When you press a fluffy blending brush aggressively against your skin, instead of softly diffusing the color, it often gets stuck in one area, leaving unevenness or a harsh line that requires extra time to blend out. This happens frequently with blush and bronzer as well. A makeup brush isn’t just a vehicle for putting product onto your face. It also determines the density of color that comes in contact with the skin, how the color will spread, and the finish you will be left with.
Brush pressure actually starts before the brush touches your face. Pressing firmly into a powder pan causes the brush to pick up more product than is desirable. This extra amount of product will often deposit in an overly dark and intense patch. Using a lighter touch while picking up a brush, and tapping off any extra, gives you greater control with the finished result. This is particularly helpful when working with intensely pigmented blush, bronze, and transition shade.
You can start by practicing pressure control with an inexpensive fluffy brush on the back of your hand. Touch the brush very lightly, then apply a medium amount of pressure, and finally push it too hard. Notice how much the bristles are compressed. When the brush is touched to your skin very lightly, the tips of the bristles barely flex at all, and the product distributes easily over a large area. When a brush is pushed into your skin too hard, it becomes more flat, clings more to the skin surface, and deposits more color. This basic practice exercise will help you understand the differences you feel during the application process.
When using a blush, apply it gently and with a lighter pressure, in order to have the most control over placement. Place your brush lightly in the cheek area, then swipe or tap the brush in the desired direction for your intended placement. Too much pressure will make your blush appear low to the cheeks, too close to the bridge of the nose, and/or in an area too dark for a gentle and natural placement. Remember that you can always add more color if you want more intensity. But, the same can’t be said for correcting the placement of an overly heavy patch; this may require cleaning up the area with a clean brush, sponge, or foundation with a little makeup left on a sponge.
The same can also be true of bronzer, which should be applied in order to warm the face and not leave an obvious line or stripe. When applying a bronzer with a fluffy brush that isn’t overloaded with powder, lightly sweep or tap the bronzer to the outer perimeter of your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw. The pressure is light enough that the color naturally blends out into the rest of your skin. If you are finding that the color in your application is muddy and uneven, stop before adding more color! Use a clean brush and softly diffuse the line with clean bristles before looking at your face in natural lighting.
Applying eyeshadow also makes issues with excessive brush pressure easier to see because crease shades are supposed to have a gentle blend. Too much pressure on the transition shade will pack the color into a single dark line. Place a little further back on the brush handle to use less pressure while you work a shade into the crease of the eyelid. Slowly sweep the shadow along the crease in small movements, allowing the color to naturally blend, instead of scrubbing the shadow back and forth until the edges become uneven or irritated.
One way to tell that you have found your pressure sweet spot is when the color looks softer without needing extra layers to hide mistakes. Blush looks lighter and higher on the cheeks, bronzer adds warmth to the face without looking harsh or streaky, and eyeshadow creases easily and seamlessly blend out more effortlessly. Pay attention to your hand movements before you notice the color in your mirror. A relaxed touch on the brush, reduced amount of product picked up on your brush, and applying with light pressure to the skin can make a dramatic difference in the finished look of your makeup.