Holy Grail Beautyy . . .

Storytime

I had seen these bright berry pink bristled makeup brushes at my local Coles supermarket for a little while and I finally decided to bite the bullet and try them out.  I just bought the angled blush brush and the smoky eye brush set.  In stock at the time was a powder brush, a kabuki brush, a foundation brush, a stippling brush. a regular eye-shadow brush, eyelash curlers, extra sponge tip brushes and extra makeup sponges.  The brushes are pink/berry bristled with rose gold ferrules and have cream handles. The makeup sponges are purple/blue colour.

The brushes are all packaged in a black resealable bag and on closer inspection, they appear to be produced or carried by QVS.  From what I know that is a well known American company that sells lots of different products and I have seen some regular makeup accessories in the more regular colours at Target. The company UBU is a trio of ladies who love beauty and its products.

Beauty Guru

The Berry Blush angled brush #11 is a good size, but the bristles are not the softest and refined that you can buy, but it does do the job of applying contour. blush and highlighter.  The bristles are not perfectly cut in alignment they have a fuzzy border, it doesn't seem to hinder using the brush.As these brushes are all packaged, you cannot feel them before you purchase them unfortunately.


I also bought the Smokey Eye Brush Pack which is a trio of three eye brushes:

The Smokey Eye Brush Kit contains an all purpose eye shadow brush called Eyemazing #35 which is a tapered blending brush it is soft but firm and is good to get colour all over the eyelid quickly due to its size it only takes a few pats!.  The edges are flexible and you could use the sides to define your crease with a transition shade, an eye defining brush Drama Queen #31 and a small domed smudger brush Smudge Kitten #36 which is excellent for the inner eye highlight area as well as applying to the lower lash line for smudging. 

I used the eye defining brush called Drama Queen #31 as an eyeliner brush with ELF black cream eyeliner and I loved it.

The bristles are synthetic on the Drama Queen #31 and Smudge Kitten #36 small domed smudger brush.

The brushes are a mix of natural and synthetic and the website clearly states what kind they are on each brush and also proffers more information on what each brush is best at and other important tips to know.

In the below photos, I used the Smokey Eye Kit to create this pink and grey look with eye-shadow's from Nyx: Cupcake, which is a nearly matte look pale pink, Gumdrop which is the same pink as Cupcake but has sparkles in it and lastly Club Crawl Clubbing a soft grey with sparkle in it also.  The inner eye corner highlight is by Eye of Horus Cosmetics in the palette Sheba Mystical Goddess using the shade Artifact and the lower eyelid rim is half lightly lined with Royal Abyss also from that palette.  I used the Elf Cream Black eyeliner for the wings, Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. Maybelline Age Rewind concealer in Fair, Revlon BB Photoready Skin Perfector in Fair and Rimmel Match Perfection Silky Loose Powder to set my under eye area and on my T Zone for my oily area.
On my lips is Mor Peony Lip Silk.  On my cheek I am wearing a tiny bit of bronzer as well.  No highlight either.  Just my oily face!




What I saw at Coles was only a small part of the whole range and I have enjoyed using these brushes.
I am unsure if the brand is cruelty free or not as I could not find any information about this on the website.  I have sent a customer enquiry from the website and received an email sent receipt so hopefully I will find out soon enough. I received an email today informing me the following:

So that is great news!

There is a complete collection of brushes, including a berry coloured fan brush called Fancee Me #14! I really want that brush! These brushes are mostly under $20 and some under $10 including accessories.  Amazon.com is a place to check out for purchase, in Perth we have a few easy to get to locations to purchase such as Coles and Kmart.

Benefits of these brushes:

• Cruelty Free
• Very Inexpensive
• Colourful and pretty
• Broad range of brushes and accessories

Some areas for improvement::

• Accessability
• Both natural bristles and synthetic could be a lot more softer

I think these brushes would be great for all makeup lovers whether they be professional to enthusiasts as they are very affordable, colourful and up to date in what brushes and accessories are available.

Others may be put off by the lack of softer than soft bristles natural and synthetic but I feel that these brushes do do what you want them to do.  The brushes should not be so soft that they cannot manipulate the product properly nor should they be so stiff and create a patchy job! I feel that brushes can be up to the individuals taste and requirements.

I definitely recommend these brushes for the above reasons.
As yet I have not experienced any negative elements from the four brushes I have currently in my collection.

Thank-you for reading!
Not sponsored.
Photos by me.
UBU Cosmetic Brushes

Storytime



I have worn black winged eye liner since I was 14 years old, only using liquid eyeliners.  I was pretty damn devoted to it and only in the last two years I have been trying to find a good cheap alternative to liquid eyeliner.  I still love liquid eyeliner but when it is summer and I am sweating like a pig on a spit, the liquid eyeliner will run, transfer and just look a total mess.

Australia didn't stock E.L.F. Cosmetics until recently and I found my pot of eyeliner at Kmart.  I had read good reviews on this at Beautypedia and it is insanely cheap! So when I tried it I loved it instantly.  Its pigmented, easy to apply and appears to be sweat proof to a point as I wore it to my step aerobics class and only after the intensity of that class did I start to get a light transfer.  I have posted that picture here and it also appears on the Rimmel Magnif'eyes Shadow and liner in Kissed by a rose gold product review on this blog.

Beauty Guru

• Pigmented colour
• Super cheap
• Great quality
• Easy to use
• Pot doesn't dry out 

Definitely recommend this product.
Photos by me.
Thankyou for reading
Not sponsored

Storytime

When you first start wearing makeup there is so many little things to learn about and how to apply products especially with brushes.  I made the mistake of using a blush brush directly to apply pressed face powder to my face to set my make up.  I couldn't figure out why I was not getting the look I was after until I was idly reading an old magazine at the doctor's office and came upon a beauty advice article.

Beauty Guru

This is what I should have been doing. Instead of putting the brush into the powder and then applying directly to set my makeup, I should have been using either a velour puff and/or the sides of the blush brush.

If you use a velour puff/pad and press it on to the areas of the face you wish to set, you will not disturb the foundation and concealer etc underneath.  You will get the perfect look without ruining your bases.

Alternatively, you can use the sides of a blush brush, I use my Eco Tools blush brush, which has graduated levels of bristles so you can use it for this purpose, for applying blush and to apply contour.

Simply press the side of the blush bristles into the powder and then apply to your face where you wish.

Big powder/blush brushes are for removing excess powder on your face, so you can lightly dust it off.

This is not a hard and fast rule, but is what works for me.  It was a revelation let me tell you!

Thankyou for reading.
Check out Eco Tools Cosmetic Brushes Here
To buy Manicare Puffs
Not sponsored.