With heavy handles and soft, distinctly trimmed bristles, this five-piece set contains a useful lineup of easy-to-use brushes. It isn’t the cheapest set out there, but it rivals more expensive individual brushes in quality and performance.
Link to Green Brush
A lot of makeup brush sets are a racket—tons of brushes you don’t need packaged alongside just a couple you do, for a price that seems too good to be true. At about $16 a brush, the Sigma Most-Wanted Brush Set was the most expensive set we tried. But as we quickly found, it’s worth every penny. Each brush is unique, useful, and well constructed, with expertly cut bristles and smooth, substantial handles. If you’re looking for one set that does it all, with no compromises in quality or performance, this five-brush Sigma set is a standout choice.
The bristles are nuanced and feel expensive. All the sets we tried had synthetic bristles, and their quality and performance varied widely. The Sigma brushes’ fibers are dense, grabby, and smooth, nothing like the plasticky bristles in the BS-Mall 14 Pcs Brush Set we tested or the floppy ones in the E.L.F. Cosmetics Professional Set of 12 Makeup Brushes. On top of that, whereas competitors largely use the same fibers on every brush, each Sigma style has a customized shape and feel. The brown and white bristles on the set’s F80 Flat Kabuki are stiff, wide, and flat, while the black hairs on the F35 Tapered Highlighter are trimmed in a steep, bendy dome.
The handles are heavy and high quality. Heavier handles are easier to maneuver, allowing a more solid purchase and grip. The shiny polymer Sigma brush handles are similarly substantial and pleasantly weighted. The F80 weighs 1.55 ounces, at least a half an ounce more than comparable brushes (BS-Small Face Flat, E.L.F. Total Face, Real Techniques 200) from other sets. Only one foundation brush we tried, the IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Flat Top Buffing Foundation Brush #6, had a similar weight—but at about $50, it’s also three times the price.
It includes a smart mix of brushes. You can easily find sets that offer more brushes for less money. But most people are likely to get the most use out of the five brushes in the Sigma set: foundation (F80), powder/highlighter/contour (F35), eyeshadow (E25), eyeshadow blending (E40), and small detail (E30). Sure, the 14-piece BS-Mall set costs only $10, but it’s filled with a confounding array of redundant options, including seven different eyeshadow brushes and five nearly identical face brushes. Ultimately, we decided that it was better to invest in fewer, more useful, and higher-quality brushes.
The brushes are versatile and effective. All five of the Sigma brushes impressed our panelists with their performance. The dense, tapered F35 deposited powder beautifully on the high points of the face and softly buffed out harsh contour lines; another tester set undereye concealer with powder and that very same brush. The E25 blending brush picked up just enough eyeshadow from the pan and blended out pigment evenly without patchiness. The F80 foundation brush was a treat to use, with sharp edges to reach tricky inner corners and a great bounce for even stippling.
The set lacks a large powder brush, which is essential for many people doing even basic makeup applications. We used the F35 to dust powder in smaller zones of the face, but it wouldn’t work well for larger coverage areas.
With dense bristles and an angled shape that mimics fingertip application, this foundation brush leaves a seamless finish. It’s one of the priciest we tried, but the quality and performance more than justify the price.
The Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation Brush nails our nonnegotiables: The soft, tightly packed bristles pick up just the right amount of product, the slanted brush head effortlessly smooths on makeup, and there’s zero bristle fallout. Although other, cheaper brushes share some of those qualities, this Hourglass brush is worth the splurge, delivering an airbrushed, skinlike finish even for makeup newbies. In our tests, the brush’s most unusual feature—the sloped curve of its bristles, which the company says mimics fingertip application—really was a game-changing attribute and the best we found.
It’s just the right size. The Hourglass brush is shorter than all but one of the six other foundation options our panelists tested, but that gave us more control when blending foundation in creases and divots around the eyes and nose. Its compact and sturdy feel helps you buff out streaks or get into the smaller, trickier areas of the face.
The densely packed bristles are springy and resilient. The fibers on the Hourglass brush are so tight and packed that the brush tip almost bounces off your face, making for a quick, even application. The company says that the brush heads are hand-shaped, not machine cut, and we did find the curve subtle and bespoke. We also tried the BK Beauty 101 Contoured Foundation Brush, which blended nicely, but some testers said the brush head was too large, and Lancôme’s Airbrush #2 had overly long bristles that streaked every time.
The bristles spread cream and liquid foundations equally well. Both putty-like cream and slippery liquid formulas blended out beautifully with the Hourglass brush. One panelist liked how she could spread her thick stick formula seamlessly, getting in nooks and crannies with the brush’s firm edges. Another found the shape perfect for a lightweight liquid: “Because the brush is so easy to control, I can pick and choose where I build up coverage.”
It feels fancy and expensive. The pretty ombre bristles, which the company says mimic goat hair, the cool metal handle, and the elegant angled ferrule are a pleasure to wield. Admittedly, at the time of our testing this brush cost about $10 more than any other foundation brushes our panelists tried, but that was a small price to pay for a joyful little luxury that our testers delighted in using every day.
The short, angled, and tightly packed bristles require a little more effort to wash—they take a good number of rinse-throughs until the water runs clear—but this wasn’t enough of a drawback to bother any of our panelists.
With a flat, fanned end to cut sharp lines and a fluffy side to blend and finish, this two-in-one brush simplifies the sometimes-complex art of contouring.
