Tiana became a makeup artist while growing up in a small town in her mom's hair salon. She has been in the industry for 17+ years working on celebrities, performing agency work, which included music videos and commercials, weddings, private clients, photoshoots and fitness models. She started at Armani Cosmetics and furthered her career at MAC, then branched out to build her career as a freelance artist and owner of Tiana Rae Artistry.
They come in all shapes and sizes and cover all price points. You can find them pretty much everywhere and you likely use one or more in your daily makeup routine. But how much do you really know about makeup brushes? We wanted to get the scoop on which brushes are the best and for what uses, so we consulted professional makeup artist Tiana Holiday and here’s what she had to say.
You must have good quality brushes and they must be clean. You can invest in a brush cleaner and use it with a paper towel daily, but along with that, cleaning them weekly with warm to hot water and a gentle liquid hand soap or baby shampoo will do the trick.
I am a huge fan of MAC brushes, although they have a steep price. Just know that I have had some of my favorite brushes for over 15 years. Remember, the better the bristles, the better they apply the products. And in general, when it comes to selecting brushes, the darker the color, the smaller the brush you should use.
I prefer the Fluffy brushes, like MAC #217, which is my eyeshadow holy grail. I use it in a circular motion to blend the colors and I use a different brush for each color.
Other main eyeshadow brushes are the MAC pencil brush #219 to smoke out the bottom eyeliner and apply a crease color.
For foundation and concealers, I love the Beauty Blender. You can get one at Sephora, or even online from Amazon. MAC brush #168 is my go to for highlight and contour powders. Stila has the best powder brush that I use for bronzer. You can find it online . I also love MAC #182 Kabuki Buffer brush for powders.
Tiana Holiday is a professional makeup artist with 17+ years experience in the industry working with celebrities, on music videos and commercials, weddings, private clients, photoshoots and fitness models. She is the owner of Tiana Rae Artistry.
With a lot of makeup products, there is a huge difference between higher end and a drugstore brand. But in the last four years, drugstore brands have been stepping up their game. They are closing the quality gap and are still charging a lot less. The question of whether designer makeup is worth double or triple the cost of its drugstore makeup counterpart – products sometimes called “dupes” in the industry – comes down to more than just one factor.
Knowing when to splurge on high end products and when to try out a drugstore brand is becoming easier with social media. Youtubers are pretty honest about comparing the top products and their dupes. Also, Instagram is a huge resource for beauty product reviews. If you want to know more about one, research the hashtag of that product. (Just be cautious of people pushing products because they are getting paid to “review it”.)
Here are some of my favorite products, both high end and drugstore dupes.
Blush
I love MAC blushes because they have great colors, great pigments and last long. My favorites are Melba, Warm Soul and Dainty. I also love Nars Orgasm blush, but I don’t like the packaging – it gets sticky for some reason. The drugstore brand Milani has amazing baked blushes; Luminoso is unreal but all of them are great tones.
Mascara
I would say go for a drugstore brand of mascara because they’re cost effective and there are so many options. Also, mascaras should be thrown out every one to three months. Period. I love Maybelline Great Lash and Loreal. My favorite high end mascaras are Dior Show and MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash.
Lipsticks
Choose higher end lipsticks because the color payoff is better, they smell better and they last longer. MAC matte lipsticks are my favorite but I love the new line Melt lipsticks. Also, Jefferey Stars Liquid Lipsticks beat everyone on the market. I want my lipstick to stay on and with these brands, it does.
Lip Gloss
I love certain companies’ lipglosses but as a whole, I would push drugstore brands lately. NYX Butter Glosses are giving me life right now. Revlon Balm stains are used daily in my kit.
Concealer, Powder, and Foundation
I would go with a higher end concealer and foundation because of the artist’s ability to match you and get you exactly what you need and want when you purchase. In this case, you are paying for quality products and the companies’ makeup artists’ training and knowledge of the products. I use MAC, Armani, Loreal and Burts Bees.
Eyeshadows and Eyeliners
This is a true toss up! I can blend anything if I have a good base product and the right brushes, but I mainly use MAC, Melt stacks and Armani. I like them matte and with a lot of pigment.
If you’re a diehard fan of your favorite designer blush, that increases the product’s worth to you. Still, just because you purchased something at a department store counter doesn’t automatically make it superior to something you could purchase at a drugstore. You might just be paying for the pretty packaging when a drugstore dupe would work just as well.
