I saw this tip when I was checking out the book Rae Morris: Makeup – The Ultimate Guide at Borders last Friday, and I thought I had to share it with you. Rae Morris is a top makeup artist in Australia, who has won the prestigious Australian Makeup Artist of the Year award four times over. She’s also the Makeup Director at Australian Fashion Week.

In other words,  the real shizz.

How to choose the good quality – not necessarily expensive – makeup brushes. I’m going to let you in on one of the best kept secrets in buying making brushes, and it’s so simple.

Whenever you want to buy a makeup brush, balance it on its very tip. Hold the brush vertically on the back of your hand, bristles down, and lightly bounce the brush to test the strength of the bristles. The bristles should only have a slight bend; if they splay, or flatten completely, then the brush will be too difficult to use, and the makeup will go everywhere except where you want to put it.

When you are doing detailed work such as applying eyeliner or defining a brow, you need to add a little pressure with your brush as you apply it. If you have a bad brush, the slightest pressure will move the bristles from 1mm to (if it’s really nasty) 5mm. That is a huge distance when you are talking about an eyeliner.

– Rae Morris: Makeup – The Ultimate Guide