There’s just something lovely about the Patrick Ta Beauty Major Sculpt Dual-Ended Sculpting Brush. In our tests, it turned even the most ambivalent contour users into true believers. Ta is a celebrity makeup artist responsible for the glam of Gigi Hadid, among others, and some people in the industry credit him for popularizing an everyday contour. This brush—one end is thin for sculpting cheeks and jawline, while the other is bigger for blending—certainly demonstrates a mastery of the contour craft.
Its dual heads are especially effective and convenient. This is the only double-ended contour brush that our panelists tried, and it stole the show. Unlike with other dual-ended brushes we tried, such as the Makeup By Mario F4 Dual-Ended Foundation and Face Brush and the IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Complexion Perfection Brush #7, each end of this brush has a distinct shape, firmness, and density. You’re really getting two brushes for the price of one, both of which are essential to get a contour right. For beginners on our panel, the two unique shapes allowed for a lot of quick back-and-forth fiddling and perfecting, with no need to juggle two different brushes. More experienced testers found that the angled side put product right where they wanted it efficiently. “I didn’t want to use any other contour brush after this,” one tester said.
The pinched ferrule on the fanned end flattens the bristles perfectly. The fanned end of this brush applied cream contour better than all the other brushes we tried, as some competitors were too wide, which made makeup lines muddy, and other, too-skinny designs created unblendable stripes. The powder end was likewise awesome: The fluffy, softly sloped bristles made it simple to blend the whole look together, add powder bronzer on top, or apply the finest layer of setting powder to complete the look.
It’s a great investment for the contour-curious. Many staffers shared that they would love to try contouring but weren’t solid on the technique and were hesitant to buy a brush that they might use only a few times. The Patrick Ta brush demystifies the draw-blend-set process. But more important, it’s versatile. Even on days when testers weren’t contouring, they found themselves reaching for this Patrick Ta brush as their go-to powder brush; the flattened end is lovely for buffing out cream blush, too.
The price is fair for two brushes. Although $45 seems pricey for one brush, when you consider that it’s two-in-one, the price per brush ends up being less than that of many of the competitors we tested and didn’t like as much.
Dual-sided brushes are hard to store—if you store them vertically, one end is always getting smooshed or dirty. You may prefer horizontal storage and more frequent brush cleaning.
Although it’s made entirely of recycled materials, you wouldn’t know it: This poufy powder brush has sophisticated matte bristles and a pretty metallic handle with a satisfying heft. It performs perfectly whether you want just a whisper of powder or a sharper look.
You can find thousands of fluffy powder brushes out there. After extensive research, we chose four of the top-rated, best-selling, and artist-favorite options to panel-test at home. The Jenny Patinkin Sustainable Luxury Powder/Bronzer Brush won us over, passing our tests with flying colors. The dome head was silky-soft and fluffy, with an elegant taper that still lent true control. The weighted metal handle felt luxurious, even though this brush wasn’t the most expensive option we tested in this category.
The uncoated bristles closely resemble natural fibers. One knock on synthetic bristles is that they can be too shiny and plasticky, repelling powder and product rather than picking it up. In contrast, the bristles of this brush are matte and subtly crimped—in a good way. One tester who regularly made a mess of her vanity with a flurry of loose setting powder found that the problem vanished as soon as she started using the Jenny Patinkin brush and its grippy, grabby bristles.
The dome shape is versatile. The Jenny Patinkin brush is the platonic ideal of a powder brush: poufy and pampering, delivering a diffuse wash of color or translucent powder over the entire face with no sharp lines. It’s just fun to use. And the sharply sculpted dome—the most angled of the powder brushes we tested—also lets you pull off targeted, controlled techniques. One tester found it exceptional for swiping bronzer down her nose and along the highest points of her cheeks. The Real Techniques Ultra Plush Makeup Brush 400 has a similar shape, but two panelists found that its bristles felt too floppy and splayed.
The entire brush is made from recycled materials. For this guide, we considered only brushes with synthetic bristles, which are cruelty-free but not necessarily better for the environment. This Jenny Patinkin brush, however, is made entirely from post-consumer materials—both the bristles and the aluminum handle.
We can’t ignore that $40 isn’t cheap for one brush and might not be in everyone’s budget. Our affordable runners-up are the Real Techniques Ultra Plush Powder Brush 400 ($10) and the Sigma F11 (about $30).
One end of this dual-ended eyebrow brush features springy but ultrafirm bristles ideal for filling patchy zones and replicating individual strands. On the other is a fibrous, elegant spoolie for expertly combing, blending, and shaping.
Whether your brows are bushy and beautiful or sad and sparse, you’ll likely want a dedicated brush for them, with both an angled bristle tip and a spoolie end. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Brush 12 deftly serves all brow types, adding precise, hairlike strokes with a sharp angled tip or combing through thick, tangly hairs with a long, grippy spoolie. At $18, it’s the most expensive brow brush we tested, but for a few dollars more than others we tried, it’s far and away more versatile, high-quality, and worth every penny.
The skinny end is stiff and tapered, so it works almost like a pencil. This brush is small but mighty, with nice, stiff bristles that pick up product in one go. The fibers are tightly packed, so they lay down the product without gumming up the brush. In comparison, one tester found the E.L.F. Eyebrow Duo Brush “too bendy and diffuse.”
The bristles create a perfect natural look. Our testers loved this brush and found it the easiest for drawing on the most realistic hairlike strokes with any cream, powder, or pomade. We broke out a protractor, and lo and behold, the Anastasia brow brush boasted the sharpest angle, at 40 degrees. Similar brushes we tested, namely the E.L.F. brow brush, the Sonia Kashuk Professional Angled Eyeliner Makeup Brush, and the Tweezerman Angled Brow Brush & Spoolie, were angled at 33, 35, and 38 degrees, respectively, and they delivered blunter, heavier, and less refined lines.
