A long time ago in a land far away (literally) I watched a video by NurberXO on YouTube about using craft store makeup brushes. Basically she was saying that a lot of paint brushes from the craft store are pretty much the same as makeup brushes, except much cheaper. At the time this struck me as pure genius, but I didn’t really find myself in a craft store for a while and I just kind of forgot about it.

Fast forward to present day. I’ve been getting a little craftier lately and so I have been making a trip to Michael’s every now and then. Last time I was there it finally dawned on me that I watched that video, and I made a bee line for the paint brush rack.

I picked up these two little beauties. The top one with the filbert shape is fantastic for applying lipstick, and it is also really awesome for applying concealer to a concentrated area. The bottom angled brush is awesome for shaping eyebrows. I bought it because it resembled the size and shape of my Sephora angled brush that they discontinued (yet another chapter in the ‘everything I love gets discontinued’ saga) and I’m happy to report that it is perfect. Just the right thickness and density to get a nice clean line around my brows without being too harsh.

What I did notice when I was shopping for them was that the fluffier type brushes don’t really seem soft enough for things like blending, especially on the eyes. So this will be a good way to get some flatter, more dense brushes. At least for me. Who knows though, there might be some really great, fluffy art brushes out there that I just haven’t found yet. We shall see.

So as I continued to peruse the aisles, another though dawned on me. There’s a lot of glitter at the craft store, and it’s real cheap. Now I wouldn’t really try (or recommend anyone else try) craft glitter on your face especially near the eyes. It’s not formulated to be cosmetic grade, so if it falls into your eye the shape of it can scratch your eyes or the ingredients may cause a reaction…and neither of those things sounds good. Actually they sound terrible.

BUT for your nails is a different story all together. There’s not really anything on your fingers that can get damaged by a little harsher glitter so it’s like whateva whateva, go nuts! So I picked up a bottle of gold craft glitter that comes in two different sizes. It was less than five bucks for a 2.3 oz container. That is a bargain, especially with two types of glitter in it. I mean think of the texture and dimension you can achieve for so cheap!

So when I got home I applied two coats of OPI “I don’t give a Rotterdam” (which I looooove) and while it was still damp I pressed on some of my new gold craft glitter, then I sealed it with a thick topcoat. I was pretty happy with the result! In retrospect I totally should have layered the two types of glitter together to create some of that depth and dimension I was so excited about, but there’s always next time. Side note, the lighting in my elevator is SO good for nail polish, which is why I snapped a picture of it on the way down to the gym. Imagine I start setting up legit nail shots in the elevator with like a white background and everything? My poor neighbors.

So the next time you’re out looking for decorative tape or some cinnamon scented sticks or whatever else they have there, check out the selection of craft store makeup brushes! And the glitter too while you’re at it. As a matter of fact I’m sure there are more beauty related things that you could get at the craft store that I haven’t even thought of yet. If you have any beauty things you get at the craft store, let me know! I could always make another trip to Michael’s for research 😉