When it comes to makeup tools, highest praise is often reserved for the makeup blending sponge or foundation brushes that impart an airbrush finish. Stiff, angled eyeliner brushes are hailed for their precision, and the right powder brushes can deposit a veil so silky and fine your pores might just vanish entirely. But the unsung hero of the group is undoubtedly the humble spoolie brush.
While most tools in your makeup bag only do one or two things — and do them well, we might add — spoolie brushes are the tiny tools with myriad uses. Like lip balm, you’ll never regret having extras stashed in every bag and drawer. The tapered bristles, organized in a spiral helix, looks like your standard mascara wand (without the mascara), but there’s nothing average about this brush.
For starters, the best spoolie brushes can de-clump your mascara for a flawless flutter as well as style and shape your brows. If you have a bar of soap handy, you may just inadvertently put your favorite brow gel into early retirement — “Soap Brow” tutorials are hailed by makeup artists and drag queens alike all over the internet as a foolproof brow styling trick. Simply wet your spoolie brush and lightly scrape it across your bar of soap (apply too much pressure and you’ll work the soap into a lather), then run the brush through your brows in the direction of the hair growth until you have your desired brow shape.
But beyond basic eyelash and eyebrow grooming and maintenance, spoolie brushes can help tame wispy, fly-away hairs (spray a spoolie brush with some hair spray and get to work). And brave souls can also put spoolie brushes to work touching up their roots at home. The uses are truly endless and we’re pretty sure that once you buy a pack for yourself, you won’t turn back.