The spoolie is long, conical, and strong. Although we tried some brow brushes (Sonia Kashuk) that lacked a spoolie, we ultimately agreed that it’s an essential tool for taming hairs, either to shape existing brows or to brush out brow gel. The spoolie on this Anastasia brush is not so long that it becomes unwieldy, nor is it annoyingly short and stubby (as was the case with both the E.L.F. and Tweezerman brow brushes we tested). One tester’s toddler performed an unsanctioned strength test, jamming a few spoolies into the holes of a shower drain. Unlike two other brushes that snapped, the Anastasia spoolie survived in one piece.
It’s great for other eye makeup, too. Yes, you’re spending $18 on a single brush, but our testers found themselves using this brush for makeup applications beyond their brows. The angled end was particularly adept at laying down thin bands of eyeliner and shadow right at the lashline, and the spoolie handily declumped mascara and detangled lash extensions.
Like the Patrick Ta dual-ended brush, this two-fer brush is tricky to stash vertically in a vanity-top container—it doesn’t have a cap, so it always rests on one brush end. If you can’t store the brush flat, rest it on its spoolie end, since that end wipes clean easily.
With a soft exterior and a flexible, bouncy feel, this makeup sponge is often imitated but never duplicated. You can’t beat the flawless finish the surprisingly luxe foam delivers.
This bouncy, egg-shaped sponge created the category and rendered old-school powder puffs more or less obsolete. To our eyes, the seemingly unanimous hype around the Beautyblender Original Makeup Sponge seemed too good to be true—especially considering that it costs $20, five times as much as notable competitors. But after testing 10 others, we found that the Beautyblender sponge really is that good. Its signature shape, superior foam, and nuanced elasticity had it springing to the top of our list.
It creates an almost airbrushed finish. The Beautyblender sponge perfectly blends and applies pretty much all your makeup—cream, powder, and liquid. One panelist found that it worked especially well for “baking,” or layering powder over foundation and concealer to set makeup, especially in the undereye area; the sponge handled even the finest powder without causing it to fall or flurry everywhere. Plain and simple: “It finishes a makeup look flawlessly.”
Its curves fit all facial contours. In theory, we liked the faceted shape and flat planes of the AOA Studio Collection Makeup Sponge, the E.L.F. Total Face Blending Sponge, and the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, and we thought they would spread more makeup in less time. In practice, however, they encouraged streaky strokes. The Beautyblender sponge’s narrow end is by far the pointiest, for super-accurate use in small areas of your face. (You also won’t waste any product by dabbing it on your lips or eyelids.)
The foam expands, but not too much. Beautyblender sponges are meant to be used moist, and they visibly expand when wet, though not as much as the Real Techniques sponge, which in our tests got even bigger but not in a good way, feeling mushy and waterlogged compared with the Beautyblender sponge’s yummy, bouncy texture. Even when wet, the Beautyblender sponge’s plumped-up surface area allows you to cover more of your face, without sacrificing nimbleness and gentle precision.
It will help you save makeup. Moistening the Beautyblender sponge creates a barrier that keeps makeup from sinking in and wasting product. One tester, though she couldn’t quantify by the milliliter, said that she used a lot less of her favorite liquid foundation with the Beautyblender sponge. In contrast, the plush, cottony makeup pads we tested (E.L.F. Halo Glow Powder Puff, Real Techniques Miracle 2-in-1 Powder Puff) seemed to sop it right up.
Damp sponges can harbor mold, and at $20 you probably don’t want to keep replacing yours. Cleaning the sponge—lathering it, rinsing it, blotting it repeatedly—is a process, but an essential one.
Brushes from this brand—which have soft, distinctive bristles, substantial aluminum ferrules, and elegant shapes—are unparalleled for the price. The packaged sets, like this one, sometimes have unnecessary extras, though.
Cheap makeup brushes are easy to find—and with their plasticky, shedding-prone bristles, chintzy handles, and noxious off-gas fumes, you often get what you pay for. But if budget is your primary concern, or you don’t use makeup brushes often, you can’t do better than almost any brush from Real Techniques. The bristles are matte and grippy, the weighted metallic handles feel high-quality, and the dome shapes are unique and sculptural. We recommend that you buy them individually for your specific needs. If you do want a cheap set, the Real Techniques Artist Essentials Makeup Brush Set is your best bet, with a few caveats.
The sets aren’t great, so buy individual brushes. The two most practical-looking Real Techniques sets—Everyday Essentials and Artist Essentials (pictured)—both left us scratching our heads. The former had redundant brushes and not much variety, and the latter was almost too specialized for most makeup wearers. You’d be better off cherry-picking the exact styles you need, even if the cost per brush ends up slightly higher. We especially like the Ultra Plush Makeup Brush 400 and the Soft Sculpting Makeup Brush 450.
Some Wirecutter staffers said they love their Real Techniques brushes. Supervising editor Hannah Rimm is a big fan of the Expert Face Makeup Brush 200 and Deluxe Crease Brush 300. She uses the former mostly for powdering under her eyes; the latter, she says, is versatile. It’s her go-to for blending eyeshadow and finishing her concealer.
They hold their own against pricier brushes. Because we did not reveal prices to our panelists, we pitted spendy brushes against cheapies. Although Real Techniques never outright won a category over much more expensive options, its brushes always ranked well with our testers. And when we narrowed the focus to affordability, this brand was the runaway winner. “This applies way better than I thought it would, and it’s easy to use,” one tester said of the Real Techniques Ultra Plush Makeup Brush, likening it to our pick from Jenny Patinkin, which is $30 more.
