short rounded brush made of pony hair. This is used to smudge or soften the eyeliner under the eye or to create a smokey look with shadows.
Brow brush - VERY VERY important brush. Too many people do great jobs on their makeup EXCEPT for their eyebrows! These brushes can come as a double with the brush on one side and a comb on the other OR it can look like a short angled brush. It's very important to brush the brows for a more refined look.
Brow grooming brush This looks a like a mascara wand. I use mine not only to groom my eyebrows but also to remove excess mascara from my eyelashes.
Eyeliner brush There is the typical thin brush that looks like its only a couple of bristles and then there are the thin flat brushes. I use the more traditional brush that looks like its missing bristles to apply my liquid eyeliners. Usually my eyeliners come with its own applicator that tend to over deposit eyeliner so I use my own brush to pick up the amount I want to use.
Eyeshadow brushes - Ok here is where it gets tricky since there are dozens of types of brushes. There are large flat brushes, medium flat brushes and small flat brushes. There are angled ones, fluffy ones, domed shaped ones and round ones. I have practically every type of eyeshadow brush shape there is because really what you want to do with the eyeshadow does require the proper brush. I use the flat brushes to apply shadows when I'm doing daytime makeup, angled ones to apply smokey makeup, fluffy ones when I want a simple look or apply a glitter/shimmer to my eyes and domed shaped ones to do contouring or shading. I would suggest getting one of each type of eyeshadow brush and experiment with them since there are so many types of eyeshadow brushes.
Mascara brushes Besides the little wand applicators that come with most mascaras there are two other types of brushes you can use. Did you know that eyeliner and mascara not only come in the tubes you may typically use but also in a "cake" form? Its tricker to use but frankly its so much nicer then the tube stuff since it doesn't clump up as easily. The two brushes you can use are a large fan brush similar to a the fan brushes used to apply blush. You can use this brush to apply mascara to the root of the lashes that tend not to get any mascara from the wands. Then there is the normal wand shaped brush. You can use the mascara wand to double as an eyebrow grooming brush.
Lip liner brushes Similar to the eyeline brush except its thicker and flatter. You can use it to outline your lips with lipstick before filling in your lips with color.
Sponges Ok so its not a brush but used with brushes to achieve that flawless look. There different shapes - angle, round and square. Typically the angle ones are used to apply foundation and round or square for powder. Always apply makeup with a sponge but use the foundation brush to get the flawless look.
It's VERY VERY VERY important that you CLEAN your brushes & sponges regularly. There are products made to clean them so USE them! You can ruin the brushes, makeup and skin by not cleaning the brushes regularly. ALWAYS air dry the brushes with the brush standing up.
Any questions?
I LOVE makeup. I love the textures of makeup and how you can transform yourself into anything with makeup. Hopefully some of my tips will help the serious cosplayer apply their makeup easier and better as well as other people posting their own tips and tricks.
So lets talk about brushes in this thread. Regardless if you use stage makeup or normal makeup two of the essential things anyone should have (cosplayer or not) are quality brushes and sponges to work with. Sure you can buy the cheap nylon brushes that loose hair quickly but in the end you'll spend more money then you should.
First thing any person should have a box to store their brushes in. I use, at home, normal school pencil boxes since they are large enough to hold my brushes yet flat enough to fit in a drawer.
When I travel I have a train case that my brush box and makeup can fit into. NEVER store your brushes at an angle or crush the bristles. It ruins the shape of the bristles and your brush is ruined. I tend to wrap my brushes in tissue paper when not using them so that the bristles are even more protected but that's just me.
Types of brushes:
There are all types of brushes one can use but I'll go over the basic ones you should have.
Foundation brush - Typically this is a large flat rounded brush. If you use a cream or liquid foundation then this is a must have brush. Instead of blending your makeup with your fingertips or sponge use this brush to acheive a more natural looking finish. Of course this does not mean you dip the brush into the makeup and use it like a paint brush. No, no, no. You apply the foundation with your fingertips or sponge but BLEND the makeup using this brush. I use the brush after I applied my foundation completely in order to remove traces of application.
