MAKEUP REVOLUTION | Ultra Metals Sculpt & Blend

It's been a while since I've featured Makeup Revolution on here, but this package really caught my attention more than most.

Like a lot of people, I've really had a keen eye on the Real Techniques Bold Metals collection - but am I going to shell out all that money for each brush? Hell no.  So was I happy when I saw this land on my doorstep? (oh and by doorstep, I mean get a red card through the letterbox and then queue for 20 mins at the post office to collect it) Hell yes!

These are seriously beautiful brushes.  They have a lovely weight to them, not too heavy, and the bristles are really soft.  Definitely their best quality brushes I've tries from them yet.  As well as the 3 brushes, you also get a black beauty blender - I have yet to try this, but I can imagine it's not going to look good after the first use!

This, without doubt, would make a lovely Christmas present for makeup loving friends/family, or as a stocking filler (or lets face it, a treat for ourselves!). 

I'm super impressed with these and can't wait to include them in my brush rotation.  If you're looking for a set yourself, you can buy them for £14.99* from the Makeup Revolution store.

Follow me on
Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
*Post contains PR samples

Nanshy | Masterful Brush Collection in Black Onyx

A few weeks ago, this spectacular makeup brush collection by Nanshy joined my collection.  I thought I'd better take it under my wing and give it a home :)

The collection features 12 duo-fibre brushes, a combination of face, eye and lip brushes all with black onyx handles (a sort of matte black).  As with all Nanshy brushes, they're cruelty free (PETA.org approved) and suitable for vegans.

The brushes are lovely quality, they're fluffy, soft and have given my makeup some really beautiful finishes.  Since I've had these I've literally used them every day, shunning all my normal brushes (these are the only brushes I've used in about 3 weeks).

The set costs £49.95* for all 12 brushes, which works out to be about £4.16 a brush, which in my opinion is really great value.  The brushes are fantastic quality with very, very little shedding (I've only seen about 2 bristles come off and that was on first use).  I think this set would make such a lovely gift, whether that's to someone who is in dire need of makeup brushes (as it's a complete set) or a makeup addict.

You can shop the brushes over on Beauty Chamber.

Follow me on
Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
*Post contains PR samples

Neve Cosmetics | Aqua Brush Set

You might recall I mentioned the other day about how I have a some Neve reviews coming up, well this is one of them (duh!).  Today it's all about makeup brushes - specifically the Aqua Brush Set - a brush collection perfect for travelling with.

The set is made up of 7 high quality brushes, 2 for the face, and 5 for the eyes (3 of the overall brushes being duo-fibre).  The brushes are small, with short handles which is why I think this is a great set for travelling - they don't feel cheap or plasticy, but solid and well made, and you've just got to love that colour!

The brushes themselves are really nice quality too.  the shader brushes are quite firm, which I really like, making applying eye shadow very controlled, I don't feel like I'm going to get loads of fallout, it means I can apply eye shadow very precisely.  The blending brush and crease brush are lovely too - the crease brush is also quite firm, what I love about that is how easy it is to control applying shadow through the crease and outer V.

The face brushes are lovely too - I haven't used them to apply foundation yet - I just can't tear myself away from my F80, however I have used them for powder and for blusher and they applied both beautifully, especially the blusher.

This lovely set is €24.90 which is about £18.23 at the current exchange rate - so about £2.60 a brush, bargain! I love the pouch they come in too - it has a zip at one end so you could use it to put some other products in - it is quite small though so you won't get much in there - maybe some q-tips and cotton pads :)

This is a lovely set from Neve, my first time in trying their brushes and I've been as impressed with them as I have all their makeup I've tried so far.  They're a great brand, and cruelty free, a winner in my books.

Follow me on
Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

*Post contains PR samples

Tesco Makeup Brush Wishlist

It's only in the last week I've discovered a new brand of make up brushes that you can pick up at Tesco, and they're UBU.  Before this I'd never heard of them - so I thought I'd put together a little wish list based around them.  I also picked a couple of Natio brushes - I discovered Natio through the old She Said Beauty boxes, they had a Natio bar of soap in one of their early boxes.  I didn't know they also did makeup brushes, so I'm keen to try them.