For the quality, the price per brush is impressive. Each brush in the Real Techniques Artist Essentials set is only about $3. In sets we liked from other brands, that price was closer to $15 per piece. Granted, there are cheaper brush options—the E.L.F. set we considered comes out to just $1 a brush. But our panelists found annoying loose bristles, and the handles were too short to hold comfortably.
The bristles are soft and dense. While the Real Techniques bristles aren’t quite as believably natural-seeming as other synthetic fibers we tried, these brushes blow similarly priced rivals (BS-Mall, E.L.F., Sephora Collection) out of the water in that regard. They emit no unpleasant off-gassing, each dome is uniquely shaped and well trimmed, and they’re textured enough to hold on to powder and liquid makeup alike.
The aluminum handles feel substantial. The Real Techniques brushes’ metal handles have a nice weight, putting the heaviness at the base of the handle and nicely balancing the brush when it’s angled upward against the face. It’s the best feel we found for the price. The durable, sturdy feel of the full-size handles also pleased our testers, whereas other budget options we used had stumpier—and less user-friendly—grips.
The bundles include some oddly shaped and redundant tools. Brush for brush, the brushes included in the Sigma Most-Wanted Brush Set are far and away more convenient and useful. But if you are trying to save money and have the inclination to poke around a bit, the Real Techniques individual brushes are great.
You can find two primary types of brush bristles: natural and synthetic. The former are made from animal hair, such as goat, sable, and squirrel. The latter are made from cruelty-free materials such as nylon, polyester, Taklon, and micro crystal fiber. Some makeup artists we interviewed said that they stock some natural-bristle brushes in their own kits—and we’ve tried them over the years, too. But in addition to animal-cruelty concerns, natural-bristle brushes are notably more expensive but not notably different in performance. So for this guide, we focused on synthetic brushes only.
For background, I clicked through archives of beauty awards from other publications, such as Allure Best of Beauty and Byrdie, and I tallied up mentions in roundups from CNN Underscored, People, Essence, Forbes Reviewed, Refinery 29, Vogue, and Women’s Wear Daily. I considered only those articles for which the editors or writers had firsthand experience with the products, or makeup artists vouched for them personally. I avoided laundry-list search-bait roundups. I dove into Reddit threads and watched enough brush-themed TikToks that the category took over my algorithm for months.
As a freelance beauty writer, I attend a lot of product-launch events; over the course of my research for this guide, I polled experts in the field, artists, product developers, founders, and writers, and I included their insights in my research.
Then I surveyed 10 working makeup artists and asked them to share their favorite brushes in six categories, which I put into consideration—minus one with goat-hair bristles. Once I had assembled an enormous spreadsheet of contenders, I cross-checked my list with reviews on the websites of Amazon, Nordstrom, Sephora, and Ulta, among individual retailers, to come up with a list of more than 70 brushes worth testing.
I also capped the price at $50 per brush, which eliminated options from luxury brands using rare materials like sustainably sourced birch handles.
Then, we focused on four pillars:
For several months, I used the brushes in my daily life, doing a range of makeup looks—the simple face I apply for talking on Zoom and running errands, as well as more extensive looks for going to events like the GLAAD Media Awards. I found four sets and 32 individual brushes notable enough to send to a panel of experienced makeup users for a second round of testing. The panel provided feedback according to the same rubric outlined above. They evaluated expensive brushes alongside cheaper picks, judging them on the same metrics.
Anisa Pinnacle Foundation Brush: This runner-up foundation brush was a favorite of some panelists, who found the quality of the bristles top-notch and the density just right for blending out cream and liquid foundation. The unusual triangular domed brush head was especially good for getting into corners, such as around the nose, but was also wide enough to cover larger areas. The weighted handle was more controversial among our testers: Some loved the tapered, grabbable shape, while others found it too big and bulky.
BK Beauty 101 Contoured Foundation Brush: This TikTok-viral brush sells out often, and we can see why. Some panelists liked how this soft, fluffier brush applied and blended product especially smoothly across the face. They also loved its elegant look, with its ombre bristles. Ultimately, it’s just a runner-up because testers found the head not firm enough, the bristles too “floppy,” and the makeup application not as precise as they wanted.
Alleyoop Multi-Tasker: Our testers particularly liked this four-in-one tool for travel, as it features a blush/bronzer brush on one end and a replaceable sponge on the other that then twist off to reveal, matryoshka-style, smaller brushes for brows/eyeliner and eyeshadow. Thanks to its ingenious compactness and portability, this tool was clutch for our testers, though they were less impressed with the long-term quality of its bristles.
In the BS-Mall 14 Pcs Brush Set, testers found that the bristles were too rough and not packed densely enough. They also said that several of the brushes in the set served duplicative purposes. All of our testers noted a plasticky off-gas smell upon opening the packaging. We found a better assortment in the E.L.F. Cosmetics Professional Set of 12 Makeup Brushes, but we encountered some loose bristles and improperly cut shapes. Testers also said that the short handles were difficult to control.
The Sonia Kashuk Luminate Collection Complete Brush Set was too chunky, awkward, and inelegant. The Sephora Collection Complete Makeup Brush Set was the exact opposite—so lightweight and insubstantial, one tester likened it to “a kid’s toy set of brushes.”
