What Brush Do You Use For Mineral Foundation?

Finding the best makeup brush for your mineral foundation will help your application technique and also ensure an even, flawless coverage, for a natural-looking base. To help you curate your perfect makeup brush kit, we've put together this handy brush guide.

Whether liquid, powder, or cream stick, whatever your foundation preference, the foundation brush you choose will need to work with your formula to give you even coverage and a flawless finish.

It might be tempting to use inexpensive brushes, but these actually need replacing more often, and won't always deliver that smooth, even effect. Investing high-quality, vegan, cruelty-free brushes is not only great for your wallet in the long-run as they'll last longer but you'll also be creating less waste too. Just make sure you're taking care of your brushes and practicing good brush hygiene.

What Are The Different Foundation Brush Shapes?

It's not always a one-size-fits-all approach for foundation makeup brushes. Getting the best brush to suit the texture of your formula and the coverage, is key. Look to bristles, density, and shape.

Kabuki Brushes

Kabuki brushes combine a rounded shape with full bristles for intense color payoff. Flat-top kabuki brushes will give you the most coverage because the flat surface lays against your skin, transferring more product.

Flat Brushes

Instead of buffing in circular motions, with a thin, flat foundation brush you paint the product onto your face, starting at the center and blending outwards. You can achieve sheer to full coverage with a flat foundation brush.

Dome Brushes

Dome brushes give you the ability to be more precise with applying your mineral foundation. The amount of precision you'll get depends on the density of the bristles, or in other words, how tightly they're packed. A full, dense brush will deposit more, while a medium-density brush can create a more natural look and lean toward medium coverage. This rounded shape works well for finishing powder as well as foundation, and works great with powder blush too.

Natural Hair vs. Synthetic Bristles

Natural hair brushes were once the reliable choice for mineral powder foundation because of how well the powder clung to the brush. However, the technology behind synthetic brushes has drastically improved in recent history. With our dedication to vegan, cruelty-free products, our entire brush category is exclusively synthetic brushes. These brushes have increased softness which aids in feel and application, as well as the ability to lightly grip product like powders and gently distribute over the skin. Another added benefit of synthetic brushes is that they don't pose the same allergy or sensitive skin concerns as natural brushes.

The best makeup brushes

What Brush Do You Use for Mineral Foundation?

For Powder Foundation: 101 Pro Kabuki Brush

The full head and dense, synthetic hairs make the Kabuki brush perfect for medium to full coverage powder foundation application or all-over blending.

For Loose Powder: 103 Tapered Setting Powder Brush

Created for loose powder, the Tapered Setting Powder Brush creates a natural finish and coverage. The pointed, tulip shape tip makes it easier to get into smaller areas, like the under eyes and around the nose. This brush is amazingly soft and feels silky on your skin. Swirl it into your loose powder foundation and tap off the excess before sweeping the product onto the skin.

For Pressed Powder: 104 Dual Fiber Face Brush

Designed for pressed powder, this brush head is full but not as dense as the Dual Foundation/Camouflage or Pro Kabuki brushes, so you can get sheer to full coverage. Because the shorter bristles are densely packed, they can better hold and transfer powder, while the longer bristles are soft against the skin and help buff out product.

For Liquid Foundation: 105 Flat-top Kabuki Brush

Designed with Luminous Liquid Foundation SPF 18 in mind, this Flat-top Kabuki Brush gives full coverage and a smooth, even application. Lightly buff the liquid mineral makeup onto the skin in a circular motion, blending as you go.

For All Foundation: 109 Dual Foundation/Camouflage Brush

This dual-ended brush is the ultimate foundation multitasker. The small end is ideal for precise concealer application, and the large end is perfect for foundation. Since it’s dense and domed, it mimics the feel and pressure of using your fingers but gives your mineral makeup liquid a smooth finish with its synthetic bristles.