RECOMMENDED PAINTING TOOLS FROM THE DRUGSTORE

My newest favorite brushes (used mostly for easiest ever cheeks) are not available in art supplies. They are called concealer brushes sold in the makeup section of drug stores. The ones I look for come from CVS, called Essence of Beauty Concealer and Fine Concealer brushes. I use both. Often I get them packaged together, sometimes singly - it is unreliable how they will be each time. I also buy online in larger quantities for my classes. They come ivory or black handled but one size is the Fine Conceal (about 3/16" across) and the other is the Conceal (about 5/16" across), in case you stumble upon another brand, though I cannot speak for other brands. Although in the art world these resemble filbert brushes, they behave much better and perhaps because they are real hairs not synthetic, for the low price, you simply cannot get a better brush. It seems to dry brush better and stipple better for lots longer. I use them for cheeks and applying paint where I want to stipple or pounce the paint on. Other brushes lift off previous paint, but these are better at not.
NEW - JUST ADDED: You can buy them cheaper yourself using the above information, but if you don't want to bother, I am providing some here for convenience. $9.50 set of two sizes. Add to Cart

Even the best painters rely on tricks and fix-it tools. I find the best cheek fixers are beauty Q-tips. Back to the drug store. These are not the usual soft Q-tips, but rather they have one pointy end and one spoon shaped end and they are harder. They are perfect (you may use both ends in different situations and I use ones with dried paint for mixing paint later) for scrubbing off areas where you got too much, especially at the edges. These are easy to find.