The EcoTools Core Five Set shed too much, and the Morphe Get Things Started 8-Piece set (no longer available) had crudely shaped brush heads (with the exception of the Morphe Chubby Buffer Concealer Brush).
The E.L.F. Cosmetics Buffing Foundation Brush was a nice size, but its bristles were too floppy and sparse, creating a streaky application. Meanwhile, the soft, dense bristles of the IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Flat Top Buffing Foundation Brush #6 had some fans, but its thick handle was awkward to hold. When considering the two-in-one Lancôme Airbrush #2, our testers really liked only the concealer end—the bristles of the larger foundation end were “too squishy” to apply product well.
The NYX Total Control Drop Foundation Brush had an unusual angular brush head, but it’s really designed only for use with liquid foundation. Both the Monika Blunder Hybrid Cream Brush and the M.A.C. 170 Synthetic Rounded Slant Brush felt too insubstantial for their price.
Lastly, the Morphe M406 Large Foundation & Blush Stippling Brush had coarse, poky bristles, and the bristles on the M.A.C. 187S Synthetic Duo Fibre Face Brush were too stiff and not wide enough for an efficient full-face application.
Even though Kevyn Aucoin’s Contour Brush has a gorgeous handle and a luxurious, heavy feel, our testers said the bristles weren’t angled enough, and the small dome failed to pick up enough product. Similarly, the soft, sparser bristles of the M.A.C. 168 Synthetic Large Angled Contour Brush didn’t grab enough powder, though our testers liked the way it buffed for a finished look.
For something at the top of our price range, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Brush shed too many bristles. Neither of the two brush ends of IT Cosmetics’s Heavenly Luxe Complexion Perfection Brush #7 was the right size for contouring tasks, and this brush was at the tippy-top of our price range. Many people like Laura Geller’s Angled Blush Brush for contour, and it was our panel’s strongest contender for runner-up for that purpose, but testers ultimately preferred it more for diffuse blush application than for precise contouring.
Our testers thought the Charlotte Tilbury Powder & Sculpt Brush was too skinny for all-over bronzer application; they preferred it for more precise work with highlighter and contouring. The Real Techniques Ultra Plush Blush Makeup Brush, on the other hand, was too big, with bristles that were “too sloppy, too splayed out,” as well as a plastic handle that felt a little crude.
The Ulta Bronzer Blush #21 Brush (discontinued) felt flimsy in the hand and shed way too many bristles, and the Róen Everything Powder brush had a lot of the same assets as the Jenny Patinkin pick but cost 25% more. Finally, while Jones Road’s The Everything Brush is designed as a multitasker for bronzer, blush, powder, and more, our testers found the bristles too stubby and stiff.
Our panelists had doubly high standards for dual-ended eyebrow brush-spoolie combos, and many options failed to clear both hurdles. For instance, testers liked the spoolie on the E.L.F. Cosmetics Eyebrow Duo Brush but found the brush too bendy and wide.
The Sonia Kashuk Professional Angled Eyeliner Makeup Brush No. 246 was also too big, and it lacked a spoolie altogether. The Sigma E80 Brow and Lash Brush, on the (literal) flip side, was just a spoolie. The Mykitco My Groom & Fill Brush can be hard to come by, and it wasn’t exceptional enough to warrant an in-search-of-Sasquatch–style hunt. Testers loved almost everything about the Tweezerman Angled Brow Brush & Spoolie, but it lost out to the Anastasia model because its brush was a bit too narrow and its spoolie was just a touch too short for those with bushier brows.
A classic flat velour puff, the E.L.F. Cosmetics Halo Glow Powder Puff worked well for applying setting powder and tamping down shine, but our testers much preferred the egg-like sponges. The similarly flat Real Techniques Miracle 2-in-1 Powder Puff was difficult to clean—especially considering that the sponge side sopped up too much product.
Both the Beauty Bakerie Blending Egg Beauty Sponge and the DSMD Swirl Sponges had a nice ovoid form, but neither expanded enough when moistened, and both felt too hard against the face.
As much as our panelists initially liked the shape and facets of the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, the foam was too dense, and the sponge was too large to get into smaller areas such as under the eyes and in the creases around the nose. One tester loved the bounciness—and the sub-$2.00 price tag—of the AOA Studio Collection Makeup Sponge Set but found that the sponge ended up soaking up too much product.
Rory Evans contributed reporting. This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.
Picture a world without beauty tools. Straight hair condemned to be eternally so, a lifetime of stick-straight lashes, wobbly hand-executed cut creases everywhere… It's not the stuff of tragedy, but without tools, life would definitely be a lot more frustrating for anyone who likes to have complete control over their look.
Thankfully, that's an alternative beauty universe. We not only have oodles of makeup brushes and hairstyling implements at our service, we have some really, really, really good ones to choose from. And the greatest of the really, really, really good ones get an Allure Best of Beauty Award.
The class of wowed our editors by making makeup look its absolute best (this year's top concealer brush isn't a game-changer, it's a life-changer) and giving hair pros a run for their money with gadgets that go hard on style and easy on strands. Here are the brushes, devices, and doohickeys that we're so very glad we don't have to live without.
Shop your favorite category or keep scrolling for the year's very best hot tools, makeup brushes, and hair accessories.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website makeup brush designs.
Best Foundation Brush
Why It Won: Your skin may be the canvas, but the Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Face 2.0 Teardrop Kabuki Complexion Brush looks like a work of art with its curvaceous design. The soft bristles work wonderfully with liquid, cream, and powder foundations for an even, thorough application.
