#07 - Brushes vs Sponges Part 3 (Eyes)

Following up with the next installment!!

Yep, we are continuing in the same confusing manner.

Today, we shall go through:

Brushes:
 - Flat Shader Brush
 - Fluffy Blending Brush
 - Crease Brush
 - Pointy-type Liner Brush
 - Angled Liner Brush
** We will not be touching on Pencil or mascara brushes, either because I have no experience with them or because this will get too long!

Sponges:
 - Eyeshadow Applicators
 - Felt Tip Applicators (Just throwing this in to make it slightly more balanced!)


1. Flat Shader Brush
Well, as the name implies, this brush has a flat ferule, and the bristles generally form a gentle arc.
The main purpose of this brush is to apply eyeshadow.
There are many variations to this brush, so let's get a brief coverage on the general bits.
The brush can be densely packed or medium packed bristles, the more densely packed, the more pigment it picks up and applies.
The brush can also be made of natural hair bristles (e.g.: goat, squirrel... etc) or synthetic bristles.
Synthetic bristles are preferred for liquid and cream products.

Pros:
- Comes in many different sizes. Can choose a suitable size for any use.
- Versatile, you can basically use it for other purposes (e.g.: concealer)
- Good for packing on color for more vibrancy
- Can be used to blend colors

Cons:
- Some may have stiff bristles which irritate the skin
- Difficult to blend eyeshadow out

Method of Application:
1. Gently dab the side of your brush into your eyeshadow pot, drag it across a couple times IF the eyeshadow does not want to transfer
2. Tap the brush gently against the side of your table, palette or compact mirror (anything actually...) to prevent fall out.
3. Press the side of the brush against your closed eyelid. Dab until you cover the entire area desired.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 until you get your desired effect.

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
(a) Eyeshadow Applicators


2. Fluffy Blending Brush
Yep, it's fluffy.
Generally, this brush has a round ferule, with medium packed bristles.
The length of the bristles vary. Shorter bristles pack more color and longer bristles blend out eyeshadow better.
The bristles are generally shaped into a dome shape.

Pros:
- Good for blending (duh...)
- A shorter bristle brush can also replace the use of a Flat Shader Brush. A good one is the e.l.f Blending Eye Brush.
- Longer bristle brush is good for people who are afraid of applying too much eyeshadow/ want to build up their eyeshadow gradually.

Cons:
- Loses it's shape fairly easily
- Result heavily dependent on technique

Method of Application:
-Packing on color-
1. Dip the bristles into the eyeshadow pot.
2. Tap off the excess
3. Dab the bristles against your closed eyelid
4. Repeat steps 1-3. It probably will take longer than a Flat Shader Brush
-Blending-
1. Dab the bristles into the LIGHTER colored eyeshadow pot.
2. Tap off the excess
3. Place the brush at the part of your eyelid already covered with the darker eyeshadow color
4. Lightly buff the eyeshadow out with teeny circular motions while moving the brush left to right across the eyelid.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 as many times until blended.

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
(a) CLEAN Eyeshadow Applicators


3. Crease Brush
Fairly similar to the Blending brush but often is smaller with shorter bristles.
The shape is usually slightly more pointy than the blending brush too!
Usually used to help define the crease of your eye with a darker shade of eyeshadow.
The crease is the part of your eyelid which corresponds to the space between your eye socket and your eyeball.It does NOT hurt to press lightly on that area.

Pros:
- Smaller brush head allows it to fit into the 'crease' of your eye easily
- Able to place color more accurately
- Shorter bristles allows you to concentrate more color into the crease

Cons:
- Loses it's shape fairly easily
- Result heavily dependent on technique

Method of Application:
1. Dip the bristles into the eyeshadow pot (try not to get a lot of product on the brush)
2. Tap off the excess
3. Locate the crease (with your finger, if you are not familiar with it position), position the tip of the brush on the outer side of the crease (i.e.: the side further away from your nose)
4. Lightly move the brush over your crease in a windshield wiper motion, back and forth.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 as necessary to get the desired intensity.

