Most artists would agree that their work is only as good as the tools used to create it. The same rule applies to your face; there are makeup brushes, and there are makeup brushes. While a full set of the latter can add up to a beauty splurge that’s roughly equivalent to a pair of Miu Miu suede flats or a gold-plated Aurélie Bidermann ring, this fall’s most noteworthy sculpting and shading tools offer a similar payoff when it comes to longevity, craftsmanship, and statement-making impact.

Earlier this autumn, for example, jewelry designer Alexis Bittar teamed up with Sephora to release a brush set so opulent that you may be tempted to refrain from actually using it (admittedly, its effect on your countertop is reason enough to invest). Each brush in the five-piece collection is crafted with a Lucite acrylic handle, plated with 24K gold bands, encrusted with hand-set Swarovski crystals, and tufted with hand-selected natural and synthetic hairs.

For the less-is-more approach, makeup artist Troy Surratt’s new brush collection—which goes on sale at Barneys today—is unmatched in its detailed subtlety. A result of Surratt’s journeys to the calligraphy brush center of Kumano, Japan, the shimmering black-handled tools were conceived with a local master brushmaker to deliver everything from the perfectly sized smoky eye baton to the optimally tapered edges of a blush brush. A 60-step process is responsible for each hand-shaped, -tied, and -assembled piece. Hairs deemed too coarse for the skin are tweezed out of the finished product by the country’s most skilled artisans. “I really wanted the user experience to be as pleasurable, sensual, and effective as possible,” says Surratt of the collection. “I like to think of my brushes as the Birkin bag of makeup brushes.”

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