Tester Feedback: "I use this brush on my face like I'm in a commercial (slow and dramatic) because of how soft and luxurious it feels," says beauty closet associate Edward Horgan. "It blends out complexion products evenly with its curved shape and makes applying foundation something I actually look forward to doing."
Best Foundation Makeup Brush, Foundation: Laura Mercier Real Flawless Foundation BrushBest Foundation Brush
Why It Won: The 18-degree angle of the Laura Mercier Real Flawless Foundation Brush lets its cushiony bristles blend in your foundation with streak-free precision. And with its domed, triangular shape made to hug every contour, you'll never miss a spot.
Tester Feedback: "Whenever I get a compliment on my complexion, I share some highlights of my skin-care routine, but, really, I think I should be giving props to this foundation brush," says executive beauty director Jenny Bailly. "Ever since I started using it to apply my liquid foundation, the finish—no matter the formula—has been smooth, air-brushed, and compliment-worthy. And I love how the shape lets me blend around my nose and right up to my lower lash lines with one brush."
Best Concealer Makeup Brush: Ami Colé The Concealer BrushBest Concealer Brush
Why It Won: After trying the Ami Colé The Concealer Brush, you'll want to bop yourself on the head with it for using your fingers for so long. The vegan bristles are angled in such a way that your undereye and around-the-nose coverage is stunningly, effortlessly seamless.
Tester Feedback: "The perfect concealer brush," says content director Kara McGrath. "The angled cut gets easily into the corner under my eyes, while the dense bristles make blending concealer a breeze."
Best Powder Makeup Brush: Hourglass Veil Powder BrushBest Powder Brush
Why It Won: The fluffy, synthetic bristles of the Hourglass Veil Powder Brush are made to distribute loose powder like a dream. The bigger end is ideal for finishing your full face, while the small side allows you to dab specific spots and do precision touch-ups.
Tester Feedback: 'This double-ended beauty has endured [redacted] years of use with little to no shedding—from either end!—and is perfect for cutting back on tools when I'm traveling," says associate director of special projects Hunter Lacey.
Best Contour Makeup Brush: Patrick Ta Major Sculpt Dual-Ended Sculpting BrushBest Contour Brush
Why It Won: Whenever we see an alleged contour brush that doesn't have two sides, we have to ask, "Do you even blend, bro?" That's why we so deeply appreciate the Patrick Ta Major Sculpt Dual-Ended Sculpting Brush: You can meticulously apply powder or cream contour with one end, saving the other's synthetic bristles for flawless blending.
Tester Feedback: "Contouring, quite frankly, is so freaking annoying to me—it's tough to find the right products and even tougher to learn the 'right' application techniques for your own unique bone structure," says senior news editor Nicola Dall'Asen. "The Patrick Ta Sculpting Brush does make life a little easier, though, thanks to one slim, tapered brush that places cream contour precisely where you need it and a denser, fluffier brush that blends seamlessly on the other side. Am I doing contouring right? Who knows, but at least this brush helps me do it quickly and easily."
Best Bronzer Makeup Brush: DIBS Beauty Duo Face BrushBest Bronzer Brush
Why It Won: If you go back and forth between cream and powder blushes, this smart space saver eliminates the need for two separate tools. The denser, angled end on the DIBS Beauty Duo Face Brush is made for applying and blending your favorite cream complexion products (give it a shot with bronzer), while the large, rounded head builds and sets powder products beautifully.
Tester Feedback: "I'm a makeup minimalist and typically only use, at most, three brushes (blush, bronzer, and powder) in my routine," says associate beauty director Sarah Kinonen. "After adding this dual-ended tool, though, that number was cut down to one: the dense side for my cream blush and bronzer, and the fluffier side for my setting powder. It really does it all with impeccable application."
Best Blush Makeup Brush: Jones Road The Blush BrushBest Blush Brush
Why It Won: The rounded, ombré bristles of the Jones Road The Blush Brush strike the perfect balance between thickness and softness. This allows it to pick up the optimum amount of powder blush and buff it evenly, regardless of your skill level.
Tester Feedback: "This is a blush no-brainer for me," says contributing editor Marci Robin. "Even when I think I've added too much product, it proves me wrong as I watch it blend out with ease."
Best Highlight Makeup Brush: Sigma Beauty F03 High Cheekbone Highlighter BrushBest Highlighter Brush
Why It Won: Firm, tapered bristles on Sigma Beauty F03 High Cheekbone Highlighter Brush cover the ideal amount of area for glowing up the high points of your face. Whether you prefer a pressed shimmer or a creamy gleam, it buffs precisely so you don’t look striped with shine.
Tester Feedback: "I love that the brush has a thin, long handle, which makes it much easier to control when applying product to my cheeks," says Horgan. "I swipe it in a light side-to-side motion with the taper of the brush, hugging my cheekbone for a precise application."
Best Eye Shadow Makeup Brush: Half Magic Pyramid Eyeshadow BrushBest Eye Shadow Brush
Why It Won: The Half Magic Pyramid Eyeshadow Brush has the most interesting triangular shape—we keep looking at it from different angles because it's just that fascinating. Also captivating: how it allows you to execute sharp, angular shadow looks but also softly diffuse for the smoothest transitions between shades and your skin.
Tester Feedback: "For years, I'd dreamed of a small but dense makeup brush with a finely pointed tip so that I could more easily snatch my cat eye-shaped eye shadow looks. Of course, it was makeup artist Donni Davy who understood my vision when she launched Half Magic Pyramid Eyeshadow Brush," says Dall'Asen. "Whether you're blending outward from the corners, smudging along the lower lash lines, or simply placing base colors where they need to go, this brush gets it all done effortlessly."
