I’m 38, so probably a lot older than many people here. I’m flat broke now, but I’ve been through periods of time that I could afford expensive things and long periods when I couldn’t. I have way too many now.
I bought a no name (that ain’t the name of the company, I doubt that there was even a brand on it) eyeshadow brush at Walgreens over 15 years ago. It was definitely super cheap, but it’s still my favorite eyeshadow brush ever. I’ve looked for another one so many times and never found one.
I got off track there, but I guess my only point is that I’ve bought expensive brushes of all types over the years and now I don’t think that expensive ones are ever even worth it. I’ve bought really cheap ones that work as well or better. About a year ago I bought a cheap set online from Walmart to get free shipping. It wasn’t made by a popular or known brand either. I think it was 5 or 6 bucks for a set of 9 or 10 different brushes. Those brushes are actually pretty good.
Anyway, if all of mine just got destroyed or disappeared, or if I hadn’t ever really had any, I’d try to buy a cheap set that had decent reviews. Even if I had loads of extra money, I’d probably get something like this
It’s around $8 and looks to have more than I need. If some were totally awful, I’d have an idea of whatever it was about them that didn’t work for me. Then I’d have an idea of what to look for or avoid when I wanted to replace it. And it’s true that cheap brushes sometimes don’t last long, but some do. Heck, I’ve had expensive brushes that fell apart or just didn’t work for me as well.
Check out these makeup brushes from Amazon. I have had mine for awhile - great “workhorse” brushes.