my brush with fame

As a magazine beauty writer, I’ll be the first one to tell you that applying makeup with a really high-quality brush is one of the smartest moves you can make. In fact, a good brush (which can cost over $50) actually lets you get away with buying inexpensive cosmetics. (Case in point: Read my previous Maybelline post.)

So imagine my thrill when I discovered that renowned makeup artist Sonia Kashuk developed a professional line of brushes (sold only at Target stores) that run from $4.99 to $19.99. According to Kashuk, “Brushes should feel luxurious; soft, like cashmere when they touch the skin.” Still skeptical, I hopped in the car to Target and bought myself the “synthetic crease brush” designed for eyeshadow application. You know where this is going, right?  It’s become one of my very favorite, most effective, long-lasting makeup tools.

But I haven’t even told you the best part of this story. Back when I was an editor at Mademoiselle, I got corralled into posing for a makeover on our beauty pages. A rather unknown – but incredibly talented – makeup artist was hired to do my face. Her name was Sonia Kashuk. In addition to making a really long studio day fun and lively, she shared with me a few of her little makeup secrets as she worked on my face. One of these gems I’ll never forget: A sheer, fuchsia-pink powder blusher flatters every single skin tone.  Kashuk’s now got one in her collection – Beautifying Blush in Flamingo, $8.99 – that looks exactly like the shade she used on my cheeks all those years ago. Somehow, I feel a special kinship with this gal; and extra-happy that she’s become hugely successful and bargain-minded to boot.

...and the after!

Have a  favorite makeup brush of your own (or, okay, even a brush-with-fame story) that you’d love to tell us about? Go ahead…divulge all.