Best Makeup Sponge
Why It Won: It's not that we don't want to give a different makeup sponge a Best of Beauty Award. It's just that in all of the years the Beautyblender has been around and won countless Allure honors, none of the imitators have been able to match its famous water-activated ability to marry complexion products to skin.
Tester Feedback: "No other sponge (or brush, in my opinion) holds a candle to this classic tool," says Kinonen. "It's the best of the best and blends cream products like a dream: mess-free, leaving behind a dewy, even finish."
Best Tweezers
Why It Won: With over 20 years of Allure Best of Beauty Awards, it's no surprise that the Tweezerman Slant Tweezer is still the gold—or, sorry, stainless steel—standard. With 25-degree-angled tips and optimum tension, it's the most reliable way to "clean up" brows and pluck stray hairs.
Tester Feedback: "This is the best tweezer made, hands down," says senior business director Eilish Morley. "It can pluck the most stubborn of hairs or grab the finest. I won't use any other brand."
Best Eyelash Curler
Why It Won: Shu Uemura isn't just tooting its own horn by giving its Iconic Eyelash Curler such a boastful name—it really is iconic. This curler has been a makeup artist and celebrity go-to for years and years. But the brand has still managed to improve upon what was arguably already perfection by upgrading the silicone pad to an even safer, better-curling mushroom shape and revamping the hinge for optimal pressure.
Tester Feedback: "If you suffer from long-lash envy, this eyelash curler is for you," says social director Kassidy Silva. "In less than 20 seconds, you'll have all the lash volume you've been looking for."
Best Blow-Dryer: Shark Beauty Shark SpeedStyleBest Blow-Dryer
Why It Won: Cleverly customizable with attachments like the RapidGloss Finisher and DeFrizzFast Diffuser, the Shark Beauty Shark SpeedStyle makes achieving your chosen hairstyle incredibly easy. And, thanks to a high-velocity dryer system that never gets hotter than 230 degrees F, it's so much less damaging than the dryers and stylers we've tolerated for too long.
Tester Feedback: "The attachments are amazing for someone who isn't so skilled at blow-drying," says senior talent casting manager Gabrielle Seo. "I get the ultimate shine that looks like I got a professional blowout."
Best Brush Dryer: Kristin Ess Hair Soft Volume Blow Dry BrushBest Blow-Dry Brush
Why It Won: In addition to three speeds and three heat settings, the Kristin Ess Hair Soft Volume Blow Dry Brush gives even more control over your look with an ionic setting that lets you focus on either frizz-smoothing or volume. Its hybrid nylon and tufted bristles detangle like a champ whether your hair is wet or dry, giving you a gorgeous blowout without a clunky separate blow-dryer.
Tester Feedback: "It usually takes me an hour to blow-dry my hair, but this tool cut that time in half," says associate beauty editor Annie Blay. "I love how easy it is to use: just brush."
Best Flatiron: ghd Platinum+ StylerBest Flatiron
Why It Won: The ghd Platinum+ Styler has repeatedly won us over because it's so much more than just a flatiron. Always set to 365 degrees—for ideal results with less damage—special sensors in the shine-inducing plates get to know your hair's thickness and your styling speed to adjust to your needs and maintain optimal heat distribution.
Tester Feedback: "I've had my styler for years and have used it through all sorts of styling stages, but for the past year or so, I've been using it to create S-shaped waves that are so convincingly natural, people think they're my real hair pattern," says shopping director Shanna Shipin. "The one-inch is the perfect size to do any kind of style while getting as close to the roots as possible and the beveled edge helps make those convincing curls and waves to give your hair movement."
Best Curling Iron: Pattern Interchangeable Curling IronBest for Tight Curls
Why It Won: With the Interchangeable Curling Iron, Pattern gives you not one, not two, but three tourmaline ceramic barrels—3/8-inch, 3/4-inch, and 1-inch—for the most personalized and versatile curling experience. You can also choose the temperature that’s right for your hair type, whether you're starting with fine, straight hair or touching up coarse, natural coils.
Tester Feedback: "I love the interchangeable parts," says associate manager of special projects Talia Gutierrez. "It's easy to use, and it's great for those with a variety of curl patterns throughout their hair. For my thick, wavy hair, I use the medium and large barrels, while the small one works well for tendrils with an updo."
Best Curling Iron: Bio Ionic Long Barrel Curling IronBest for Waves
Why It Won: Loose curls and romantic waves will never not be in style and the Bio Ionic Long Barrel Curling Iron 1.5" will never not be the superior way to achieve them. With a barrel two inches longer than the average curling iron, it makes styling go more smoothly in terms of both ease and sealing the cuticle with ionic technology.
Tester Feedback: "I love the weighty feel of this wand and how my hair slips off of the barrel without snagging," says senior editor Jesa Marie Calaor. "It features temperature settings on the side of its body, so I know exactly how hot I'm heating up my strands. I never feel like I'm singeing my hair."
Best Waver: Amika High Tide Deep Waver Beach Waver Curling IronBest Waver
Why It Won: As you move the Amika High Tide Deep Waver Beach Waver Curling Iron from section to section of your hair creating soft, zigzag waves, the picture starts to come together: You've just executed the easiest, prettiest, beach-free waves ever. The tourmaline ceramic triple-barrel tool gives you a wide temperature range to work with and you can trust that it will always feel cool and comfortable to hold.
