The Best of 2016: Beauty Tools

Good makeup is either from good products or good tools. I like having both. So besides having a banging foundation, wouldn't it all go to waste if your brush just leaves it streaky? So here are my top beauty tools for 2016. Some life changing and some just remain as old reliables.

Another Affair with Zoeva: Luxury Rose Golden Set II

It's been another long time coming but I've checked another piece off my wishlist after a year. I bought the first Rose Golden Luxury set in January. I've been putting this off for so long because I was having second thoughts. But after a moment of realization I decided to get it. So much for self-control. 

Description:

Live your fairytale and master any makeup look with the Rose Golden Luxury Set, a collection of eight handcrafted, essential makeup brushes in an ultra-feminine design, including a chic rose-golden clutch.

Availability: Sephora

Zoeva Rose Gold Set I Review

As I'm writing this up, I learnt a good friend of mine is selling her brush set on Instagram because of damages on the  handles, this was the same friend who inspired me to buy this set though I have been grossly been putting it off for 2 years.

Price:  ₱ 4,272.00 at Sephora.ph

How I Clean my Brushes

Cleaning my brushes are a constant love and hate relationship for me. Love because who doesn't love using fresh and clean brushes? Hate because it can be such a hassle. But it must be done once a week.

I never really talked about brush cleaning before. But my routine has been set in stone for the past year, so I figured it is time to write about a "real" routine for this.

Real Techniques Sculpting Set Review

My Real Techniques Buffing brush has seen better days and the Expert face brush just isn't doing it's thing as well anymore.  So a trip to beauty counter ended in bringing back this set home. Well, that's predictable huh?

Soffia Beauty Opulence Blending Brush

Price: P950 (Regular) Currently (P665)

Description: The SOFFIA Opulence Perfect Skin Foundation Brush can create a flawless complexion in more ways than one – use this to apply liquid foundation or BB Cream and obtain doll-like, immaculately poreless and flawless complexion. Use this for powder foundation and obtain full, unnoticeable coverage. Use this to contour your features. This brush does it all.

Availability: https://beautymnl.com/ and http://www.beautyandminerals.com/collections/soffia-beauty-makeup-brushes

"Expertly designed to address your every makeup need, Soffia Beauty’s brushes are crafted with rare, world-class Lush Opulence bristles that glide silky-smooth over your skin. The bristles are made with one of two materials–first, the softest, most luxurious grade of synthetic hair, or second, top-of-the-line goat hair. Each Soffia brush is put together with meticulous Japanese techniques and held to the highest standards, so you can be sure that you’re getting fine quality tools."

A beauty junkie knows how hard and expensive it is to come across good quality and reliable products especially brushes. They can easily take you for a small fortune a pop, however it stays with you for years and years when properly taken care of. Creams, shadows and powders might expire, but a good makeup brush will be with you through all those empty and expired bottles and tubs. Charlotte Tilbury said if you're going to invest in something, invest in brushes since they can change your whole application method and make your drugstore makeup rival and even emulate luxury makeup brands.

I've been on the look out for a good blending brush without breaking the bank, I'm aware of the famous MAC 217 but there aren't any MAC stores in my area so that wasn't an option. But when I heard of SOFFIA a year back, which is the luxury line of Charm Brushes, I was curious and wanted to get my hands on one of their brushes, specifically this brush because of the glowing reviews. 

So when I saw that it was on sale on Beautymnl back when they had 20% off on the first purchase, I begged my friend to get me this brush as a gift! And I was not disappointed. From the box it came in, it literally spelled out luxury, it looked like it came from a jewelry store!

And the brush looked so fancy with its gold and black tones. The ferrule was sturdy and the hairs were clearly of high quality with a strange mix of synthetic and natural hair. I was in love with the sight of it sitting with the rest of my brushes on my vanity. I reached for it most often now since it stands out so much. 

The hairs are so densely and evenly packed to assure proper blending.  It doesn't fare too well on picking up pigment, which can be done by any flat eyeshadow brush. But blending is, by the name alone, its purpose. It can blend tough eye shadows from my Tartletette eyeshadow palette like a dream. It can save you when you pack on too much pigment for your own good. To be honest I feel like such a pro when I use this. 

