I recently went on iHerb and spotted these gorgeous looking brushes from Real Techniques, i have shown this brand before and their regular brushes certainly make up the majority of my favorite brushes. These are apparently limited edition and will only be available this year and then poof they are gone. Having said that i have not seen these available in Australia at all. So maybe they will come out here later or Australia will be missing out entirely.
This particular set includes the following brushes;
* duo-fiber face brush: for lightweight application
* duo-fiber contour brush: for controlled contouring and sculpting
* duo-fiber eye brush: for finishing touches to the eye
Duo-fiber brushes are best for light application, so if you have a tendency to go a bit heavy handed with your applications these (or other duo fiber brushes) might be the way to go. Duo-fiber means that these brushes have two different types of brush fibers, in this case both are synthetic but different from one another. This makes them great for applying something like blush or highlighter where it might be easy to go overboard. They can also be used for cream or powder products.
They feel very soft, i was initially a bit concerned about that but i need not have worried. If you have other types of RT brushes these are just as soft if not maybe more so. They also do not shed and wash very easily.
The only real downside of these is that unlike the regular RT brushes, these cannot stand on their bottoms which is a bit of a downer but i love their clean white look and soft texture.
If you can't find it (and i haven't been able to you can find it here) They are $20.00 but yo can get some off that price if you use a discount code. (Like mine KRN216)
I recently ordered two new brushes from iHerb and it got me thinking that i had never shared my favorite brushes with you, most of the makeup i show off on this blog wouldn't go anywhere with out these my favorite brushes;
1. Lust Have It Kabuki Brush
This arrived in a Lust Have It box maybe two or three months ago and it instantly replaced my older Chi Chi kabuki brush and this is probably my most used brush next to the Blush brush. It's eco-friendly and like all of these its a synthetic brush. I find it does a great job of buffing in my face powder which is its main purpose in my arsenal.
2. Real Techniques Enhanced, Shading Brush
I love this brush for blending out eyeshadow on my crease, i have a few similar brushes but i like this one the best as it is the softest one and doesn't require a lot of effort to make ti do it it's thing.
3. Eco Tools Angled Eyeliner Brush
I like using this brush for my powder eyeliner but more commonly i use this for filling in my eyebrows. Among my two other angled brushes this one is the best width and the individual hairs don't tend to bend as much as the others so it's stiffness is a real plus.
4. Models Prefer Smudge Brush
I picked this one up recently to get the Priceline Makeup Bag and i have come to like it alot, it's stiff but not so much that it hurts, it's great for blending eyeshadow or eyeliner.
5. Real Techniques Perfect Blush Brush
I bought this because it is so incredibly soft, i have a lovely Eco Tools blush brush that lies abandoned since i got this. it's nicely tapered so i feel like
6. Real Techniques Perfected Stippling Brush
I bought this on iHerb because it (like the other RT brushes) are stupid expensive and its main purpose is dealing with liquids; as in liquid foundation or bb cream if i don't feel like using my hands or for cream blushers. It's quite good and gives me a very nice and even coverage.
7. Chi Chi Double Sided Eyeshadow Brush
This one i picked up probably about a year ago when i desperately needed new makeup brushes after i first started getting back into my makeup and for actually placing eye shadows i find this to be very good. It picks up both powders and creams easily and can be used for both patting the eyeshadow on or blending it onto the lid. I like that it's double sided as it means i don't have to go rummaging for a second brush if im just doing a two color eyeshadow look and it's flat edge makes it good for multiple uses including eyeliner, eyebrows, applying concealer and even as a lip brush.
8. Eco Tools Bronzer Brush
This one i bought got for my birthday last year when i was staring out with bronzer and although i still feel like it's not really my thing a lot of the time, this brush helps alot and i love the feeling and heft of it. Not a subtle one.
So those are my go to brushes which i use basically everyday and i really like and would recommend all of them, though i have to say the sheer softness of the RT brushes probably makes them my favorite and i hope they bring out some more, especially a lip brush would be nice or a domed rather then angles kabuki. What are your favorite brushes? Post a comment below :)
So it's December today :) Which for a lot of people means Christmas. So i thought id start of the celebration early by thinking about some of the things i wouldn't mind seeing under the tree this year. It's always nice to think about what you might like, even if just end up buying it yourself in the boxing day sales!
So here is the list i came up with, in no particular order; 1. Soft Kitty Jumper of Big Bang Theory Fame from Think Geek, 2. NARS Orgasm Blush, 3. Real Techniques Starter Kit Brushes, 4. OPI Skyfall Nail polishes (specifically Skyfall, Live and Let Die, Goldeneye, On Her Majesty's Secret Service,The Spy Who Loved Me,and Die Another Day) 5. Lufthansa Graphic Design (i like graphic design and planes) 6. Marc Jacobs Dot perfume annnnnd 7. Fox Plushie from Etsy.
How cute is that fox right? What's your most lusted for item this year?
