The 11 Best Blush Brushes of 2021

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The Rundown

Best Overall:

Bobbi Brown Blush Brush at Sephora

"The incredibly soft bristles are cut at an angle so that they hit the entire apple of the cheek."

Best Drugstore:

EcoTools Precision Blush Brush at Amazon

"This blush brush is good for your face and the planet."

Best for Powder Blush:

Charlotte Tilbury Powder & Sculpt Brush at Sephora

"It works with both loose and pressed powder, and the delicate fibers make for precise application."

Best Dual-Ended Brush:

Hourglass Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Brush at Sephora

"This one features two soft, PETA-approved Takla brush heads, one rounded and one tapered."

Best Budget:

Real Techniques Blush Brush at Amazon

"The synthetic bristles are soft, fluffy, and flexible, so you’ll get a smooth, professional-looking finish."

Best for Cream Blush:

MERIT Tapered Blending Brush at Sephora

"The dense, flat tip of this works incredibly well with creamy blush products."

Best for Beginners:

Fenty Beauty Face Shaping Brush 125 at Sephora

"It contains a slightly tapered brush head and a long, easy-to-hold handle."

Best Tapered Tip:

Sigma Beauty Powder/Blush Brush at Nordstrom

"The slightly beveled head ensures you get even coverage and a soft, diffused finish."

Best for All-Over:

Wet n Wild Blush Brush at Amazon

"Small enough to use on cheeks but large enough to apply face powders as well."

Best Luxury:

Chanel Blush Brush at Nordstrom

"It features a synthetic bristle so you can use it across powders and creams."

In This Article

Our Picks
Final Verdict
What to Look For
Why Trust Byrdie?

This goes without saying, but even the best blush on the market will look awful if applied the wrong way. That's why quality makeup brushes (including blush brushes) are equally worth investing in. These tools can be the difference between makeup that looks splotchy versus a natural look.

The only problem is that the market is flooded with options, many of which aren't necessarily up to snuff. To help you out, we sifted through the options to find the best blush brushes to use when you want a rosy glow.

Ahead, discover our picks of the best blush brushes.

Buy on Sephora Buy on Nordstrom Buy on Bluemercury.com

This award-winning brush makes applying blush practically foolproof. The bristles are designed to pick up the ideal amount of blush and leave the perfect amount on your cheeks. The incredibly soft bristles are cut at an angle so that they hit the entire apple of the cheek, taking out all of the guesswork as well.

Buy on Amazon Buy on Ulta Buy on IHerb

This blush brush is good for your face and the planet. And for the cost, it doesn’t get any better. The sustainable brush is crafted from super soft bamboo and recycled materials, plus it comes with an eco storage pouch. The unique square cut of the bristles serves to deliver precise pigment application, so you can sculpt your cheeks like a pro. You can use it with cream or powder blushes, and highlighters, too.

Buy on Sephora Buy on Nordstrom

From contouring to applying powder and, of course, blush, this brush does it all, thanks to its multitasking tapered end that can highlight your cheekbones, nose, and cupid’s bow, or shade your temples or the hollows of your cheekbones to sculpt your features. It works with both loose and pressed powder, and the delicate fibers make for precise application.

Buy on Sephora Buy on Ulta

The only thing better than a luxurious blush brush is a luxurious dual-ended blush brush, like this one from Hourglass. It features two soft, PETA-approved Takla brush heads, one rounded and one tapered. Try using the rounded side to carve out cheekbones or apply all-over color, whereas the smaller tapered side is great for targeted blush and highlighters.

Buy on Amazon Buy on Ulta

Created by makeup artists Sam and Nicole Chapman, you know this brush is going to deliver a natural-looking makeup result. The synthetic bristles are soft, fluffy, and flexible, so you’ll get a smooth, professional-looking finish without the need for too much blending. The handle is weighty but comfortable, and it’s easy to clean as well.

MERIT Brush No. 1 Tapered Blending Brush

Buy on Sephora

While technically an all-over complexion brush, the dense, flat tip of this works incredibly well with creamy blush products. Just pat onto the cheek area with your fingers and blend in across the apples and up towards the hairline. Take any excess product across your nose.

