Makeup brushes are an underestimated part of our beauty routines. It's easy to get distracted with the slew of glow-inducing highlighters and eye-catching eyeshadow palettes available—until it comes time to apply them. Whether you're a beauty pro or a novice, makeup brushes remain the most integral part of depositing makeup for whatever result you’re looking to achieve.
For most people, investing in a makeup brush set, versus buying each brush individually, makes sense. We tested out the most frequently used brush types (foundation brush, powder brush, and eye crease brush) from 11 makeup brush sets of varying price and quality. Our conclusion: The Real Techniques Everyday Essentials (available at Amazon for $17.37) won the title of Best Overall for its feather-soft bristles, ability to beautifully blend makeup as well as withstand washing without losing structure, and great value.
These are the best makeup brush sets we tested ranked, in order:
- Real Techniques Everyday Essentials
- Morphe Jaclyn Hill The Master Collection
- IT Brushes for Ulta Your Superheroes Travel Makeup Brush Set
- Sigma Beauty Essential Brush Set
- E.L.F. Cosmetics Set of 12 Brushes
- BH Cosmetics Rose Romance Brush Set
- EcoTools Makeup Brush Set
- Yoseng Makeup Brush Set
- Bestope 16-Piece Makeup Brush Set
- Syntus Makeup Brush Set
Our Favorite Makeup Brushes of 2021
BEST OVERALL
Real Techniques Everyday Essentials
Pros
- Extra-soft bristles
- Durable build
- Affordable
Cons
- Foundation brush not ideal for cream foundation
- No storage solution included
Real Techniques Everyday Essentials
The Expert Face Brush, 402 Setting Brush, and Deluxe Crease Brush found in the Real Techniques Everyday Essentials five-piece, the synthetic set was hands-down the best brushes we tried.
The bristles of the Expert Face Brush, which I used for applying both cream and liquid foundations, are tightly packed, meaning the liquid foundation looked smooth and streak-free. The shape of the brush isn't perfectly cylindrical like most of the other foundation brushes we tested; rather, it's flat on its front and back. The cream foundation took a bit more blending, as it's a thicker formula than liquid, but the effort still yielded an airbrushed appearance.
The 402 Setting Brush was the only powder brush tested that I loved for dusting on both setting powder and for blush and bronzer. The bristles are fluffy and not densely packed like the Expert Face Brush, and it didn't absorb an excessive amount of product, meaning that what I applied onto the brush was exactly how much product appeared on my skin.
As for the Deluxe Crease Brush, it has short bristles and a round, dome shape, which fit the curvature of my round eyes perfectly and deposited exactly the quantity of eyeshadow I expected with every swipe. If you don't have a defined crease (the contour between the lid and the browbone), you may find it too fluffy of a brush for the deliberate application of shadow for creating the illusion of depth. However, the crease brush is excellent for other steps in your routine, such as dabbing concealer on the inner corner of your eyes, spreading your eyeshadow primer on your lid, or precise tasks like contouring around the nose.
Across all three of the Real Techniques brushes we tested, the bristles felt feather-soft and didn't lose their texture, even after I washed them with my Zote Laundry Bar Soap. Assuming these three brushes are indicative of the whole set, which also includes a setting brush and a blending sponge, we think this is the best option for the majority of makeup wearers. What’s more, price-wise, it’s one of the most inexpensive options, costing less for the entire set than many of the most expensive brushes do individually. A minor drawback is that it does not come with any storage solution for the brushes, as other sets on this list did, including our Best Upgrade option.
Morphe x Jaclyn Hill The Master Collection
Morphe began as a makeup brush brand but has since become an all-encompassing cosmetics brand. The Master Collection comes with 24 makeup brushes (more than any other set we tested) that are a mix of natural hair and synthetic. There are 14 eye brushes of varying sizes and shapes, which may feel overwhelming for a beginner but be thrillingly thorough for a pro.
For my testing, I used the natural hair JH32 transition blender brush for my eyeshadow, the synthetic JH03 for my foundation, and the natural hair JH01 brush for my powder. The JH32 stood out most, as I found that it applied colors above the crease and in the crease accurately and evenly. Though it's larger than a typical crease defining brush, it has a slightly tapered shape, so it was effective at seamlessly layering the glitter on my lid over my crease color. Each brush in this set has a purpose, withstood washing, and delivered even results. The storage box, though bulky, fits all of the brushes nicely and has room for a few more face brushes or several eye brushes.