It really does glide smoothly on skin. It doesn't irritate, scratch or tug at the eyelids. And love how it feels just right for blending darker shadows in my crease. And reading from other blogs, this is also amazing for contouring the nose.

And since their on sale right now, I'd recommend picking this baby up.

Eyeshadows applied and blended in with the SOFFIA Opulence blending brush

CarmenClaire Cosmetics Top 10 Brush Collection

It's been a quiet July, but hopefully August will be making some noise in this blog. And brushes will kick off this month. I'm a sale sucker and I just could not resist 20% off from Carmen Claire with a P1000+ purchase. So from P1200 to a  price drop of P960! And for a complete brush set? Count me in.  

It comes in a classy leatherette container. Perfect for travel! And doesn't it just scream professional?

Price: P1200 but I got it for P960 since they're having a discount with a P1000 peso purchase

Availability: www.carmenclaire.com

Description:

Tuxedo black-and-white, luxurious leatherette, and ultra-soft natural and synthetic hair. 

Designed with love and engineered with precision, it's the CarmenClaire TOP 10 Brush Collection.

Each set includes:

Powder Brush (white goat hair)

Round Blush Brush (white goat hair)

Angled Blush Brush (white goat hair)

Blending Brush (white goat hair)

Large Eyeshadow Brush (ox tail hair)

Medium Eyeshadow Brush (ox tail hair)

Angled Liner Brush (synthetic hair)

Lip Brush (synthetic hair)

Lash and Brow Comb (plastic)

Foundation/Concealer Brush (synthetic hair)

The whole set in its entirety looks beautiful. The combination of black ferrules and white hairs just make me swoon. These brushes are my first experience with natural brushes and I'm quite impressed. Apparently natural brushes pick up powder products better while synthetic brushes (i.e. Real techniques) pick up cream and liquid products better.

From (L-R) Blending brush, Angled blush brush, Round blush brush, Powder brush

These brushes were made from white goat hair, but are exceptionally soft, with the slight exception of the blending brush which can be a tad scratchy but workable. They pick up pigment well and apply it subtly and beautifully especially when its a notoriously pigmented, oops-you-might-look-ridiculous-if-you-apply-too-much product. The face brushes just do a great job. But the blending brush does well too but not as great as the face brushes.

From (L-R) Foundation and concealer brush, Eyeliner brush, Brow comb, Medium eye shadow brush, Large eye shadow brush, Lip brush 

The foundation/concealer, lip and eyeliner brush are made of dense synthetic bristles, and the liner means business as it is sturdy and does not bend, perfect for gel liner. the lip brush is also precise, like making your lipstick look like liner when it applies. The brow brush is an ok but very common addition to these kinds of sets and I really can't find anything particularly bad about them but I don't use them as much as I'd like.

The Ox tail hair shadow brushes are also sturdy as well, almost synthetic to a point, I personally don't like these flat shapes for shadow application other than a light wash of pigment on lids, everything else I'd depend on a blending brush with a more domed or solid thickness or shape.

Overall these brushes are worth the money, especially for beginners who have always been curious of what natural hair brushes deliver without breaking the bank as some can go for a small fortune for one brush. However there will be shedding (for the goat hair brushes at least) which is perfectly normal for natural hair and a distinct odor which is also pretty common, so be wary of these two things, I'm pretty fine with the shedding since I don't use them roughly. Only for final finishes or powder. But if you tend to go with a heavy hand, small hairs will shed, this also goes for washing them. I also find that they dry slower than my synthetic brushes since they absorb more moisture. 

The scent can be controlled to a point, since my brush cleaner is quite fragrant. However I find that if I wash them with a foaming cleanser, the scent comes back with a vengeance, so as much as possible I would wash them with a proper brush cleaner.

Thanks for reading!

Real Techniques Nic's Pick's Collection Review

Happy Holidays! Sorry for the lack of posts. But here is a review for one of my best purchases of the year.

Charlotte Tilbury, world renowned makeup artist to the stars said invest in good makeup brushes because they can make all the difference, in other words, the finish will speak for itself, high end makeup will look cheap if not properly applied, and drugstore makeup can't be told apart from high end brands with the right application.

Price: P1750 on @stuffinstyle

Description:

A collection of Nic’s favorite brushes. Complete any look with this limited edition set, featuring 3 exclusive brushes specially designed to create the perfect finish.