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
(a) Eyeshadow Applicators (Not really good for this though)


4. Pointy-type Liner Brush
Well... This brush comes to a sharp point, yes, captain obvious.
Eyeliner brushes are usually made of synthetic bristles. In general.
The bristles are usually pretty stiff to improve control.

Pros:
- Stiff bristles allows for more control when lining your eyes.
- Synthetic bristles are good for liquid and cream products (e.g.: gel eyeliner)

Cons:
- Stiff bristles might be too harsh for people with sensitive skin
- Splaying of bristles/brush losing it's shape. Defeats the purpose it was designed for

Method of Application:
1. Scoop out some gel eyeliner using a disinfected spatula to reduce/prevent contamination of the main pot.
2. Dip the tip of the brush into the scooped out eyeliner.
3. Lay the brush such that the side of the bristles is in contact with a clean portion of the spatula/back of your hand.
4. Gently roll the brush back and forth to create a nice point to the bristles.
5. Place the brush against your lashline and draw a line. The eyelid tends to move less if you draw from the inner corner to the outer corner.

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
(b) Felt Tip Applicators


5. Angled Liner Brush
This brush has a flat ferule, and usually is made of short synthetic bristles.
The bristles are cut and arranged in a manner such that they form into a slanted shape, much like a tetrahedral on it's side.

Pros:
- Larger surface area to be in contact with your lashline, makes eyelining faster and easier.
- Slanted/Angled shape helps as it can follow the contour of your eye, distributing the pressure from the hand more evenly.
- Synthetic bristles are good for liquid and cream products (e.g.: gel eyeliner)
- Less likely to lose it's shape

Cons:
- Need to find a brush with a good amount of bristles to make it stiff enough but not too much that it makes a fat line.

Method of Application:
1. Scoop out some gel eyeliner using a disinfected spatula to reduce/prevent contamination of the main pot.
2. Dip the tip of the brush into the scooped out eyeliner.
3. Lay the brush such that the bristles on the angled edge is in contact with a clean portion of the spatula/back of your hand.
4. Gently move the brush back and forth to make the bristles form a thinner edge.
5. Place the brush against your lashline and draw a line. The eyelid tends to move less if you draw from the inner corner to the outer corner.

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
(b) Felt Tip Applicators


(a) Eyeshadow Applicators
These are the sponge tip applicators you get when you buy a eyeshadow duo/trio/quad/palette.
They can be dual or single ended.

Pros:
- Very easily obtained. Do not need to buy separate from the makeup.
- Good for packing on eyeshadow for more intensity.
- Can be used to blend eyeshadow

Cons:
- Blending eyeshadow can make the colors muddy, especially if you do not use a clean applicator
- Foam tends to absorb a lot of product.
- Foam also absorbs oils and dirt from the face and air, is a good breeding ground for bacteria
- Not durable. The foam tends to fall off the plastic handle after a while
- Not easily washed/cleaned. See "#05 - Brushes vs Sponges Part 1 (Hygiene)" for more details.

Method of Application:
-Packing on eyeshadow-
1. Press the side of the applicator against the eyeshadow and firmly wiggle it a couple of times to pick up color
2. Tap off excess product if the product is very powdery
3. Gently pat on the eyeshadow onto your closed eyelid
4. Repeat steps 1-3 to get desired intensity
-Blending eyeshadow-
1. Apply both the darker and lighter shades of eyeshadow as described in packing on eyeshadow
2. Using a clean side of the applicator, pick up a little bit of the lighter shade of eyeshadow. Tap off the excess product if needed
3. Place the applicator at the border where the 2 colors meet.
4. Gently move the applicator across the border while wiggling it slightly to blur the border.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 till you obtain the desired result.

Brush Equivalents: (See Above)
1. Flat Shader Brush
2. Fluffy Blending Brush
3. Crease Brush


(b) Felt Tip Applicators
Normally comes attached to liquid eyeliners.
Either as the pen nib in the pen-type liquid eyeliner or the applicator of dip-type liquid eyeliners.

Pros:
- Easy to use, more beginner friendly than brushes
- Dip-type: Picks up a lot of liquid eyeliner, need to redip less to line the eye.