Tiana Holiday is a professional makeup artist with 17+ years experience in the industry working with celebrities, on music videos and commercials, weddings, private clients, photoshoots, and fitness models. She is the owner of Tiana Rae Artistry.
I think as far as beauty mistakes women make, in general, it boils down to the time they take to buy it and apply it. Specifically, there are a few mistakes I see women make on a daily basis, some with pretty simple fixes. But, everyone is in such a hurry and they miss those couple extra moments to sit down with an artist and learn from them.
With makeup being a beauty standard, women are now starting to take more notice and advice from the professionals, although that advice and the time of an experienced artist costs money. These are some of the biggest makeup mistakes I see almost every day, and I’m giving them to you free of charge 🙂
1. Foundation not matching your skin tone
Regardless of if you want to look tanner, you do not like your skin tone or you are trying to hide dark circles or dark spots, everyone should get a color that is correct for them. Spending some time asking questions and trying products on in a makeup-based store will save you many headaches and over time will save you money. Makeup artists are trained in those products and deal with different skin types and tones day in and day out.
The best way to find a great foundation is to pay attention to what your skin does during the day. Is your skin oily, dry or a combo of both? Then the formula comes into play – do you prefer powder, cream or liquid?
The best way to color match is not on your hand or chin but along your forehead and down into the neck. Pay attention to the neck tone – is it warmer and more pink, or cooler and more yellow? Does it pull a reddish or green tone? All of these questions and concerns need to be addressed, and every person wearing makeup has different needs. You will only know the answers to them all if you go to an artist or consult a makeup line that has trained professionals in their arsenal. If you don’t happen to gel with that artist, nicely ask for another artist to help you. We only get what we want if we are polite and inquisitive and that goes for makeup shopping as well.
2. Dry skin
No foundation or combo of products will look good if your skin is dry or not taken care of properly! So invest in good cleaning products, a good moisturizer, eye cream and exfoliator, either in the form of a buff pad, Clarisonic or volcanic ash exfoliator. They do not have to be expensive but they should have benefitting ingredients in them.
I am a huge fan of simple solutions like drinking more water and putting coconut oil on my face, hair and body every day. I even take my makeup off with coconut oil. Trader Joe’s coconut oil (for only about $5) is the best investment one can make; I keep one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
3. Not cleaning your brushes
You cannot have pretty, long-lasting makeup with good skin if you do not take care of your tools, especially any brush or sponge that touches a cream or liquid. I suggest using MAC’S brush cleaner with a paper towel daily; but along with that, I highly recommend cleaning them weekly with warm to hot water and a gentle liquid hand soap or baby shampoo. Lay them flat and let them air dry overnight. Pro sponges and beauty blenders need to be cleaned after every use. That extra time here is not only recommended but mandatory for your overall skin health and makeup looks. Makeup Artists are only as good as their brushes are clean.
4. Too much bronzer and too much blush
Now don’t get me wrong, I lovelovelove blush and bronzer but a little goes a long way. Bronzer should go on after your powder and use it to shade the face and add warmth. Also blend it into your neck; the chin shields the sun from your neck so go ahead and blend a little bronzer there.
Bronzer should be a nice golden yellow tone for lighter complexions and a little reddish for darker complexions. Use a big fluffy brush to apply a small amount first.
Blush should be applied in a dabbing or circular motion, not a sweeping back to the temple motion. Try using a small fluffy brush with an angle. Blush color depends on your skin tone, lip or eye colors being used. You can use many different shades, shiny or matte or you can mix a couple of different shades. Start with the blush color in between the apples of the cheek and the hollows of your cheek.
5. Black eyeliner in just the water line
I am a huge fan of black eyeliner – pencil, cream, gel, liquid, etc. If it’s black, I want it! It just looks very harsh if it’s not blended with an eyeshadow or softened with a brown bronzy eyeliner or another color.
My favorite way to wear a black pencil eyeliner in the water line is by setting it with a black eyeshadow and blending the eyeliner into the lash line and just below. I blend out the black shadow with another color as well, so the look is more of a faded smokey rather than a harsh line.
Tiana Holiday is a professional makeup artist with 17+ years experience in the industry working with celebrities, on music videos and commercials, weddings, private clients, photoshoots and fitness models. She is the owner of Tiana Rae Artistry.
A lifestyle magazine inspired by author Sylvia Day