I was not too sure if i should do the traditional Monthly favorites, but after considering it i don't really think that's the right name. Especially since my favorites don't change that quickly but i do like to try different things when a product ends so i figured i would rename it a little. So here are the products i reached for the most last month:
Garnier BB Cream: (In Light) : I like to use a light "foundation", and so i don't often use my heavier foundations, and day to day this is my most reached for product, it's easy and does an awesome job of evening out my skin without making it look like a mask.
Physician's Formula Face Powder: (also in Light) This is usually my second step, i like to make sure my foundation doesn't move around and since my skin is a little bit on the oily side i feel much more comfortable with this on as well, it's pretty good but maybe a touch too yellow for me so after it's done I'll probably try another face powder.
Eco Tools Blush Brush: Bought at the start of the month this has since replaced my old yucky spiky blush brush and i can't believe i ever thought it was any good, this thing is a dream of cloudy pillow-y softness and i never want to go back.
Burjois Flower Perfection Primer: I usually forget about primer but it's sometimes necessary just under my eyes and this is the one i reach for most; it's a silicon based primer and feels incredibly soft and works well for my needs. It works well with the Garnier BB cream but works like a dream with it's matching Burjois Flower Perfection foundation which is a little too heavy for daily wear for me.
Maybelline Eye Studio Color 24hr Tattoo: (Pomegranate Punk) I fell in love with this shade via this post and it's been my go to almost every single day since i got it, and it's prompted me to a be a little more creative with my color choice for eye make up too.
Face of Australia Lip Crayon: (In Sundae): I got the three pack along with every other Australian blogger (so it seems) but never reviewed it because i gave the bubblegum pink shade away to mum. I really like it as an everyday wear lippy. For me it's totally the longed for "my lips but better". I love the faint vanilla smell and it goes on super smooth. Until the Revlon Lip Stain crayons arrive this is my go to color and i highly recommend it. If you can still find it, it appears to be a limited edition set. Mine however may be cursed as before i reorganized my makeup it fell onto the floor about 5 times and the lid is cracked on the other side. It was weird because it was the only thing that would fall out.
Plus a non-makeup item: a little present from my boyfriend and my brand new wallet featuring the so-lovable Yoshi. It's super cute, along with my pink hair and non standard wallet i now feel very un-boring and funky. A change is as good as a holiday right?
Firstly i need to start with a thank you to my dear boyfriend who was a complete champion about driving almost two hours to Cannigton as until next week they seemed to have the only Priceline carrying the two new (to Australia) Essence collections; Season of Extremes and 50's Girls Reloaded and i couldn't wait that long. But as you can see i only got one of the lipsticks so i might need to keep an eye out next week. So Thank You!!!!
So as far as i can tell the collection came out Tue/Wed , and i went in on Thursday an already almost half the stock was gone, and it's a trend edition so they won't usually be getting any more in. Blah!
Back to the fun stuff;
Probably the most exciting part of this for me the 50's Girl's Reloaded stuff!
The colors maybe aren't that exciting but i was sold by the awesome retro design and just the fact i have seen nothing like this...ever. The pretties i got are;
"03 come on board captain" eyeshadow (almost perfect match to the two nail polishes) a brave step for me, my eyeshadow preferences have (since getting into this whole makeup-pretty-thing) has leaned towards safe neutral colors - brows, creams, coppers, and the occasional gray.
So a bright navy blue is a big step for me. Also not completely sure how to do these colors together but im sure the result will be good...or hilarious. It's pretty nice and sturdy, plastic case with a nice big mirror in the compact but no brush so not really sure how good that is, i guess you can just open it at dinner and admire yourself if the conversation gets dull?
The lipstick is and the red nailpolish are "01/02 Back to the 50’s"
These are basically the 50's bombshell colors; they are pretty stunning vivid bright and just scream at you to put them on. I did kind of want the other lipstick more so I'm a little afraid of the brightness on this thing; scared of clownface-ness. But they look so pretty it might just help me overcome my fear.
The red nail polish is pretty sexy, it's in the realm of your basic standard every woman red but it's certainly got a lot more pop to stand out, so although red nails are a little traditional I'm quite looking forward to trying this out. (For the record i have only ever worn red/red nail polish once before in my life).
The other two nail polishes are "03 I’m a marine girl", and "04 love me tender". Marine girl is a very deep blue with a hint of shimmer but nothing that's going to blind passersby. It goes on very smoothly, the brush is a little long for my liking but it worked okay. It was a thick one coater for me and seems to be holding on pretty tight, no chipping yet. (Btw the purple-y stuff on my ring finger is from the extremes collection down the bottom of this post)
"04 love me tender" is an interesting color; judging by the bottle it is somewhere between silver and gold, a kind of champaign kind of color which i can't wait to try, maybe once i finish writing this I'll swap them over. I'll post back later with a pic, hopefully it doesn't lean too far silver.
Tha's it so far for the 50's collection, till i can get that other lipstick and do some swatches, maybe?
I didn't go quite as crazy with the Extremes collection, mostly because i had very similar colors already and was already spending way too much money there. The whole collection was separated into pastels and brights and judging from what i got i was leaning more towards brights that day.
