Best Makeup Brushes for Mature Skin | Eyes

Here’s part two of my “Best Makeup Brushes for Mature Skin of 2015”. I’ve already posted the best brushes for face makeup, and now it’s time to concentrate on the eyes. As with face makeup, using the right brushes to apply eyeshadow has completely transformed my abilities for the better!

I never knew there were so many shapes and sizes of eyeshadow brushes or how to choose the right tool for the job. Now that I’ve had the chance to use lots of different brands and lots of different styles, I’ve discovered what works best for my “less than perfect” eyelids.

To have success on mature lids with wrinkled, or sagging, or crepey skin requires a different brush for each part of the lid, but they all need to be soft so they don’t drag the eyelid skin and cause the eyeshadow to skip.

Here are the 4 types of brushes I recommend and how to use them to get the most out of your eyeshadow application.

Eyeshadow Packing/Shading Brushes: Most shading brushes are flat and stiff with shorter bristles. Those can work fine but I find that they pull the eyelid skin too much. When using a standard shader like the Japonesque Eye Detailer Brush, it’s best to apply the eyeshadow to the moveable lid in short top to bottom strokes starting at the crease and ending at the lash line.

I prefer a wider, fluffier version of the standard shader like the IT Cosmetics Airbrush Allover Shadow #119 ($14). The soft, more loosely packed bristles don’t pull the eyelid skin and therefore apply the shadow more smoothly.

I also like the Beauty Junkees All Over Shader ($9.97 alone or $24.97 in a set of 8).

With a softer, wider brush the eyeshadow can be applied by sweeping it across the moveable lid with much less pulling on the eyelid skin.

Eyeshadow Crease Brushes: On mature people, the eyelid skin is looser and can start to sag forward (especially on those with hooded eyes) so it’s important to create the illusion of the skin receding so it looks less saggy. To do that I use a soft fluffy crease brush with an eyeshadow that’s 1-2 shades darker than my natural skin tone. Two of my faves are:

The IT Cosmetics Airbrush Blending Crease Brush #105 #105 ($14)

The Beauty Junkees Crease Brush ($9.97 alone or $24.97 in a set of 8).

Eyeshadow Detailers: Detail brushes are a specialty tool that the average person doesn’t have, but they make all the difference when trying to be successful with eyeshadow on older eyes. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is to keep areas of darkness very small and to control the placement of color. I always used to end up with too dark or too colorful shadow all the way up to my eyebrow (Not pretty)!

I recently purchased the MAC Mini Tapered Blending #221 Brush ($25) and it’s become my absolute favorite! The longer bristles and the tapered shape make it so easy to place my darkest shadows exactly where I want them!

Another good option is the Beauty Junkees Pro Pencil Brush ($9.97 alone or $24.97 in a set of 8).

Eyeshadow Blenders: The last step and the one that makes the eyeshadow look more natural and seamless is blending. For this step I like to use a clean brush that I never dip into a pan of eyeshadow. Again, long, soft, fluffy bristles are the key to avoiding tugging and skipping.

The best brush I have for blending is the Beauty Junkees Pro Tapered Blending Brush ($9.97 alone or $24.97 in a set of 8).

I also have the Sigma Tapered Blending E40 Brush ($16) which is nice and almost identical to the Beauty Junkees blender but the bristles are a hair too long so the brush head bends when I touch it to my eyelid so I prefer the BJ brush.

If you’re in the market for a good set of eyeshadow brushes that’ll get you started on the road to better eyeshadow application, I recommend the Beauty Junkees 9 Piece Pro Eyeshadow Brush Set ($24.97 on Amazon + Use my code 25HOTAND for 25% off any single brush or brush set):

It contains everything you need become a pro at eyeshadow and to follow along with any of my eyeshadow tutorials!

If you have some brushes already but they’re just not working for your suddenly crepey lids, I’d recommend the IT Cosmetics Airbrush Allover Shadow #119, and IT Cosmetics Airbrush Blending Crease Brush #105 featured above.

And, lastly if you have brushes that work well for you but want to add one special brush, I highly recommend the MAC Mini Tapered Blending #221 Brush.

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