The Best Makeup Brushes of 2026

Morphe began as a makeup brush brand but has since become an all-encompassing cosmetics brand. The Master Collection comes with 24 makeup brushes (more than any other set we tested) that are a mix of natural hair and synthetic. There are 14 eye brushes of varying sizes and shapes, which may feel overwhelming for a beginner but be thrillingly thorough for a pro.

For my testing, I used the natural hair JH32 transition blender brush for my eyeshadow, the synthetic JH03 for my foundation, and the natural hair JH01 brush for my powder. The JH32 stood out most, as I found that it applied colors above the crease and in the crease accurately and evenly. Though it's larger than a typical crease defining brush, it has a slightly tapered shape, so it was effective at seamlessly layering the glitter on my lid over my crease color. Each brush in this set has a purpose, withstood washing, and delivered even results. The storage box, though bulky, fits all of the brushes nicely and has room for a few more face brushes or several eye brushes.

I'm no stranger to It Cosmetics brushes—they've rightfully earned a spot in my makeup repertoire because they're super-soft and feel luxurious with their weight and durability. First up in my formal testing of this synthetic, six-piece set: the foundation brush. This brush, which looks more like a paintbrush with its long bristles and flat sides, tends to be a makeup artist favorite because it allows even application of foundation all over the face before blending. What this means, though, is that it’s too flat for creating a perfectly smooth, diffused finish, so you'll need to reach for a different brush (like a buffing brush, which is not included) for the second step. Though it's extra work, it made a huge difference in the outcome of my face makeup—both the cream and liquid foundations looked like they were airbrushed on. With this shape of foundation brush, I prefer to use a finger to apply and thin the foundation onto the back of my hand, then use the brush to swipe up a little bit of product from hand to face at a time. The bristles don't soak up any product, so the amount I applied on the brush is exactly what ended up on my skin. From there, I built up layers to reach my ideal level of coverage before going over with a clean, dry buffing brush to blend.

The powder brush feels exceptionally plush on the skin—almost like velvet. It is a very fluffy brush, best used for setting powder. When I used it with a highly pigmented blush that would otherwise apply overly-concentrated with a denser brush, it gave my skin a subtle wash of color, which I liked. On the other hand, its light touch made it ill-suited for concentrating bronzer in specific areas to make them appear sunkissed. As for the crease brush, it was great for blending two eyeshadows together or layering on glitter, but I didn't find the bristle tips tapered enough for defining the crease.

The 12 brushes in the Sigma Beauty Essential Brush Set are made of its proprietary SigmaTech synthetic fibers, which claim to hold the right amount of product and apply with ease. Like the foundation brush from the It Cosmetics set, the foundation brush in this set looks like a paintbrush, which made it easy to build up my cream and liquid foundation in layers, but not so effective at blending. (You’ll have to follow up with the included duo fibre brush for that.) For the crease brush, I used the E40 in this set. Though this was once a highly acclaimed crease brush for beauty buffs, I found that the bristles are a bit too long and tapered to create a well-blended transition color between the lid and the brow bone.

I own several Sigma Beauty makeup brushes (some I’ve had for four years), and they've withstood every wash without coming apart or shedding. The brushes in this set are also labeled with their intended use. That said, Sigma Beauty's brushes are noticeably stiffer and less soft than the ones from Real Techniques, Sephora Collection, and It Cosmeticsother makeup brushes we tested.

E.L.F. is one of my go-to affordable makeup brands, and though a lot of its products have proven to be a hit or miss for me, this 12-piece synthetic set fell in the dead center of this list. It’s called a professional brush set, but I wouldn't classify it as “professional,” as it excludes some key brushes a makeup artist would use (a fan brush, an angled eyeliner brush, and a pencil brush, to name a few). That said, the brushes come out to $1 each, which is a good deal if you're just getting into makeup and need a few starter brushes.

The powder brush, in particular, has longer bristles than the ones found in the Real Techniques set (and others), which made it difficult to deposit loose powder on my skin because it didn't allow for much control. Another finding: The crease brush is short and dome-shaped, which is good for things like blurring the lower lash line, but not ideal for creating a smokey crease, a look that’s best achieved with longer, tapered bristles.

