My “well-loved” (a.k.a. dirty) Laura Mercier finishing Brush
Duo fiber face brushes, which are in some cases called skunk brushes, are great if you like wearing foundation or tinted moisturizer and really like it when your face makeup looks natural.

The one I’m holding here is the finishing brush by Laura Mercier, and it’s my favorite duo fiber face brush because of how broad it is, which I love because it covers a large area and speeds up blending, but really, there are lots of them out there that work well.

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One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that the higher-priced ones typically don’t shed as much as drugstore versions do and tend to last longer.

But that’s not a hard and fast rule.

I use ’em to fine-tune my blending and thin-out my face products — liquid foundations, tinted moisturizers, stick foundations, powders, etc. — wherever I’ve unintentionally applied too much. I’ll gently run the brush across my cheeks, nose, mouth, chin and forehead after I’ve applied whichever face products I happen to be wearing, and that helps everything look much more even and seamless.

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One of the things I’ve been very obsessed with lately (in case you haven’t noticed) is even skin tone, except without my makeup looking heavy, caked-on or obvious, and duo fiber face brushes really help with that. Their brush heads and bristles typically aren’t as dense as regular powder and blush brushes.

Ones like the this one from Laura have a very light touch that really blends and pushes product across the skin, while other, denser brushes will often lift foundation and tinted moisturizer away from the skin, thereby removing it.

I’ll typically start by applying a primer with my fingers, then a foundation or tinted moisturizer with my fingers (or a beautyblender), and then I’ll gently run a duo fiber brush around my face while the foundation or tinted moisturizer is still wet, because once it dries, it’s much harder to buff and blend.

If I’m also wearing powder on top of my foundation that day, I’ll apply it with a fluffy powder brush, then get my duo fiber brush one much more time and gently run it across my skin again.

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BONUS: These brushes are also great if you unintentionally apply too much bronzer and/or blush, a.k.a. the story of my life! I’ll just run them across my cheekbones to blend away the excess.

Your friendly neighborhood charm addict,

Karen