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Face Shaping Brush 125

Buy on Sephora

If you find blush placement a bit fiddly, try this foolproof option from Fenty Beauty. It contains a slightly tapered brush head and a long, easy-to-hold handle, meaning you can get a targeted but natural makeup look. The synthetic bristles are well suited to both creams and powders, plus it’s relatively small, so works well on angular face shapes.

Buy on Nordstrom Buy on Beautybay.com

The slightly beveled head of this Sigma Blush and Powder Brush ensures you get even coverage and a soft, diffused finish. It’s quite precise, so nice for a bright, poppy cheek look as opposed to gentle all-over color. It works a treat on powder highlighters as well.

Buy on Amazon Buy on Wetnwildbeauty.com

Not all of us have the time nor energy to fiddle around with 101 brushes of a morning. Cue the Wet N Wild Blush Brush. It’s small enough to use across the cheek area but large and soft enough to apply bronzers and translucent powders as well. And at under $5 a pop, you can’t really go wrong.

Buy on Nordstrom Buy on Chanel.com

Purveyors of luxury makeup will love Chanel’s high-stakes take on the humble blush brush. It features a synthetic bristle so you can use it across powders and creams, and the generous size makes soft, even, luminous color a breeze. Bonus points for the aptly-placed Chanel logo down the side.

Buy on Morphe.com

Angled brushes are perfect if you want a precise, sculpted makeup look. Morphe is known for its high-quality but reasonably priced brushes and this angled pick is no different. Use it if you’re layering blush, bronzer, contour, and highlight and need something that’s going to give you a defined result.

Final Verdict

If we had to call out a few favorites, they would undoubtedly be the Bobbi Brown Blush Brush, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Brush, and Real Techniques Blush Brush. Bobbi Brown is the perfect all-pleasing option. Hourglass offers great quality at a great price, whereas Real Techniques is the OG drugstore brush brand we’ll love forever.

What to Look For When Buying a Blush Brush

Size and Shape

According to makeup artist Jasmin Lo, the most important feature to consider when buying a blush brush is the size and shape: “Ideally, you want a tapered blush brush that is right for the size of your face,” Lo explains, before adding, “the size is more important than the shape in my opinion, though.”

“You want your brush to be about the size of your cheek apples, and this of course varies from person to person… A bigger brush is fine for bronzer, but when it comes to blush, the placement and result will be affected by the size of the brush in comparison to your face.

Synthetic or Natural Fibers

What the brush itself is made of is also important, especially when it comes to cream versus powder product formulations. As a general rule of thumb, synthetic brushes are best for cream and liquid formulas, because they’re a) more hygienic and b) smoother.

Natural bristles are less “perfect” so can work well with pressed and loose powders, but animal welfare and moral codes come into play here. Keep in mind that these days, most synthetic bristles are designed in a way that makes them really effective across both cream and powder products, so you don’t really need to use a natural bristle if you don’t want to.

Cleaning

Lo also adds that it’s important to keep your brushes clean, not only to retain the nice feel but to prevent breakouts and skin irritation. “A gentle milky bar soap or a small squirt of shampoo works well. Wet the brush hairs under a tap, lather the soap or shampoo in your palm, and gently work the suds through the brush hairs. Then rinse thoroughly, softly press out excess water, reshape and allow to dry overnight, lying sideways on a table with the brush hairs hanging over the edge to the air.”

Why Trust Byrdie?

Turns out, we have quite a few blush connoisseurs in our office, all of which favor a different blush brush. We’ve also spent years testing (including Emily Algar) and learning about the latest in brush technology, not to mention have picked various makeup artist's brains on the topic.

According to our Diversity Pledge, 15% of products in our newly-published market roundups will feature Black-owned and/or Black-founded brands. At the time of publishing, we were not able to find enough blush brushes from a Black-owned and/or Black-founded business to meet this percentage. If you know of one we should consider, please email us at contact@byrdie.com and we will evaluate the product ASAP.

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