Powder brush - This is a big fat typically round brush used to set powder on the face or remove excess powder. There are also large flat brushes that work well. I apply my powder with a puff pad but use the powder brush to remove the excess. I have three different types (goat, sable and pony) of powder brushes but found that I like the sable brush the best.
Tickler brush - It's a feathery brush used to apply glitter or shimmer powders. Never use a powder or other brush to apply glitter or shimmer powders since it will deposit too much causing you to look cheap.
Blush brush - Similar to the powder brush only its smaller. There are MANY types of blush brushes ranging from medium round ones to angle ones to fan types to short fat stubby ones. I use, when I use blush and that is rare unless the character requires it, is a squirrel fat top brush in order to blend the blush. To apply the blush I use a dome shaped blush brush made of pony hair.
Concealor brush - When you need to do highlighting or shadowing or even apply a concealor under the eye you really need this brush especially since the skin under the eye is tender. Typically this brush is flat and domed shaped like a paint brush. I have three - one for highlighting, one for shadowing and one for concealor.
Now I'll go into the brushes used around the eyes. Note that these brushes look similar to paint brushes as they are typically flat brushes.
Eye primer brush - Used to apply a base primer or cream to your eyes. Typically flat dome shape brush.
Smudge - a short round, sponge type brush OR a very short rounded brush made of pony hair. This is used to smudge or soften the eyeliner under the eye or to create a smokey look with shadows.
Brow brush - VERY VERY important brush. Too many people do great jobs on their makeup EXCEPT for their eyebrows! These brushes can come as a double with the brush on one side and a comb on the other OR it can look like a short angled brush. It's very important to brush the brows for a more refined look.
Brow grooming brush This looks a like a mascara wand. I use mine not only to groom my eyebrows but also to remove excess mascara from my eyelashes.
Eyeliner brush There is the typical thin brush that looks like its only a couple of bristles and then there are the thin flat brushes. I use the more traditional brush that looks like its missing bristles to apply my liquid eyeliners. Usually my eyeliners come with its own applicator that tend to over deposit eyeliner so I use my own brush to pick up the amount I want to use.
Eyeshadow brushes - Ok here is where it gets tricky since there are dozens of types of brushes. There are large flat brushes, medium flat brushes and small flat brushes. There are angled ones, fluffy ones, domed shaped ones and round ones. I have practically every type of eyeshadow brush shape there is because really what you want to do with the eyeshadow does require the proper brush. I use the flat brushes to apply shadows when I'm doing daytime makeup, angled ones to apply smokey makeup, fluffy ones when I want a simple look or apply a glitter/shimmer to my eyes and domed shaped ones to do contouring or shading. I would suggest getting one of each type of eyeshadow brush and experiment with them since there are so many types of eyeshadow brushes.
Mascara brushes Besides the little wand applicators that come with most mascaras there are two other types of brushes you can use. Did you know that eyeliner and mascara not only come in the tubes you may typically use but also in a "cake" form? Its tricker to use but frankly its so much nicer then the tube stuff since it doesn't clump up as easily. The two brushes you can use are a large fan brush similar to a the fan brushes used to apply blush. You can use this brush to apply mascara to the root of the lashes that tend not to get any mascara from the wands. Then there is the normal wand shaped brush. You can use the mascara wand to double as an eyebrow grooming brush.
Lip liner brushes Similar to the eyeline brush except its thicker and flatter. You can use it to outline your lips with lipstick before filling in your lips with color.
Sponges Ok so its not a brush but used with brushes to achieve that flawless look. There different shapes - angle, round and square. Typically the angle ones are used to apply foundation and round or square for powder. Always apply makeup with a sponge but use the foundation brush to get the flawless look.
It's VERY VERY VERY important that you CLEAN your brushes & sponges regularly. There are products made to clean them so USE them! You can ruin the brushes, makeup and skin by not cleaning the brushes regularly. ALWAYS air dry the brushes with the brush standing up.
Any questions?