Tester Feedback: "I have little patience for heat-styling and Amika's waver saves me so much time," says commerce editor Sarah Han. "It's not a super-hefty, hard-to-manage tool unlike some wavers and the 0.7-inch barrels create the ideal, uniform waves that I love."
Best Multi-Tasker: Mane It's Giving Body Hot Round BrushBest Multitasker
Why It Won: The days of navigating your hair with a round brush in one hand and a blow-dryer in the other are so very over now that the Mane It's Giving Body Hot Round Brush is here to create voluminous, flowy styles all by itself. The vented, ceramic barrel glides 355-degree F heat through your hair as the bristles shape strands into a bombshell blowout.
Tester Feedback: "Using this hot brush is the easiest way to trick people into thinking you got a blowout," says McGrath. "It adds a ton of volume and makes adding loose waves a breeze."
Best Hair Tool: Curl Queen The GloveBest Hair Glove
Why It Won: We didn't know the simple act of running your fingers through your hair could get an upgrade, but then the Curl Queen The Glove entered our lives. Each ingenious pair's palms are covered in rubber and silicone nubs that help detangle, distribute product, and stimulate the scalp, earning it a permanent spot on your shower shelf.
Tester Feedback: "This nifty tool helps me cut through the toughest tangles on washday," says Horgan. "It distributes whatever product I'm using (shampoo, conditioner, curl cream) as evenly as possible through my curls so they come out perfectly coily."
Best Paddle Hairbrush
Why It Won: The ghd Paddle Brush immediately endears itself to your hair by being a classic multitasker. Use it to detangle, to help with heat styling, or simply to brush your hair longingly in the mirror as woodland creatures surround you to sing songs about love and repairing dresses.
Tester Feedback: "I've lost count of how many brushes my thick, wavy hair has broken over the years," says Gutierrez. "Whether it's the handle detaching from the base of the paddle while I brush through a knot at the nape of my neck or the bristles popping out from the brush itself, the brush is always done-zo. It's been a frustration that I've thankfully put behind me with the design of this ghd paddle brush. The handle and base are all one design, making it impossible for the handle to pop off while raking through my hair. And while I'm not quite sure how the bristles have stayed in place through my tangles, I'm not going to question it."
Best Round Hairbrush: British M Hot Curling Ceramic BrushBest Round Hairbrush
Why It Won: The vented, cylindrical barrel of the British M Hot Curling Ceramic Brush is built to conduct and distribute heat in a way that simultaneously limits damage, cuts down on styling time, and—with the help of the bristles' tension—boosts your blowout results.
Tester Feedback: "My daily dose of bang maintenance comes down to one tool, the British M Hot Curling Ceramic Brush," says Silva. "After a quick spritz of water to dampen my bangs, I part them into two sections and hit them with a blow-dryer for about a minute on each side, while simaltaneously working the brush backward to get a fluffy, feathered look."
Best Detangling Hairbrush: Tangle Teezer The Ultimate DetanglerBest Detangler
Why It Won: You haven't really conditioned your hair until you brushed the conditioner through with Tangle Teezer The Ultimate Detangler. Keep it in the shower to distribute product evenly or as a last step to detangle before you step out of the stall. The two tiers of teeth mean less breakage, and the flat, wide handle helps you get a good grip even under wet circumstances.
Tester Feedback: "I have one in my shower, yes, but also on my dresser for raking my hair back smoothly on non-washdays," says Bailly. "And if you have a child who possesses hair, I can attest that detangling will meet far less resistance if you’re wielding this brush."
Best Comb: Pattern Retractable CombBest Comb
Why It Won: Divide and conquer any style with the Pattern Retractable Comb. Made for tighter textures, it features heat-resistant teeth for sectioning and its metal tail, made for precision parts, slides in and out to make it a perfect pocket-size hair assistant.
Tester Feedback: "I didn't realize that a rat tail comb could be innovative. It's something my mom has used on my hair since I was a toddler," says editor in chief Jessica Cruel. "But when I saw the Pattern comb has a sliding tail, I was impressed. I didn't know I needed it, but every travel bag with a hole in it is currently cheering at this addition to my hair tool arsenal. The parting tine at the tip also makes sure that even someone who is half blind (me, I am someone) can get decently straight parts. It's not the tool, it's the technician.”
Best Edge Styler: Baby Tress Edge StylerBest Edge Styler
Why It Won: Every angle of the Baby Tress Edge Styler reveals how multifaceted it is. Available in a variety of adorable colors, it features a comb to smooth and separate, natural boar bristles to shape, and a pointed end to create perfect parts.
Tester Feedback: "Not all edge brushes are created equal and this one has a little something extra," says Blay. "The Baby Tress Edge Styler is so functional it makes doing my edges a breeze. The brush is big enough that I can swoop my edges with a few flicks of my wrist, and the rattail end allows it to double as a precise tool for fashioning my middle-parted, slicked-back bun. It truly does it all."
Best Hair Accessory
Why It Won: Whether you sleep in them or wear them out as an adorable accessory, one thing is true: Slip Small Slipsilk Scrunchies will always respect your hair more than conventional hair ties. The satiny texture, made from real silk, prevents dents and breakage so hair can live to ponytail another day.
Tester Feedback: "These are the only scrunchies I use," says Calaor. “I love how they don't leave a crease but are strong enough to hold up a high ponytail.”
Best Claw Clip: The Hair Edit Epic ClipBest Hair Clip
Why It Won: The Hair Edit Epic Clip does what most claw clips can't: It holds up all of your hair and looks great doing it. The extra-large, rectangular design is as secure as it is chic, marrying fashion and function in a versatile accessory you’ll keep with you constantly.
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