Paint Your Face

I'm so happy to be a grown up, aren't you? I did a lot of silly things before becoming a grown up - like using the applicators and brushes that come with compacts of makeup. Now that I'm a certified Bombshell - all womanly woman - I know better. Whether using Cover Girl or Chanel, your makeup will not look the way Harper's Bazaar intended if you swipe it on with a sponge-tip applicator or one of those stubby little blush brushes.

A good set of brushes can last forever - I've had mine for 10 years - and will make a difference in the way your makeup looks. Whether you're creating a natural, no-makeup look or are going for a big-night-out face, you need very specific tools to blend, blend, blend. Blending is the key to a fantastic face, and brushes are the tools needed to correctly blend.

A basic brush set includes: eye shadow, eye blender, concealer, and blush.

Once you have the basics, you can add additional brushes specific to your routine such as: foundation (for the ultimate in flawless foundation application), eye liner, powder/kabuki and so on. Here are a few of my favorite brushes to get the job done:

Mark's selection of brushes are well-made and cost $5-6. Seriously. I especially like the eye blender brush, which feels silky soft on the eyelid, and the Blush/Bronzer brush. Swipe blush on using the side of the bristles; contour your face with bronzer using the flat head of the brush.

The Deluxe Short Brush Set from Bobbi Brown is the ultimate collection of sable-soft, magically effective brushes. At $150, it's an investment but one that you'll hang onto for years. I don't own anything from 1997 - except for my collection of brushes from Bobbi.

I questioned the need for a foundation brush until a MAC makeup artist used one on me. Then I shut my mouth and bought one. It was a good decision. I like the 190 because it really gets into the sides of my nose, which are perpetually red without serious intervention.