Still, you don't have to have artistic makeup skills to work with these brushes, as each one is labeled with its primary use (like the Sigma Beauty set). Another bonus is that the brushes came with a plastic sleeve to cover the bristles when not in use, which helps keep them contained and free of dust particles that would otherwise get on them as they sit in a brush holder.

In the end, I felt neutral about this set. It didn't have the fluffiness of the Real Techniques or Sephora Collection sets, but it's not a bad choice if you're looking for a drugstore-priced option.

The 12 synthetic brushes in this BH Cosmetics set feel ultra-smooth to the touch. The rose gold hardware makes them display-worthy, and the storage bag it comes with can be used to store your essential makeup products as well as the brushes themselves, which I’d find useful for traveling. The set has a whole also includes several eye brushes for intricate looks.

The biggest selling point of the foundation brush is that it has a flat top, which means it covers more surface area and makes blending a thick cream foundation a quicker process than if I were to use a rounded brush. The powder brush is impressively fluffy and when used with a translucent powder, dusted an even amount of product all over my face. But things took a turn for the worse when I tested the crease brush. The bristles are too long and dense, which made achieving a smokey eye look near impossible, as the eyeshadow kept sticking to one spot rather than blend out.

This five-piece brush set from Ecotools has more than 6,000 5-star reviews on Amazon. The bristles are made of 80% bamboo fibers and 20% cotton and the handles contain recycled aluminum and plastic.

The angled brush intended for foundation application is the smallest foundation brush out of all of the ones we tested. This meant it covered less surface area at once and resulted in a longer application process. Because it’s angled, it was easy to apply foundation along the crevices of my nose and under eyebrows, but the shape wasn't ideal for buffing cream or liquid foundation on cheeks because it wasn't flat-topped. The crease brush is dome-shaped and wider than others we tested, and a few of the bristles were sticking out in a different direction from the others. Because of the large size of the brush, the bristles would disrupt the glitter that was already on the lid as I was blending my crease.

I liked the tray that came with the set—if your vanity has the space to store brushes while they're laying down (versus standing up in a brush holder), this is a good option. It's also great for traveling because it's a hard, protective tray. This isn’t a bad option, but there are other sets on this list , some at more affordable prices, that beat it out.

With their unconventional oval shape, these synthetic Yoseng makeup brushes don't look like your standard brushes. But as a lover of testing out different application methods, I was excited to try this set 10-piece out. Unfortunately, my experience fell flat. The oval-shaped foundation brush soaked up an excessive amount of liquid foundation, which meant I had to keep applying more layers to attempt to get it to look even. It also applied my cream foundation in streaks because the bristles were not uniform—many of the hairs were sticking out and cut unevenly.

The powder brush’s densely packed bristles leave you only with the ability to push powder into the skin instead of dusting it out like you typically would with a powder brush. When I attempted to disperse the setting powder all over my face in a swirling motion, it disrupted my foundation underneath—not an easy thing to fix once liquid and powder mix together. If anything, I’d use this brush for cream blush because that's a product I typically tap into the skin.

Washing these brushes takes longer than most, on account of the dense bristles and larger relative sizes of all the brushes. If you like storing brushes in a brush roll, you'll find that these don't fit well because their odd shape. This is not a beginner-friendly brush set and definitely has a learning curve.

The 16-piece Bestope brush set has nearly 20,000 5-star reviews on Amazon and a wallet-friendly price, making it appealing at first glance. However, I found the brushes were poor quality. The handles felt flimsy, the foundation brush became detached from its ferrule after a single wash, and the other brushes became loose from their handles over multiple uses and cleaning sessions.

Though the synthetic bristles felt feathery-soft on the skin, many of them were noticeably sticking out from the pack and some of the hairs were longer than others. This resulted in patchy foundation application, specifically with the cream foundation, and an overall uneven makeup look. Out of all of the brushes we tested in this set, the crease brush was the easiest to work with. Though the bristles on this brush still weren't uniform and the eyeshadow appeared blotchy, it applied the product where I wanted it to go. Bottom line: There are better brush sets in this list that are just as affordable.

Across all three brushes tested from this 16-piece, synthetic Syntus set, the bristles were of different lengths and not uniform. The bristles in the powder brush are tightly packed together, which makes it difficult to get an airbrushed finish with powder. The set comes with a silicone cleaning pad to wash your brushes, but its size is smaller than the palm of your hand so cleaning becomes a lengthy process if you have multiple brushes to clean.