Cons:
- Easily loses it's 'shape' (i.e.: condition where there's lil fibres or wonky bits attached to the tip)
- Dip-type: Need to clean the stem of the applicator periodically as it tends to build up and gunk along the length.
- Pen type: Needs to be left on it's side or upside down so that the eyeliner actually comes out.
- Pen type: For some brands/formulation, when left upside down, will cause lots of product to leak and form a mess when you try to use it.

Method of Application:
Self explanatory, so... I'm going to skip this.

Brush Equivalents: (See Above)
4. Pointy Liner Brush
5. Angled Liner Brush

DISCLAIMER:
Brush and sponge equivalents listed here are not perfect equivalents. Specific brushes have their benefits over the sponge equivalent, but you can replace them.

Ok. That's the end of it!
I was going to take a picture and add it into this note, but I washed all my brushes this morning and they are drying right now...
So... I guess I'll do it another day.
I don't think I have a felt tip sample though... I threw my eyeliner away a while ago, I'll see what to do later... I guess.

Nights Guys!
Tesun

#06 - Brushes vs Sponges Part 2 (Face)

Welcome to the second part of this Brushes vs Sponges Smackdown!
Haha, ok let's be more serious here.

To actually go into detail with all the different types of brushes would make for a VERY long note.
So I'll be sharing my views and opinions of the many many brushes categorized into smaller segments.
Of course, a comparison to the sponge equivalents will be added.
This one is dedicated to FACE brushes and sponges.

This might get a lil messy, but I'll try my best to make it flow.
For reference sake, I will be writing each section according to the BRUSHES, which are numbered, and also list the Sponge equivalents for that brush, which will be lettered.
Confused yet?
Haha, each type of brush or sponge will get a brief description of the tool in question, just so we all can follow what the hell I'm talking about.

Let's get started, first I'm going to list the types of brushes and sponges we will go through in this note.
Just so I don't forget anything later on... I'm really scatterbrained you see...

Brushes:
- Foundation Brush
- Stippling Brush
- Kabuki Brush
- Powder Brush
- Angled Blush Brush
- Blush Brush
** There are many many more, but these are what I'll be focusing on right now.
IF you need help with other kinds of brushes, feel free to drop me a message!

Sponges:
- Disposable Wedges
- Foundation Pad Sponges
- Velour Puffs
** I have no experience with the Beauty Blender, so I'm not going through it.
Please note that these sponges are largely used for Foundation, Powder and perhaps Concealing.  
They are not suitable for blush or contour.

1. Foundation Brush
A foundation brush refers to the brush that has a flat ferule, kinda shaped like a huge flat shader eyeshadow brush.
It is usually fairly densely packed with synthetic bristles, making it good for use with creams and liquid products as it absorbs lesser product.

Pros:
- Good for liquid or cream products
- Large brush head makes application time shorter
- Especially ideal for use with face paints and clown white if you need to cover large areas.
- Fairly easy to use, just like a paintbrush

Cons:
- Not for powder products
- High likely to leave streaks in your foundation, especially if your product is not very pigmented
- Difficult to blend things with

Method of Application:
1. Either pick up product directly onto the brush OR dot product onto face with fingers
2. Start brushing the product on face from the center outwards (i.e: center of forehead to the hairline; nose to the cheeks...etc)
3. Repeat until you like the result.

Sponge Equivalents (See Below)
(a) Disposable Wedges


2. Stippling Brush
A stippling brush typically has 2 layers of bristles, usually shorter black and longer white ones.
Densely packed shorter natural hair bristles, with longer more sparsely distributed synthetic bristles.

Pros:
- Good for liquids and cream products
- Gives an airbrushed look if applied correctly
- Builds up coverage easily

Cons:
- Too sparsely packed for powder products
- Technique is more time consuming

Method of Application:
1. Spot product onto your face OR lightly dip the SYNTHETIC bristles into product
2. DAB the brush lightly all over the face (hence the name, Stippling brush)
3. If there's any area which doesn't seem to blend well enough, lightly swirl the brush over it, but stippling should be the main mode of action

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
(a) Disposable Wedges


3. Kabuki Brush
A Kabuki brush is generally an extremely short handled brush, densely packed with short to medium length natural bristles, forming a flat top or domed brush shape.