As for UBU - I love how brightly coloured the bristles are, something you don't usually see - you'll often see brightly coloured handles, but not the brush part.  I picked the kabuki brush (£5), angled blusher brush (£6) and smokey eye set (£6.50) - all pretty good high street value prices.  Have you ever tried UBU brushes?

For the Natio brushes I picked a foundation brush (£8.40) and a blusher brush (£7.60) - personally I don't think you can have too many blusher brushes - I adore my Real Techniques one, and at the other end of the scale, my cheapy little orange Models Own one - good things/brushes aren't always expensive, great value can be found in budget brushes too :)

For me, the days of using the little makeup sponges as applicators for eyes are long gone - I'm a firm believer that great makeup comes from having good tools :)

What makeup brushes are on your wishlist?

Follow me on
Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Karla brushes

A bit of a caveat on this post - I'm by no means a makeup artist and I know that my application of lipstick using brushes isn't perfect, but hey, I'm not a professional ;)

I think it's fair to say a lot, if not most, bloggers know who Karla Powell is - she's a very well established and accomplished makeup artist who creates fantastic creative looks for people like Magnum or Polo mints etc as well as a lot of really creative lip art.  If you haven't yet, do check out her Instagram, she posts a lot of looks there, as well as more recently, pictures of her new baby, aww.

Anyway, that's a bit of background to the artist, well, being the fabulous makeup artist that she is, and working specifically on a lot of lip art, she's brought our her own collection of lip brushes after the success of her face charts.

The brushes are all synthetic (taklon), cruelty free and vegan.  In the collection there are 3 different brushes for 3 different purposes.  

There's the KL1 (The Filling brush) this is probably my favourite of the three, it's the one I used in the dusky pink lipstick above (3 pics up), it's softer and more flexible than the other two, and create for creating a really fine line around the edge to line the lip, although it's strength as a brush is in filling the lips. 

The KL2 (The Precision brush) this is angled like the KL3, but not quite as firm.  This is great for lining the lips very precisely.  I *think* this is the brush I used on the bright pink lipstick above (lipstick is Eurydice by Illamasqua).

The KL3 (The Cupid's bow brush) designed to line the cupid's bow of the lip, precisely and without the lipstick bleeding.  This, if my memory serves me correctly, is the firmer of the brushes.  I *think* this is the one I used to create the red lips (bad blogger, I should have taken note!).

For me as a non-makeup artist, using different makeup brushes on different parts of the lip is something I need practise on, typically I'll pick a brush and use just that one for that purpose.  But with these 3 I can really see after using them, how they each play their own part, especially with their different pressures, flexibility, shapes and thickness.

I don't have a lot to compare them to, my only other lip brush is a cheapie Models Own one which I've had for years, and while it's not much to compare to, these are most definitely much better - I like their firmness, it helps to give me control to create a better line, something I always struggled with when using the Models Own one.  You certainly don't need to be an MUA to use these either, they're suitable for anyone who applies lipstick.  I've never really been a fan of applying directly from the bullet either, I always tend to go for a brush, I find that lipstick looks better when applied that way, and stays in place a lot longer too, and doesn't start looking patchy quickly.

You can pick up this set for £15 from Beauty Chamber.

Follow me on
Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Nanshy brushes

The last few weeks have seen my first forray into the world of Nansy brushes.  I've put them through their paces, trying them with lots of different looks, and the face brushes with different foundations and now's the time for me to tell you what I think.

When Nanshy contacted me about reviewing these, it was after reading my post about my favourite makeup brushes, and how I raved about my Sigma F80 brush, they were wondering if I'd like to compare their flat top brush to it, and maybe a couple of others.  Well, I don't like to turn down a challenge, especially if there's the chance I might discover a dupe!  A couple of days after this discussion, my Nanshy brushes landed on my doorstep.  

