This $10 Makeup Brush Set Has Over 4,000 5-Star Reviews on Amazon (2024)

You can have the best skin care products and the most amazing makeup, but the truth about makeup is that the finished product will only look as good as the tools you use to put it on with. Artists don't use finger paints for a masterpiece, so you shouldn't use your hands to apply your makeup if you want a truly flawless finish. "Brushes have the ability to really buff product into the skin," says Patrick Ta, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Patrick Ta Beauty. "A great brush ensures even coverage, [and] has the ability to keep skin looking like skin."

Your makeup brushes should conceal imperfections and give all-day, natural-looking coverage, and using the wrong makeup brushes (or worse, your hands) can result in an uneven tone, streaky application, and blemishes peeking through. That's why our Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab experts teamed with professional makeup artists to find the best makeup brushes on the market.

In Lab testing, we collected 381 brushes from 63 brands ranging in price from $2 to $90, and surveyed 1,557 panelists to learn what's most important to consumers when shopping for makeup brushes, including price point, ease of use, feel on skin, and application results. We narrowed down the field to 65 brushes across six categories (eye shadow, foundation, concealer, blush, contour, and powder), obscured brand labels to remove any bias, and had our makeup artists put the brushes to the test to find the best of the best.

In case you're wondering if synthetic or natural makeup brushes are better:

In our tests, all of the top performing brushes were synthetic. Synthetic brushes are the best bet for most people — they're more precise, easier to clean, more versatile, and leave a great finish. Perhaps best of all, they're cruelty-free.

"Natural fiber brushes are usually made from some form of animal hair and are porous, so they trap more product," says Edwin Batista, director of education at Dr. Hauschka. Plus, brushes made with animal hair can be an allergen trigger, and since they're porous, they can only be used with powder products, says Beauty Lab senior chemist, Sabina Wizemann.

Below, are the best makeup brushes and sets you can buy, according to Beauty Lab experts, makeup artists, and reviewers.

In our lab tests, this IT Cosmetics powder brush earned a rare perfect scorefor all attributes, from how easy it was to hold and maneuverto its soft, gentle, yet effective bristles,and itsfoolproof application. It was the top scorer inall of our testing.A favorite of testers and pros alike. "It's the ideal size, shape, and density to cover all areas of the face," one tester said. "It is super soft but is alsodense enough."

This do-it-all shadow brush earnedperfect scores from our testersfor depositing makeup. "It's really flat,excellent for packing on shadow with high pigmentation because of itsflat, dense shape." It also got perfect scores forbeing soft and gentle on skin. Use it to apply cream, liquid, or powdershadow all over the lid.

Have under-eye circles or blemishes you need to camouflage? This little concealer brush got perfect scores for being gentle on skin and easy to maneuver, with bristles that are "soft enough to feather [concealer] out" for a natural-looking finish. One tester said that although it's a little small for the under-eye area,it's particularly "excellent for blemishes," since it packs pigment on well, which is the most important quality in a concealer brush.

Blush brushes are designed to be more precise than powder brushes, making them ideal for applying color to the cheeks. This Sigma Beauty brush impressed testers for its softness and maneuverability, and it scored well for applying and blending product. Amazon reviewers also love it, noting that"the bristles are soft and pick up plenty of pigment ... without turning my whole cheek pink." Use it by buffing blush on in circles, or by swiping up the cheekbones.

This brush basically works as wellan Instagramfilter: Theflat-top brush has tightly-packed bristles to help buff any kind offoundation (liquid or powder) into skin for an airbrushed look and aeven-toned finish. "Super user friendly, perfect medium density," said one tester."Bristles are soft and pliable." It was a star in our tests, and it's also one ofTa's personalfavorite. "It does a great job of blending foundation seamlessly into the skin."

An angled makeup brush is a multi-functional tool that's an essential part of a well-stocked makeup bag."You can use it for eyeliner, brows, and applying your lipstick," says Ta.The tightly packed, stiffbristles on this angled brush make it ideal for precise color with cream and powder products.

Consider this your desert-island brush, as it can be used with many products in many different ways. "Anall over powder brush is pretty important to have for loose, pressed, and bronzing face powders," says celebrity makeup artist, JillianDempsey.Ta also loves this Morphe brushfor its unique design: "Its tulip-shaped tip allows for setting powder to get into all the creases of your face.” That means yourmakeup will stay put all day long.