Pros:
- Ideal for powder products
- Easy to use
- Fairly quick application
- IF used with a good coverage powder fondation (e.g.: MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation) can give a flawless matte finish

Cons:
- Can look cakey if too much foundation is applied (minimize by using a makeup setting spray!)
- Build up of product may emphasize dry spots and eczema
- Bit difficult to get used to the short handle

Method of Application:
1. Hold the stubby handle of thebrush with ALL 5 fingers
2. Swirl the brush into your powder compact
3. Tap off the excess (if your powder compact gives a lot of fallout, if not... skip)
4. Place the brush on face and swirl the brush over your face to buff the foundation onto your face
5. Repeat to cover all your face.

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
(a) Disposable Wedges
(b) Foundation Pads


4. Powder Brush
A powder brush looks like the older brother of a blush brush, usually with a round ferule.
It can be medium to densely packed with medium to long natural bristles.
The powder brush in the image provided looks pretty small compared to the kabuki brush, but compare it to the blush brush!

Pros:
- Good for lightweight powders (e.g.: Loose powders)

Cons:
- Not for liquid or cream products
- Not ideal to apply powder foundation

Method of Application:
1. Tap out loose powder into the cap of the bottle
2. Dip the brush into the cap
3. Lightly press the product onto your face OR brush lightly onto the face (pressing is better though!)
4. Repeat as necessary.
5. Use the brush to brush off the excess powder off your face

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
(c) Velour Puffs


5. Angled Blush Brush
An angled blush brush is basically a blush brush where the bristles are arranged into a sloped shape

Pros:
- Good for powder blush, bronzer or contour
- Synthetic bristle brushes can be used with liquid or cream products
- Easy to 'carve' out the contours with the angled brush

Cons:
- None especially?

** The method of application depends on what you are going to use it for...

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
-Nil-


6. Blush Brush
An blush brush is a small brush which can have a flat or round ferule, usually not densely packed.

Pros:
- Can apply powder blush, bronzer or contour

- Synthetic bristle brushes can be used with liquid or cream products

Cons:
- Not as easy to use as an angled brush

** The method of application depends on what you are going to use it for...

Sponge Equivalents: (See Below)
-Nil-


(a) Disposable Wedges
Triangular latex sponges.

Pros:
- Most versatile tool, can be used for powder, liquid and cream products
- Soft texture makes it comfortable and easy to blend products

Cons:
- Absorb a lot of product
- Can get costly if you use many pieces, since it is disposable

Tips for application:
1. Moisten the sponge and squeeze out the excess water for ease of blending

Brushes it can replace: (See Above)
1. Foundation Brushes
2. Stippling Brush
3. Kabuki Brush


(b) Foundation Pads
Usually circular or rectangular latex sponges that come with compacts

Pros:
- Good for powder foundation
- Do not need to replace very often (every 3-4 months)

Cons:
- Absorb a lot of product
- Flat shape makes it more difficult to hold than disposable wedge
- Need to wash the sponge at least every 2-3 weeks

Brushes it can replace: (See Above)
3. Kabuki Brush


(c) Velour Puffs
Usually circular sponges, lined with cloth like material, which is fluffy!

Pros:
- Good for lightweight powders

Cons:
- Absorb a lot of product
- Should be washed every 2-3 weeks
- Need gentle care

Brushes it can replace: (See Above)
4. Powder Brush
Velour puffs maybe included in SOME blush products, but they do not really have the ability to help in application


DISCLAIMER:
Brush and sponge equivalents listed here are not perfect equivalents. Specific brushes have their benefits over the sponge equivalent, but you can replace them.

#05 - Brushes vs Sponges Part 1 (Hygiene)

Hey guys!
A short one this week... A bit swamped with school assignments and getting ready for AFA!

This was originally intended to be a extension of note #01 - Cosmetic Hygiene for brushes, but... well, that would be plain boring...
So, I decided to do a comparison between the use of brushes and sponges.