Includes all the brushes needed to create a complete look:

• duo-fiber face brush: for lightweight application + blending of face powder or pigments
• cheek brush (set exclusive): evenly applies makeup across cheekbone for a more dramatic finish
• angled shadow brush (set exclusive): perfectly cut for layering eye shadow in the crease
• base shadow brush: applies a smooth, flawless foundation of color
• eyeliner brush (set exclusive): firm, angled head for optimal control along lash line

I never paid much attention to makeup brushes at the start of my cosmetic life, I loved using the little applicators, which is not a mortal sin but if you want to see the real power of that eye shadow, that blush or how immaculate your skin could look with foundation without being too thick, that's where the big toys come in,.. brushes!

At first I bought cheap brushes like P100 for a kit kind, clearly they did not convince me to buy into brushes, and let's face it brushes from some Filipino brands smell horrible, so I'm sorry to be unpatriotic but I tend to gravitate towards foreign brands which proved to be too steep for my pocket but upon discovering Real techniques, I found hope. Affordable and good quality and they smell like nothing, Plus sets! Sets are definitely for people who are beginners, who have no idea what to use, my first kit was the Core collection, then the Travel essentials, now I have this kit, Nic's Picks, Nic, being one of the Pixiwoo sisters who made the brand.

Now on to the review:

These brushes have special ferrules, silver, which make them look so Pro! I believe the hairs to be made of Taklon, which is synthetic. And it comes with 3 exclusive brushes, which you can't buy anywhere but this set!

Duo Fibre Face Brush

I have been longing to try this brush for ages! Mostly because my idol, Ruth Crilly from A model Recommends, uses it a lot. and many reviews stating that this was the only good brush from the duo fibre collection which was limited edition, not wanting to spend good money on unwanted brushes, I was psyched to have this in a different set! It is unbelievably soft, and it picks up so little product which is a good thing since you can use it with a heavy hand without looking like you piled on the makeup today, this is ideal for powder products, great for translucent powder since it diffuses product so well, and very pigmented blushes and bronzers, the ones that make you look like a clown can finally be used with this brush, giving sheer layers and your choice of color build-ability! This brush is probably enough for you to get the whole set, since the other brushes are pretty nice but this has a very luxurious feel to it, no scratchiness at all, contrary to its appearance.

Cheek Brush (Set Exclusive)

This is a flat blush brush, simply put, I personally prefer a dome shaped brush for blush so the shape is not my cup of tea, but it does a good job for applying blush, it gives a soft flush. But not the best at blending in powder products, be sure you use  the tap tap tap method for applying. And if you have the expert face brush, you'll find this to be the fluffier and bigger version. I think this is actually good for setting makeup and I have even tried this for  liquid foundation and it has worked out surprisingly well, so I think this would actually be more ideal for cream or liquid cheek products.

Angled Shadow brush (Set Exclusive)

I have been severely disappointed with my RT Travel set essentials dome shadowed brush which had to be glued again, badly I might say. So I was tickled pink to have two eyeshadow brushes. Not a big eyeshadow fans, but the right tools changed my mind, I've been stuck with sucky brushes, but these changed my eyeshadow application life! Brushes do change your life. Hahaha. This is actually used for the crease, but I find myself reaching for it for concealer since it does such a good job in blending, I have used it a couple of times for eyeshadow but it's a tad big for my crease but turned the right way it can work. It is very soft, so blending in is not an irritating task.

Base Shadow Brush

This brush can be found in the Starter set, which I wanted to purchase before, but held off for this set. This brush is equally as soft as the crease brush, It can pick up shadows adequately and it is my most reached for brush for eyeshadow since it can blend well too. 

Eyeliner brush (Set Exclusive)

I have just been getting into eyeliner, but by that I just use powder eyeshadow for a softer look, since I'm merely dipping my foot in the water, I use this for a black eyeshadow or a dark brown/ But most of the time I find this is great for eyebrows, many who bought the starter set found the eyeliner brush in the set was too thick. But as I searched for pictures online, it really is compared to this one found in the set. It is a very sturdy brush so I hope to use more of this when I buy a gel liner in the future!

Overall I find that this set has good value for money, I love these brushes and I'm looking forward to purchasing more brushes from real techniques if the maintain their quality and price range. Thanks for reading and Happy almost new year!