I'm really excited about today’s post because it is a cruelty-free brush collaboration with Catherine from Buying Cruelty Free and Liza
from Makeup Matters By LNC! They are both amazing cruelty-free beauty bloggers that you need to check out!!! Each one of us
is sharing our Top Five Cruelty-Free Brushes and I am so excited to see their choices! Please do not miss their posts, which are linked above and near the end of this post (any colored text is a link to whatever is named).I can’t say I’ve ever used very many natural hair brushes because I’ve always disliked the idea of using animal hair when a synthetic alternative is available. I also just love the way synthetic fibers feel. They are soooo soft! They're very easy to clean, and I feel like they are more durable than natural hair brushes. Plus, synthetic brushes can be used with both powder and cream products, while natural hair brushes are typically designed for use only with powders. And of course, best of all, no animals are harmed in making a synthetic fiber brush! So without further ado, here are my Five Favorite Brushes – and don’t forget to check out Catherine and Liza’s blogs for their picks as well!
My favorite, and probably most used, brush has to be the Blush Brush from Real Techniques. These brushes were designed by Samantha Chapman,
one of the sisters from Pixiwoo on
YouTube. The entire line is made with 100% synthetic Taklon fibers, making them
all cruelty-free.
Though not the most important, one element of this particular brush that I absolutely adore and wish more companies would do is the flat bottom of the handle! The handle on the Blush Brush is large enough that that flat end of the handle creates a perfect surface to put the brush down while it’s standing up and it won’t fall down! Well, if you bump it, it will, but you get the point. I hate putting the bristles of a brush onto a countertop or other potentially dirty surface, plus they always roll around and often fall onto the floor. The flat-bottomed handles makes this problem disappear!
The Blush Brush has a medium to large, domed brush head full of amazingly soft synthetic fibers. They are not too densely packed, so the brush is great for blending and lightly adding color. This brush feels so nice on the skin!
Though this is called a blush brush, I probably use it more for loose powder than anything else! I like the size of it and the way it feels in my hand. It’s just the perfect size and shape for getting powder to all areas of my face.
That’s not to say it doesn’t work for blush too! I often find myself reaching for this brush for my blush as well. You can concentrate the color on the tip of the brush and, as you swipe it across your cheeks, the outer “hairs” help to blend the color. It makes blush application quick, easy and pretty much goof-proof! J
Another brush I use pretty much any time I wear eyeshadow is the 785 Tapered Blending Brush from Bdellium Tools. This brush is from their Green Bambu line, which consists of eco-friendly, cruelty-free brushes. The handles of these brushes are made from sustainable bamboo, while the bristles are made from hypoallergenic, cruelty-free synthetic fibers. They are also, quite appropriately, green, which I just find kind of refreshing. It also helps them stand out among the sea of brushes around them, which makes them much easier to find!
The head of the 785 Tapered Blending brush is somewhat long and skinny with relatively loosely packed bristles, which makes it perfect for blending, softening and also applying shadows with a light hand. It’s a great size for applying color to the crease as well. I really like the size of this brush because it’s not so big that it over blends different shadows into one giant messy shade, but it’s big enough that it doesn’t take forever to blend out larger areas.
In addition to using this brush for blending, I often find myself using this brush to apply just a light wash of color all over my lids, to lightly darken the crease, to apply a transition color to the crease, and even to add a subtle highlight on my brow bone. Like the Real Techniques Blush Brush, the Bdellium 785 is a bit of an all purpose brush for me.
On to my next favorite eye brush, the Bamboo Eyeshadow Shading Brush from EcoTools. Not only are all EcoTools brushes made with cruelty-free fibers, this brush also has a sustainable bamboo handle and recycled aluminum ferrule, making it environmentally friendly.
I haven’t had this brush very long, but I absolutely love it! It is a pretty densely packed brush that is not too big, nor too small. It is a fairly standard basic eyeshadow shader brush – with one exception. The head is flat and, best of all, the fibers taper to a rounded point in the center of the brush. When held right, the shape mimicks the angle of the outer corner of the eye, as well as the inner corner of the eye, which makes it perfect for easy placement of shadow in these areas. The firmness of the brush does an excellent job of picking up product and applies it evenly as well! It’s the perfect medium-sized eye brush!
Another brush I use all the time is from Urban Decay. It is a really old Blending Brush. They still sell a Blending Brush, and it looks like the same brush, but mine has an old handle design. Like all the rest of these brushes, the Urban Decay brushes are made with cruelty-free synthetic vegan Taklon fibers. This brush is a bit larger than the EcoTools Eyeshadow Brush and much fluffier. I find it is great for setting translucent powder in small areas like under my eyes, or on my eyelids. It’s also great for putting a light wash of color all over the eyelid, or for adding a highlight to the brow bone. It’s even good for placing highlighter on cheekbones! Urban Decay’s Blending Brush is another great multi-purpose brush!
Finally on my list of 5 Favorite Brushes is the Expert Face Brush from Real Techniques. I recently started using this brush for blush and it’s now my go-to blush brush! The head of the brush is kind of an unusual squished oval shape. The handle has the same flat bottom as the Blush Brush so I can stand the two up in a row if I’m feeling silly. J The synthetic fiber hairs are packed somewhat densely, while still feeling really soft. The brush picks up blush nicely, and the shape is just perfect for stippling or gently sweeping color across my cheek bones. I feel like I have good control of the blush with this brush due to its size and shape. It deposits a good amount of product without overdoing it, though I do tend to have a very light hand when it comes to blush! It also works well for cream blushes, thanks to the densely packed synthetic fibers.
This brush also works beautifully for highlighters and for applying and blending out foundation. Another great multi-tasker! :)
So there you have my five favorite cruelty-free brushes! I hope this was informative and that you all enjoyed it. Let me know what some of your favorite brushes are!!! And please don’t forget to check out Liza and Catherine’s blogs for their favorite brushes as well! Thank you so much for including me in this collaboration! It was a lot of fun and something I might not have thought to do if left to my own devices. :)
Catherine's post on Buying Cruelty Free can be found here.
Liza’s post on Makeup Matters by LNC can be found here.
Size comparison and scale of the brushes
All Real Techniques brushes are cruelty-free and can be found at Ulta and on RealTechniques.com.
Bdellium Tools has two lines of cruelty-free brushes. They are the Green Bambu (which is also eco-friendly) and the Yellow Bambu series’. They can be purchased through BdelliumStore.com.
EcoTools brushes are all cruelty-free and also eco-friendly. They are widely available at places like Ulta, Target, Walmart, many drugstores and online at EcoTools.com.
Urban Decay brushes are all cruelty-free and can be found at Ulta, Sephora and on UrbanDecay.com. I should add that Urban Decay has apparently been purchased by L’Oreal, which is a company that tests on animals. For now, Urban Decay is still a separate company (much like The Body Shop, also owned by L’Oreal) and has retained its original no animal testing policy. Their products ARE NOT being sold in the Chinese market. I have kept Urban Decay on my cruelty-free list for now, but you may feel differently because of their new parent company.
Another company that has some great cruelty-free lines is Royal & Langnickel. Of particular note is their Revolution Series made from high quality synthetic fibers. These can be a bit pricey, but they are amazing brushes. I feel like I haven't tested mine enough to justify putting them on this list, but they are definitely great brushes. Royal & Langnickel also has an eco-friendly line of synthetic filament brushes called SILK Green Line. All of these brushes can be found online at RoyalBrush.com.
Disclaimer: All brushes mentioned in this post were purchased by me. I have not been compensated in any way for this post, nor do I benefit from any of the links included.
