The Best Makeup Brushes + Their Uses: Discover The Perfect Charlotte Tilbury Brushes for Every Makeup Step

This makeup brush guide details the different types of makeup brushes and their uses and breaks down the best Charlotte Tilbury makeup brushes for every step in your makeup routine.

Darlings, the right makeup brushes can be transformative for your makeup look. Flawless makeup artistry is a balance between creating a beautiful canvas with skincare, reaching for high-performance makeup formulas that are good for your skin and layer effortlessly, and using the best makeup brushes to achieve a seamless makeup application.

You don’t need 100 makeup brushes, darlings… In this makeup brush guide, I’m sharing with you the best makeup brushes to use for every step in your makeup routine. Discover the differences between types of makeup brushes and find out how to use them to make foundation look smoother, to blend eyeshadow effortlessly, and to get the perfect pop of blush.

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Discover The Best Makeup Brushes for Every Makeup Step

Charlotte Tilbury best makeup brushes

  1. Best makeup brush for blush

    Best Blush Brush

    The best makeup brush to apply blush is a domed, fluffy brush that kisses the apples of your cheeks to deposit the perfect amount of blush for a soft, rouged look. Whether you prefer a powder blush like Cheek to Chic or a cream blush like my Matte Beauty Blush Wands, this brush shape will diffuse the look of your blush and avoid a heavy-handed application. I like to tap into my blush with The Bronzer & Blusher Brush then swipe the excess onto the back of my hand, then use sweeping motions from the apples of the cheeks towards the ear for a subtle, lifting effect.

    Perfect for: Cheek to Chic powder blush, Matte Beauty Blush Wand + Beauty Light Wand liquid blush, Beautiful Skin Island Glow Lip + Cheek cream blush

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    Discover how to apply cream blush

  2. Best makeup brush for bronzer

    Best Bronzer Brush

    The best makeup brush for bronzer is a big, fluffy brush that easily disperses bronzer across your face. With bronzer, the goal is to bronze any areas that naturally tan in the sun such as the forehead, cheekbones and bridge of the nose, so the best makeup brush to use is a large, Kabuki-style brush that sweeps onto larger areas of the face and effortlessly buffs bronzer into skin. To apply powder bronzers like my AIRbrush Bronzer, I reach for The AIR Brush to buff, bounce and swirl bronzer onto the face for a natural-looking, all-over bronzed effect.

    Use it with: AIRbrush Bronzer

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    Discover how to apply bronzer

  3. Best makeup brush for cream bronzer

    Best Cream Bronzer Brush

    Cream bronzer is thicker than powder bronzer, so I recommend reaching for a denser makeup brush that allows you to work cream bronzer into your skin. I created my Beautiful Skin Bronzing Brush as the perfect companion to my Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer; it’s a small, Kabuki-style brush with densely packed bristles that are perfect for picking up cream bronzer. The domed shape is ideal for nestling into the pockets of your cheeks and buffing onto your nose and forehead to get that gorgeous, beachy, sun-dipped complexion.

    Use it with: Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer

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  4. Best makeup brush for contour and nose contour

    Best Makeup Brush for Contour + Nose Contour

    Contouring is an art, darlings, and to get that sculpted, snatched effect, it’s important to use the right tools. The best makeup brushes for contour are tapered brushes that are designed to intuitively follow your natural bone structure. With contour brushes like my Super Nudes Shapewear™ Brush, you can perfect your contour placement and get a flawless blend to avoid any muddiness or harsh lines. The Super Nudes Shapewear™ Brush is a dual-ended makeup brush for contour made easy! It features one angled, tapered side that shapes and sculpts the look of your features, as well as a small, fluffy side for flawless blending. It’s the best contour brush for your nose contour, darlings!

    Use it with: Hollywood Contour Wands, Magic Vanish colour corrector

    Shop The Super Nudes Shapewear™ Brush

    Discover how to blend contour makeup

  5. Best makeup brush for eyeshadow

    Best Makeup Brush Set for Eyes

    Eye makeup can be easy for everyone, darlings… Even makeup beginners! The trio of eye makeup brushes in The Essential Eye Tools kit are my best makeup brushes for eyes. The easy-to-use kit features all the makeup brush shapes you need to create a flawless eye makeup look. Pack on the shades from your favourite Luxury Palette with The Eye Smudger Brush, then blend them out with the Eye Blended Brush, and put the finishing touches to your look by sketching out a classic feline flick with The Eye Liner Brush.

    Use it with: Luxury Palettes, Super Nudes Easy Eye Palette

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    Discover how to apply eyeshadow

  6. Best makeup brush for blending eyeshadow

    Best Blending Brush for Eyeshadow

    When it comes to blending eyeshadow, practice makes perfect… However, having the right tools will always make blending out your eyeshadow easier, saving you time and making your eye look appear even more beautiful and blown out. The Eye Blender Brush is my best blending brush for eyeshadow; it’s a thin, fluffy brush that’s perfect for swirling back and forth through your crease to create seamless-looking eyeshadow gradients. It’s designed to do the work for you when it comes to blending, and when it’s paired with velvety, blendable eyeshadow formulas like my Super Nudes Easy Eye Palette, unblended eyeshadow and eye makeup faux pas are a thing of the past!

