Makeup

These make-up brushes keep selling out—as a make-up artist, I just tried them all

December 15, 2022

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Here’s the reason Hannah Martin (opens in new tab) has amassed a loyal army of admirers (including royals) for her make-up skills: she does the sort of make-up everyone wants to wear. Think softer than soft-edged smokey eyes (opens in new tab), bold lipstick (opens in new tab) with shimmery lids, and you-but-much-better skin.

After being asked repeatedly about which brushes worked best for what, she decided to team up with Ciate London (opens in new tab) to launch her own range of make-up brushes (opens in new tab) – and then are seriously comprehensive.

Hannah’s goal was to create something which would easily decode brushwork to those who didn’t feel quite so confident applying their make-up, and simultaneously thrill make-up aficionados and artists.

As the latter (I’m a make-up artist myself when I’m not writing up the latest beauty news), I can confidently say Hannah has hit her target. The brushes cover all bases (pun intended), and also show the meticulous eye for detail which can only come as the result of hours and hours of doing make-up.

Here’s everything you should know about the range:

There are 24 brushes in total, and Hannah’s put a suggested use for each on the handle – but told me that you can absolutely use them however you see fit.
They’re all vegan-friendly, and designed to mimic the performance of real hair without harming animals.
The handles are sustaibaly-sourced wood – and are lightweight to hold, making them so easy to use.
The vegan leather case is perfect to transport and store brushes in – and if you like me clean yours all the time, just use the lid for dirty ones so you know what you need to wash.

Madeleine Spencer and Hannah Martin

(Image credit: Future)

My five favourite brushes from the range:

Powder Detail

I always wear powder – but like to be selective about how much I apply, and where I put it. This gives all the control you need to really push powder into the bits of your face where you need it (like around the nose) with ease.

Blush

This brush can be used with either a powder or creams and I adore that it’s not too big – so many blush brushes are too large, meaning you apply too much.

Cream Blender

Perfect for concealer or cream shadows, this effortlessly blends edges so you won’t end up with any streaks in the finish.

Eye Detailer

Use this when you want a little shadow line/smoke around your eyes but need a bit of softness to the finish. Best used washing back and forth softly to really blend the powder.

Spoolie

I love that Hannah has made a stand alone spoolie, which you can use to brush brows in place, move brows into place once you’ve applied something to set them, or even to apply or thin out mascara with once on.