Ok, so first thing we need to confirm is that there are many types of brushes and many types of sponges.
But the most important thing is to be able to keep the brushes and sponges in good condition and with good hygiene!!
Since I'm quite short on time, this issue will focus on hygiene, a more detailed comparison will be made later in the series!

MAINTAINING THE HYGIENE OF BRUSHES
Brushes go into your product and onto your skin, the bristles trap dust, makeup and bacteria.
Over time, these build up and you may be breeding some very infective microbes in your brushes without knowing!
So what do you need to know?

Spot Cleaning

• This involves placing a wet wipe (e.g.: baby wipes, or antiseptic wipes) on your palm and swishing your brush bristles against it.
• If your brush has a flat ferule(e.g.: flat shader brushes, foundation brushes) move your brush in an back and forth motion, perpendicular to the brush
• If your brush does NOT have a flat ferule, move your brush in circular motions.
• Repeat until no more color is removed from the brush
• ** This should be done before and after you reuse the brush.

Deep Cleaning
There are 2 kinds of brush cleaners: Alcohol based and Soap based
A deep cleaning should be done every 1-2 weeks, depending on how much you use your brushes.
This is because of the very dusty air in Singapore.

Alcohol based Brush Cleaner

• Alcohol based brush cleaners can help dissolve hardened gel eyeliners among other things, BUT are very damaging to natural hair bristles.
• For alcohol based brush cleaners, dip the bristles into a dish (ceramic OR metal only) with the brush cleaner, swirl the brush inside a couple of times, then similar to spot cleaning, rub the bristles back and forth or in circular motions on a DRY towel or kitchen paper. Repeat till clean.
• Alcohol brush cleaner that I use on event days, so I can do makeup for many people with clean brushes, is bought from Cosmoprof Academy at POMO.

Soap based Brush Cleaner

• Soap based brush cleaners are more commonly used, BUT take a longer time to dry.
• For soap based brush cleaners, dip the brush into a dish with the brush cleaner diluted with a little water, then rub the bristles against your palm to lather it up. Rinse off the soap and press dry with a towel. Leave the brush to AIR-DRY lying on it's side.
• I use the sponge cleaner from Daiso as the soap in my homemade soap based brush cleaner mixture.
• Alternatively, you can use dishwashing soap.

MAINTAINING HYGIENE OF SPONGES
Similar to brushes, sponges build up a lot of junk, even more so because sponges absorb more oil than brushes.
There are many kinds of sponges.
Disposable ones (e.g: triangular makeup wedges), ones included in powder compacts, eyeshadow applicators... etc
They all have different uses, and can be used for different amounts of time

Disposable Sponges
Well, as the name suggests, these sponges are designed to be used once and thrown away.
For that reason, hygiene is not a question for them.

Powder Compact Sponges
In this section I refer to the circular or rectangular latex sponges used in compacts (e.g.: pressed powders, powder foundation... etc) as well as the velour puffs, fluffy type sponge, used in mineral foundations, loose powders... etc

• Both types of sponges are cleaned in the same way, but the velour puffs are more delicate and should be handled more gently.
• Use a soap based cleaner. I use the sponge cleaner from Daiso or handwashing soap.
• Dampen the sponges, drip 3-4 drops of sponge cleaner or handwashing soap onto it.
• Massage and squeeze the sponge until it lathers.
• Rinse and repeat if necessary.
• Squeeze the excess water out and lay out on a towel to air dry.
• * This should be done at least every month.

Note:
- Latex sponges are not designed to last very long, tears and rips may form and make it difficult to use.
- Change your compact sponge every 3-4 months.

Eyeshadow applicators
These are troublesome little buggers.
I really hate them...
Not only because they pick up too much color but also because when you try to wash them, they fall apart so easily!!

I would recommend tossing them out, and getting eyeshadow brushes... OTL

However... you can 'clean' them, well, sort of...
This method will not remove bacteria and junk, BUT it will help take off excess color so that you don't get a muddy color when applying a different color...

• Take a wet wipe (e.g.: baby wipe, antiseptic wipe) lay it on your palm.
• LIGHTLY run the applicator over the wipe.
• Repeat until no more color comes off.

I'll write more next time... I swear
Tesun