Your Makeup Brushes Matter More Than You Think—Here’s How to Choose the Right Ones

The first buy is rarely an instant love affair when we talk about a product that meets all your preferences. Whether you’re aiming for that seamless, plakado base or a no makeup-makeup look, it’s often a costly trial-and-error—one that makes choosing the best application tool sound refreshingly straightforward in comparison. But even then, that tool has to have the right density, shape, and bristle type to truly tick the box.

And for Dala Global founder Alex Javier, this distinction is what her eye knows best. What first started as a homegrown stint named Kind Beauty—a word-of-mouth brush brand—has since evolved into Dala Global, Javier’s second and most successful act in the F-beauty space. She tells us that behind each brush is an intricate technique called Cloud Bristles technology, with each piece handmade by a group of artisans in a small village in China. The process may be meticulous, but it’s only a fitting one for the simple consideration of how Filipinos do their makeup, and how to create tools that can keep up. After all, foundations change, blushes come and go, and even the way we do our makeup shifts with trends—but the tools we reach for stay constant.

In this Allure Philippines exclusive, we caught up with the brain behind Dala Global to talk about the mistakes that can come from using the wrong brush, why bristles matter, and how to build a makeup bag without buying a brush for every single step. Ahead, she shares her best advice for getting more out of your makeup tools, and more.

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Which brush instantly upgrades one’s makeup application?

If you want to upgrade your makeup routine, you have to get a good base brush. One of the more iconic ones is our Jumbo Buffer Brush from the very iconic DALA x Toni Sia collaboration. That, talaga, seamless base, done!

What beginner mistakes happen because of the wrong brush? 

This happens way too often, but if you find that your makeup is caking, you might be using the wrong brush. So, caking could be caused by applying too much of the product or wrong layering of the product using the brush. 

Which brush is the hardest to master? 

For me, this is a personal journey, but the blush brush. Just because there are so many placements possible, and for different placements, there’s a different brush. 

What’s a brush people think they need but actually don’t? 

A brush they need but they actually don’t is a setting powder brush. I don’t think you really need a specific setting powder brush because a big brush will do for setting the entirety of your face.

How do brush fibers affect makeup payoff?

So much! There are fibers that are really plastic-y feeling. And when you use those, the makeup will just slide off, and sometimes eat the brush in the way that it’s not supposed to. So, with bristles, that’s really where the technology of brushes come from other than the shapes. 

When you have the right bristle type, it will apply your foundation and all your makeup products really well.

What’s the best fiber [for brushes] to you?

If you want something that’s multi-use, you stick with synthetic fibers. There are also animal hairs, but those only work for powders most of the time. 

If you could only keep three brushes in your makeup bag, which would they be?

I am going to get one base brush, one angled brush—because for angled brushes, you can use it for blush, contour, bronzer—and then one fluffy powder brush, and then I’m good to go!

Why is it important to invest in a good makeup brush? 

Just because it affects the entire routine. Like, think about it, guys! What are you going to use for your entire routine every day? It’s going to be your makeup tools, specifically your brushes. You might change up your foundation, your blush for the day, maybe your eyeshadows, but you will always be using your brush, regardless of what you’re doing.