The Sigma F80 vs Nanshy flat top

The two brushes (to look at) are pretty much the exact same size and proportions, with the Nanshy brush bristles being ever so slightly longer.  As a result, the Nanshy bristles aren't quite as tightly packed in - now this isn't a big difference, only a small one, but something I noticed when applying foundation.

The Nanshy flat top brush blended in my foundation just as well as my Sigma, giving me a flawless finish to my foundation, working it into my pores and fine lines.  At £10.95* it's about £5 cheaper than the Sigma F80 too, making it a decent dupe.  But which did I prefer?  In all honesty, I still prefer my Sigma F80, not because there's anything wrong with the Nanshy one, but just because I prefer how the bristles are packed in with the Sigma (slightly tighter) which gives me the feeling of more control.  Is it worth the extra £5?  Probably not, but it's a personal choice and just a brush I tend to prefer the feeling of.

How did I get on with the other brushes?
Nanshy angled flat top brush - this is as good as the normal flat top brush reviewed above, but with the added benefit that it works well to contour with too (if that's your thing).  I found it was slightly easier to work with around the nose area and tricker parts of my face - a good decent brush.

Nanshy tapered crease brush - I do really like this.  Is it a replacement for my Bdelium tools crease brush?  No, but it has a different use, the brush is smaller so better at defining.  For me I reached for it to add some dark definition in the 'outer v' and blend in eye shadow under the eye if I was going for a smoky look - so yeah, it's not a replacement, but it's a great brush to have in addition.

Large shader brush - great at packing on colour all over the lid, not great for detailed work, but that's fine as that isn't what you'd use it for :)  If you're going for a look with 1 colour, or you need to add a good base colour to your lid then this will be great.  I did find however that if I was using a very glittery eye shadow, some of the glitter gets lost in the bristles, but hey, this happens with lots of brushes!

Flag definer brush - this is a brilliant brush - perfect for adding defined shadow under the eye, defining the 'outer v' or even if you're going to do a cut crease look, this would work well to segment the colour. If you're careful, you could also use this for your brows, but just use a dabbing motion otherwise you might get thicker brows than you want!

All in all a great set of brushes, and set at prices that compete above their league.  Yes, not every brush would replace my favourite but that's not say they're not great brushes - they're a great quality affordable alternative to some of the more popular or well-known ranges.

You can find a selection of their brushes on Amazon, as well as some brush sets.

Follow me on Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

My favourite makeup brushes

I was thinking at the weekend of different posts to write that aren't just a simple review, and I thought I'd write one about my most used/favourite makeup brushes.  I'm not going to go into massive detail about each brush, just a little summary, but these are the ones that have cemented their way into my everyday makeup routine, ones that I've been using for months, not just currently.

Starting from the left....

E.l.f flat powder brush*

I had this in a goody bag months ago (before Christmas) and ever since that day, I've pretty much used it every single day since.  It's perfect for applying powder evenly over foundation, it picks it up evenly from the pan too, I love it!

Sigma F80 flat kabuki brush

I debated long and hard whether I should purchase this as it was around the £15 mark, but I'm so glad I did, it's now the only brush I use to apply foundation.  It buffs it into the skin beautifully giving a near-flawless finish.  It hasn't shed so much as 1 hair yet, it really is a superior brush and if you wear foundation, I urge you to invest in it :) - previous review here

Models Own blusher brush

This was in a set of 5 brushes for £10 and is the only one I've actually repeatedly used.  If I'm using a super intense blusher, then I do opt for my Real Techniques blusher brush instead as its much bigger so picks up the product much more evenly, but for the blushers I tend to wear most, this is perfect.  It blends really well and is just a great basic brush.

Ulta makeup brush (large shader brush)

This is one for my American friends, this was part of a set with a makeup bag that I had in a makeup swap.  This is fantastic at packing on colour all over the lid.  I tend to use this, then work a 2nd colour into the crease for my daily makeup.  I like it because the bristles are firm and they don't let much shadow fall out, something I battle with!

