OBSESSED: Pointed/Tapered Brushes

So everyone has some sort of "phase" when it comes to shopping/collecting things... may it be trendy or this uncontrollable desire to accumulate many of just this ONE thing... in EVERY possible version available.  When I was a kid, it was McDonald's Happy Meals... when I became a teenager, it turned into the same tank top in every color I could think of.  I have this theory that females have this strange genetic disorder to secretly want to hoard things, but I digress...

Since being in school for design and applying myself to makeup, I've learned how to use the proper tools for proper application, and I have this strong respect for things that make life easier now.  Tapered brushes have wormed their pretty little brush heads into my heart, and I've been on a rampage finding the best ones to add to my collection as quickly as possible.

Why are tapered brushes one of the MUST-HAVE brushes to have in your collection?  The apply precisely and blend all-in-one brush!  It's such a genius concept - a "Two-fer" - just more on the genius side, and not so much tacky, like a dress made to look like two different pieces of clothing married together FOREVER... [why would you have one dress than have a nice blouse and skirt that can alternate and be mixed and matched??]

Sorry for the tangent, but it's such a simple concept, I can't exactly understand why the tapered brush has yet to catch on for every brand out there... maybe it's the price tag many come with.  MAC 138, 165, 266... Louise Young's LY 34, 38, 38A... STILA #30, Hakuhodo's S103 and 142, etc... they're ALL must-haves for me.  They get into your crease and blend out beautifully with eyeshadows.  They contour without a harsh line or having to use a secondary brush to blend it out.  They apply blushes beautifully with a few angled sweeps.  They highlight so well... it's awe-inspiring!  *swoon*

I have to apologize though, since I've mislead you... you see, they HAVE been slowly appearing on the general market; but they haven't had as much hype about them as they should.  Let me introduce you to some new contenders that have made themselves readily available for you at a fraction of the above mentioned's cost:

1.) Real Techniques: Contour Brush - a synthetic dupe of MAC's 165.  IDENTICAL shaped brush heads, they apply the same, and the contour brush comes in a set that is cheaper than the 165 itself.  Soft, and great for highlighting, smaller faces, or a more precise contour.

2.) Sonia Kashuk: Small Tapered Foundation Brush - It is a baby dupe of the Louise Young LY34.  Just as dense, but smaller, it's great for those that are fans of the MAC 109 for foundation application and those that do not mind taking more time to concentrate on application due to the smaller size.  It performs just as well as the LY34 w/ a bit of extra elbow grease... what it does beat the LY34 on is that it wastes MUCH LESS product.

There are a few sneaky tapered blending brushes that have been flying incognito though - called plain ol' "Blending Brushes" - they do have a tapered point.  I've yet to find any other affordable tapered blending brushes, but if you can point me in the right direction, I'm SO THERE!

What are your favorite tapered blending brushes?  Share!