It is widely accepted that the invention of the make-up brush was by the Egyptians for use amongst their well-to-do. Centuries later, in 1925, the BBC reported the discovery of a Saxon cemetery on Argyll Avenue, Luton, England, where, buried amongst the remains of the wealthy deceased dating back to 600 AD, was the handle of a cosmetic brush. In fact, up until 1835, when German chemist Justus Von LieBig invented the prototype for what was to become the modern-day mirror, make-up brushes were primarily tools for the wealthy who would have their servants create various looks using make-up.

Brushes then began appearing all across the globe after the Japanese, who had been using animal-hair brushes since the BC days for their calligraphy, quickly transferred their skills to making cosmetic brushes. To this day, Germany and Japan have maintained a culture, albeit very small, of excellent brush-making for a discerning clientele. The brush-making industry has now moved to other areas of Asia, primarily Korea, Taiwan and China.

Unless you’re a trained make-up artist or watch YouTube beauty tutorials make-up brushes can be tricky to decode. They come not only in a wide range of sizes, but also different bristle shapes, lengths, and density. Gabriella’s Cosmetics has developed a series of brushes bound to make professionals and beginners alike masters in the art of their use.

Twenty nine brushes including the Stippling Collection, Hollywood Glam Collection as well as beauty staples like the foundation brush, lip brush, concealer brush and powder brushes.

The Hollywood Glam Collection

This fabulous collection was created for Gabriella’s cherished “spoiled” clients and combines glamorous, soft, firm white bristles and matte wooden handles perfect for sporting around daily in glammed-out make-up bags. The collection includes a professional angled contour brush perfect for cheeks as well as small and large oval fine hairs blending or shading brushes. These two blending brushes can be used for applying cream or powdered eyeshadow. Included in this glamorous collection is a pencil brush suitable for shading of the eyelids, crease or lash line which is firm in appearance yet soft to touch. Originally, this collection was made from 100% natural hairs (handmade), in light of the company’s cruelty-free beauty motto however, the entire collection was changed to synthetic hairs which are just as high in quality.

The Stippling Brush Collection

Stipple, Stipple, Stipple!!! These brushes are a dream. With dual fibres and a circular flat top, they are perfect for flawless, transparent applications. Suitable for liquid or cream-based foundations, face powder or pigment applications, they contain soft bristles made of synthetic fibres and cruelty-free, natural hair. The four brushes of this collection are: small, medium, large stippling and a medium-angled contour stippling brush.

Fairy Brush Collection

This limited-edition collection of perfectly pink brushes for gorgeous belles are custom-crafted and handmade from the highest quality synthetic fibres. The complete set of face brushes includes:

Large face powder brush

Dual-fibre stippling brush

Foundation brush

Contour brush

Blush brush

Concealer brush

Eyeliner brush

Eyebrow brush

Angled shading brush

Blending brush

Lip brush

Precision point brush

In today’s Under The Dryer we feature beauty looks using Gabriella’s Cosmetics’ Fairy Brush Collection in Brasilia, Brazil, with make-up artist Luciana Maia and image consultant Betzabeth Reid on Brazilian fashion models Vittoria Asi and Maria Nuñez at the Bendita Make-up Studio, located in Brasilia, Brazil.