Bdelium green bambu crease brush* 

This is the crease brush to end all crease brushes!  Not only is it all eco-friendly and swish, it does a bloody good job of blending, picking up product and not letting much fall out :)  It's a great brush and in my opinion, worth every penny :) - previous review here

So there you have it, my top favourite brushes and why I love them :)

Do you use any of these brushes?  Which are your favourites?

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Jaina from Which Beauty Box UK

 

Follow me on Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Christmas gift guide #4 - Real Techniques Sams picks

In this set you get: Multi task brush, Blush and bronzer buffing brush, Essential crease brush, Setting brush, Pointed foundation brush and a fine liner brush.

I've been a fan of Real Techniques for a long time but haven't managed to get my paws on many brushes, until now.  

My first venture into the RT world was the stippling brush, after trying it on lots of different products I decided it's best use was on creme blush.  After that success I moved on to the super soft and fluffy blusher brush which I super adore too.

So when the lovely people over at Cocktail Cosmetics offered for me to try the Sam's picks collection I jumped at the chance!  One of the RT brushes I've had my eye on for a while is the multi task brush so when I saw it was in this set, ERMERGHERED I was happy!

This is a gorgeous set and such a perfect present for any beauty geek like me!  Especially if they're a fan of the RT brushes.  My top favourites from this set have to be the multi task brush and the essential crease brush (something I need more of!).  The liner brush is really good too, it's fairly firm which makes it great for precision lining.  Oh and that leads me to the buffing brush, totally awesome too :)

Like any RT brushes you can expect amazing quality and no shedding from this diverse set.  You can pick it up at Cocktail Cosmetics for £29.95*

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Amy from Srslylou

 

Follow me on Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Sigma brushes

Oh beautiful brushes, what did I do before you were in my life?  More to the point, oh F80 brush, what did I do before you were in my life!?

After trying EcoTools, Models Own and Bdellium, I decided to venture into the world of Sigma.  My first brush I bought a few months ago and instantly fell in love.  So a few weeks ago I set about ordering one from Beauty Chamber.  A few days later it arrived on my doorstep.  I've heard so many amazing things about this brush, and seen so many YouTube videos of people using it to blend their foundation, making it look airbrushed.

The next day when I was applying my makeup I reached for my F80 and, oh, my, god did it make my foundation look uh-mazing!  At the time I was trying out a teeny sample of NARS Sheer glow and wasn't sure if it was the foundation or the brush making my skin look great.  So the next day I moved on to my usual Dior BB Cream and once again, oh, my, god did my skin look great!  It's the brush!!!

Once I realised how amazing this is, I've tried it with lots of other foundations, and get similar results. If this isn't in your makeup kit yet, then it needs to be!  It's the best £15 I've spent in a long time.

Beauty Chamber were sweet enough to put a couple of other Sigma brushes in with my purchase too. There's a blending brush, a liner brush and an E70 angled shadow brush (£8.95*) - all of which are equally as brilliant!  The liner brush has a really good point to the tip, perfect for gel liner, and the blending brush is fantastic, far superior to my ecotools blending brush I have, it blends the edges much more and much better.  Finally, the angled shadow brush - perfect for adding colour to the crease up to the brow bone. The soft synthetic bristles do a brilliant job of blending all the shadows together.

What's your favourite Sigma brush?

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Jess from Coffee Cosmetics

 

Follow me on Google Plus | Bloglovin | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Makeup brush storage

I've been putting off doing this post as I have a craft project I'm planning to do to create new makeup brush storage, however I've been putting it off for long enough and thought I'd show you what I'm currently using (it's ridiculously simple!) and then I'll do an updated post when I've created my new storage.

