Your Makeup Drawer’s Cast Iron Skillet

If you’ve ever watched the Food Network, specifically Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods America, you know you’ll never be able to make Chinese food better than the people in the Asian markets. Why?

Aside from your probable lack of training, it’s because it is highly unlikely that you possess a wok that is comparable to a salty New York street, or, less metaphorically, a pan that has been saturated with layers of previously cooked meals for thousands of years (re: hundreds or the more manageable, decades).

My dad, though not Asian, has the same philosophy for his cast iron skillet, and similarly, I do as well for my makeup brushes.

Specifically one—the angle brush. Though I do wash it per the Sephora counter person’s orders, who are we kidding? Makeup brushes will never be 100% clean. My angle brush will always have a hint of a previously sexy smokey eye and I love it. 

If you don’t have one already, an angle brush is a must for anyone over the age of 14. Its short, firm bristles help to reach the corners of your eyes and are thin enough to glide easily across your lash line. They are perfect for smudging your eye pencil and even better for gel liners or powdered shadows.

I’m addicted. My face is never complete without a swipe from my trusty angle, even if I’m a walking oxymoron (re: moron) and the au natural look took me a whopping 20 minutes to achieve.

I’ve had the same brush in rotation for about six years (that’s a lot of smokey eyes, people) from the Daisy Marc Jacobs Pour Sephora Cushy Brush Set (pictured above) and while the powder brushes flaked all over my face, the trusty angle did not. Though originally labeled a brow brush, I’ve used this little slanted number across my upper and lower lash lines for years.

If you’re in the market for an update:

This Sephora Collection brush is ON SALE for $5.

And M.A.C.’s 263 angled eyeliner brush has been the winner of Allure’s Best of Beauty for three years. $20

Get to smoking people! Or, less literally, revamp your eyeliner with a smokey eye thanks to the awe inducing powers of the angle brush.