    Use it with: Luxury Palettes, Super Nudes Easy Eye Palette, Eyes to Mesmerise cream eyeshadow

    Shop The Eye Blender Brush

    Discover how to blend eyeshadow

  7. Best makeup brush for eyeliner

    Best Eyeliner Brush

    The best makeup brush for applying eyeliner is a thin makeup brush with a precision tip that can keep close to the lash line and create clean, classic line work around the eyes. I created my Eye Liner Brush to make sketching out my signature feline flick eyeliner look easier than ever! You can use the Eye Liner Brush with gel eyeliners or even eyeshadow to line, define and enhance the look of your eye makeup, whether you’re using it to elongate and extend the look of your lash line with a soft winged eyeliner or using it in your waterline or to tightline.

    Use it with: Luxury Palettes, Super Nudes Easy Eye Palette

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    Discover how to apply eyeliner

  8. Best makeup brush for concealer under eyes

    Best Concealer Brush for Under Eyes

    Blending concealer in hard-to-reach areas can be tricky, darlings, especially around your nose and eyes. The best makeup brush for concealer is a small, tapered brush that allows for a precise application and easy blending. The smaller side of my Hollywood Complexion Brush works perfectly as a concealer brush for under eyes; the dense bristles are ideal for building coverage with laser focus and the shape nestles seamlessly under your eyes to cover dark circles and along the sides of your nose to cover redness and reinforce your nose contour.

    Tilbury Tip: My Hollywood Complexion Brush also has a larger, flat-headed end that’s perfect for blending out my Hollywood Flawless Filter, Hollywood Contour Wands, or Unreal Skin Foundation Stick.

    Use it with: Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer, Magic Vanish colour corrector, Hollywood Flawless Filter, Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint Hydrating Foundation Stick

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    Discover how to cover dark circles under eyes

  9. Best makeup brush for powder makeup

    Makeup Brush for Highlighter, Loose Powder + Pressed Powder

    The best makeup brush for powder products like highlighter, loose powder and pressed powder is a tapered, fluffy brush that delivers a soft veil of powder makeup. I created my Powder & Sculpt Brush with a sculpted brush head and light, fluffy brush hairs; it’s the perfect shape for tapping powder into the contours around your under eyes, into your T-zone and onto the tops of your cheekbones. I love to use the Powder & Sculpt Brush to apply powder makeup like my AIRbrush Flawless Finish, Hollywood Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighters and Film Star Bronze & Glow – it’s the perfect makeup brush to sculpt and lift the look of your face!

    Use it with: AIRbrush Flawless Finish, AIRbrush Brightening Flawless Finish, Hollywood Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighters, Film Star Bronze & Glow

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    Discover how to apply pressed powder

  10. Best makeup brush for foundation

    Best Foundation Brush

    You can apply your foundation with your fingers or a beauty sponge, but I recommend using a brush for the smoothest, cleanest application. The best makeup brush for foundation is a flat, densely packed brush that will allow you to stipple foundation into your skin – this is the trick to getting even coverage and a second-skin finish. I like to apply foundation with my Magic Complexion Brush because the flat, paddled shape is perfect for blending liquids and creams into skin without becoming cakey or leaving behind visible brush strokes.

    Use it with: AIRbrush Flawless Foundation, Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation, Hollywood Flawless Filter, Unisex Healthy Glow

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    Discover how to apply foundation

  11. Best makeup brush for lipstick and lip gloss

    Best Makeup Brush for Lips

    To get a more precise application with lip products like lipstick or lip gloss, you can use a lip brush. The best makeup brushes to use on your lips are pointed, precisely tipped brushes that allow you to intricately line, shape and fill in your lips. Lip makeup brushes like The Lip Brush can be especially useful for anyone with small or thin lips as they give you more control and allow you to avoid smudging lip products outside of your lip line.

    Use it with: Matte Revolution Lipstick, K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick, Big Lip Plumpgasm, Collagen Lip Bath

    Shop The Lip Brush

    Discover how to apply lipstick

  12. Best makeup brush kit for beginners

    Best Makeup Brush Kit for Beginners

    Darlings, The Complete Brush Set has all the makeup brushes you need to create your dream makeup look! Featuring 8 of my expertly designed, easy-to-use brushes including 4 complexion brushes, 3 eye makeup brushes and a lip brush, this makeup brush kit is perfect for makeup beginners and covers all bases for perfecting your complexion, beautifying your eyes, and making your lips pop!

    Shop The Complete Brush Set

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Author Details

Charlotte Tilbury

Founder, President, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty

With over 30 years experience, Charlotte Tilbury MBE is the world's number 1 makeup artist and British beauty entrepreneur. Charlotte established Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in 2013, which is now a record-breaking beauty brand that has won over 400 awards.

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