Face brushes

This big mug was one I picked up in Boots a couple of Christmasses ago, it had a knitted jacket on it and some tea (I think), the jacket didn't stay on and it was a little big to drink out of, so I re-purposed it as a brush holder.  It's where I keep all my face brushes, lots of which tend to have big bottoms like the Real Techniques brushes (yeah, I only have 2 but they're big bottomed!).  This will probably be my first project to replace, I just need to find one more thing and I can do my project :)

Eye brushes

This cute little jar I picked up a few months ago in Sainsburys.  It's supposed to be a tea light holder for the garden, it came with a twisted wire rigid handle (which I had the hubby remove).  It's the perfect size for my eye shadow brushes and what's even better is that it was only £2, bargain :)

Don't be afraid to buy things and use them for something else, try buying a pretty glass and using that for makeup brushes, or ornate tea light holders, or even mugs :)

What's your most creative re-purposing?

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Stacie from Life is worth the fight

 

Written by Georgina Kent

Japonesque touch up tube

Back a couple of weeks ago Cocktail Cosmetics were kind enough to send me a couple of goodies to review for my blog :)  This is one of them - a lovely little kit of 5 makeup brushes by Japonesque in a hot pink container ideal for travelling or your handbag.

My Thoughts

Inside the kit you get 5 different brushes (a foundation brush, a lip brush, two eye detailers and a blush/powder brush).  All have black handles with pink detailing and all fit into the cylindrical pink metal tube.

The set is really cute and is ideal for travelling or keeping in your handbag.  If you're not keen on the pink colour, they also come in animal print, black or silver.  The quality is pretty decent, but not consistent.  The blusher brush is the weak one of this set, it just feels a little firm and a bit cheap, but the others are good, particularly the eye brushes, they're fluffy but not too fluffy :)

All in all this is a lovely set, I love the colour and the fact the brushes come in such a nice container to help keep them protected.  You can pick up this set from Cocktail Cosmetics for £16.95 :)

Have you tried Japonesque before?

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Shang from The Feminine Crusade

 

Written by Georgina Kent

Bdellium Tools

Hi guys!  So, if you're currently looking for some new makeup brushes to try/buy etc, look no further, I think I may have hit the jackpot!

Ladies (and Gents?!) I give you, Bdellium tools!

You've probably heard of these before, they've been kicking around the blogosphere for a while and have been revered and raved about by many bloggers, and now I have three of these beauties for myself, I now I can see what all the fuss was about :)

These brushes are part of their Green Bambu* collection.   

They say "Professional Eco Friendly makeup brushes with all sustainable bamboo handles and soft vegan synthetic bristles with an anodised aluminium ferrule.  The advantages of synthetic bristles includes less or no hair shedding compared to natural bristles, they are easier to clean and provide a much lighter application of products.  The bristles are hypoallergenic and 100% Cruelty Free."

My Thoughts

As you might be able to tell from my little intro, I quite like these :)  First off, I'm a massive fan of all things Japanese, and seeing as these are made of Bamboo, that's a big+ in my book.  Then take into consideration that these are suitable for vegans and 100% cruelty free and we're on to a winner.  But even still, the brushes could have been rubbish, but they're not.  They're quality products that have become my 'reach for first' brushes.  I may not have had them a very long time, but sometimes you don't need to use a product for long to know that it's amazing.

One of the biggest things I've noticed about these, is my eye shadow application, I feel that it's improved and well, as much as I'd like to say it has, I feel it's down to the brushes.  They don't pick up too much product, and they blend really really well.  They feel really nice to hold too (thank to the Bamboo), and I love the colour, it makes them really easy to pick out in your collection.  But if I had to pick a negative, I'd have to say the price.  They're not exactly cheap, but they're not crazy expensive either.  I think for the quality of the product, you get really good value for money, I just can't see many people being able to shed out enough for a whole collection straight off the bat.  But I think if you pick out a few or couple key brushes (for me, the large shadow brush and the crease brush have been my favourites) and build it up slowly, over a period of months you'd have yourself a lovely little collection :)

Where: You can pick up these little beauties from places like Beauty Chamber and other online stores.

Prices: Eyeliner brush £6.50, Crease brush £7.50 and Large Shadow brush £8.50.

Have you tried Bdellium tools?  What's your favourite brush?

This months big pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Angelica from One Little Vice - be sure to head over to check out her beautiful blog <3