E.L.F. Professional Set of 12 Brushes
E.L.F. is one of my go-to affordable makeup brands, and though a lot of its products have proven to be a hit or miss for me, this 12-piece synthetic set fell in the dead center of this list. It’s called a professional brush set, but I wouldn't classify it as “professional,” as it excludes some key brushes a makeup artist would use (a fan brush, an angled eyeliner brush, and a pencil brush, to name a few). That said, the brushes come out to $1 each, which is a good deal if you're just getting into makeup and need a few starter brushes.
The powder brush, in particular, has longer bristles than the ones found in the Real Techniques set (and others), which made it difficult to deposit loose powder on my skin because it didn't allow for much control. Another finding: The crease brush is short and dome-shaped, which is good for things like blurring the lower lash line, but not ideal for creating a smokey crease, a look that’s best achieved with long, tapered bristles.
Still, you don't have to have artistic makeup skills to work with these brushes, as each one is labeled with its primary use (like the Sigma Beauty set). Another bonus is that the brushes came with a plastic sleeve to cover the bristles when not in use, which helps keep them contained and free of dust particles that would otherwise get on them as they sit in a brush holder.
In the end, I felt neutral about this set. It didn't have the fluffiness of the Real Techniques or Sephora Collection sets, but it's not a bad choice if you're looking for a drugstore-priced option.
EcoTools Start The Day Beautifully Kit
This five-piece brush set from Ecotools has more than 6,000 5-star reviews on Amazon. The bristles are made of 80% bamboo fibers and 20% cotton and the handles contain recycled aluminum and plastic.
The angled brush intended for foundation application is the smallest foundation brush out of all of the ones we tested. This meant it covered less surface area at once and resulted in a longer application process. Because it’s angled, it was easy to apply foundation along the crevices of my nose and under eyebrows, but the shape wasn't ideal for buffing cream or liquid foundation on cheeks because it wasn't flat-topped. The crease brush is dome-shaped and wider than others we tested, and a few of the bristles were sticking out in a different direction from the others. Because of the large size of the brush, the bristles would disrupt the glitter that was already on the lid as I was blending my crease.
I liked the tray that came with the set—if your vanity has the space to store brushes while they're laying down (versus standing up in a brush holder), this is a good option. It's also great for traveling because it's a hard, protective tray. This isn’t a bad option, but there are other sets on this list, some at more affordable prices, that beat it out.
Yoseng Makeup Brushes Set
With their unconventional oval shape, these synthetic Yoseng makeup brushes don't look like your standard brushes. But as a lover of testing out different application methods, I was excited to try this set 10-piece out. Unfortunately, my experience fell flat. The oval-shaped foundation brush soaked up an excessive amount of liquid foundation, which meant I had to keep applying more layers to attempt to get it to look even. It also applied my cream foundation in streaks because the bristles were not uniform—many of the hairs were sticking out and cut unevenly.
The powder brush’s densely packed bristles leave you only with the ability to push the powder into the skin instead of dusting it out like you typically would with a powder brush. When I attempted to disperse the setting powder all over my face in a swirling motion, it disrupted my foundation underneath—not an easy thing to fix once liquid and powder mix together. If anything, I’d use this brush for cream blush because that's a product I typically tap into the skin.
Washing these brushes takes longer than most, on account of the dense bristles and larger relative sizes of all the brushes. If you like storing brushes in a brush roll, you'll find that these don't fit well because of their odd shape. This is not a beginner-friendly brush set and definitely has a learning curve.
Bestope Makeup Brushes 16 Piece Makeup Brush Set
The 16-piece Bestope brush set has nearly 20,000 5-star reviews on Amazon and a wallet-friendly price, making it appealing at first glance. However, I found the brushes were of poor quality. The handles felt flimsy, the foundation brush became detached from its ferrule after a single wash, and the other brushes became loose from their handles over multiple uses and cleaning sessions.
Though the synthetic bristles felt feathery-soft on the skin, many of them were noticeably sticking out from the pack and some of the hairs were longer than others. This resulted in patchy foundation application, specifically with the cream foundation, and overall uneven makeup look. Out of all of the brushes we tested in this set, the crease brush was the easiest to work with. Though the bristles on this brush still weren't uniform and the eyeshadow appeared blotchy, it applied the product where I wanted it to go. Bottom line: There are better brush sets in this list that are just as affordable.
Syntus Makeup Brush Set
Across all three brushes tested from this 16-piece, synthetic Syntus set, the bristles were of different lengths and not uniform. The bristles in the powder brush are tightly packed together, which makes it difficult to get an airbrushed finish with powder. The set comes with a silicone cleaning pad to wash your brushes, but its size is smaller than the palm of your hand so cleaning becomes a lengthy process if you have multiple brushes to clean.
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