These ones are in photo order; "02 Brightsmates", "03 We are all bright" and "04 just the nude of us" and at $5.50 these were individually more expensive then anything from the other collection and this is actually a little pricey for Essence.
Looking forward to trying the taupe/nude color as i have nothing even vaguely similar. My other issue however is something i realized when i got home; i don't quite know how to store these? They don;t fit in my nail polish box and fall over if i put them in the fridge with my higher end polishes??? Help?
This was a .... not greatly thoguht out purchase but it was cheap ($2.95) and the color was visible halfway across the store it calls itself "Tickled Pink" but if it was up to me it would be renamed "Fuck off Pink". I have a couple of neons i've picked up recently but it's been too dark and cold and rainy for them, so this one might have to wait for warmer weather but right now it blinds me every time i look in the nail polish box. Never tried this brand so don't really have a lot of thoughts about it yet, might do some research and see what other people think.
Last but certainly not least this time is my pretty new Blush Brush (and friends)
Although i was originally tempted by the angled blush brush i saw this and had to have it, it was only $5 more then th angled brush i was holding in my hand at the time and i was staring at them both going ummm and ohh when my boyfriend pointed out that a) the ecotools were a much better deal and b) the brushes were much much softer. So ecotools won.
Now here is somehting that never occured to me when reading blogs, until i was actually writing one (now); i wanted to take out the brushes and play with them as soon as i got home; but it was already dark and i wanted to take a nice unopened picture to post here. So i had to wait till this morning as i don;t have a lightbox or any space for one. That was a weird experience but something to keep in mind.
I'm quite excited about this brush; as it's replacing a fairly awful brush from a brand called "Miss Makeup" that i bought when i was 16 and my google-ing now tells me either no longer exists or never existed and the brushes i have from the brand traveled to me via wormhole from the universe of terrible brushes.
I look forward to a much less painful makeup routine in the morning, now that i think about it this terrible brush might have been responsible for some of my breakouts in years past as it is very prickly and irritating on the face. Oh what a fool i was to put up with it for so many years!
So now off to play....or rather make raster images for my dads company :(
OH! almost forgot, this may of no interest to anyone but me but on the off chance theres a history/geek girl out there who wants a shiny new game to play i have recently come across "Crusader King;s 2" from face value a standard rts like game about ruling Europe (and who doesn't enjoy that) in the early middle ages, the fun lies in the fact that most of the game is played through interacting with your court and family;
I played for a few hours last night and my firstborn daughter and heir turned out to have the traits "homosexual", "ambitious" and "arbitrary" and then proceeded to try usurp my crown. Now why is this interesting you might ask? Because there's a Game of Thrones mod. As in you can play one of the houses; Starks, Lannisters etc
Plus the game has absolutely hilarious ads;
(There are eight of these ads, one for each sin plus an extra one about piracy)
Considering other things i want to try over the next few weeks or things I'm obsessively googe-ing on the interblobs. I though i would share/organize my thoughts as to the specifics.
New Blush Brush - preferably angled one. Mine is a leftover from the days before i liked the pretty makeup-y things. Now that have a few nicer brushes i can see what a disaster mine is. It hurts, it's prickly and doesn't pick up color very well or make it easy to blend. It needs to go.
Intertubes! from Shiro Cosmetics. I saw these on Don't They Know Who I Am and have been telling everyone who will listen (many who don't care) that Nyan Cat and Rickrolled are lipbalms/lipgloss! So much Want. The one's I'm particularly eyeing are Rickrolled, Over 9000, Three-Wolf-Moon, and Yo-Dawg. Maybe a few eyeshadow samples if im brave.
Here's what they say about this perticular frgrance "Quite rich! Right from the bee hive - honey amplified by seductive essence of resinous vanilla, darkened by a passing waft of mild rare wood smoke." Honey & Vanilla? I am there.
The other, Satyr is listed as "Absolutely fiendish creature! And quite frolicsome: Italian blood orange drizzled with blackened vanilla." A bit more for the boyfriend then me but it's hard to say no to blood orange no matter in what shape is decided to appear.
Black Magic Soap Have seen this one often on numerous blogs and im thinking it might be time to give it a try myself. It sounds lovley and full of good face things. Plus, pretty pattern!
50's Girls Reloaded Collection Coming way late to Australia, (July 2011 in America) there are a couple of items here pulling at my heart strings; the two lipsticks; not to fussed on the dark red but since there are only two and they look so darn cute i might as well. I believe they go by the names 01 back to the 50’s and 02 i’m sailing. Also the red and gray/blue nail polish seem interesting but i might already have those colors so gotta see those ones in person. Then maybe if I;m very brave the 03 come on board captain eyeshadow set. Eyeshadows are new territory for me.
Season of Extremes Collection. This one is actually relatively on time here, originally released in March 2012 (outside Australia) the nail polishes here are calling to many, some of the pastels, some of the brights, even the duo colors (though I'm not sure how i will house those, they wont fit in my nail polish box). Being a cheap cheap brand Essence is the only company I'm willing to splurge a little on.
On a less beauty oriented note:
I want to try this, i'm told it's like fire emblem and ff tactics and it has pokemans.
