Make Up Monday 8.6.18

A whole month has gone by and we have another round of make up review! This month we are looking at some new brushes and a new Elf Brow pencil.

Starting with the brow pencil:

This retails 1.99$ so very affordable- it has a nice tip to start with – and it applied fairly easily with a waxy finish. I was impressed with the color-pay off upon initial application.  Long term- I wish this wasn’t QUIET as thick of a pencil- my initial excitement has worn into “eh-another pencil”. It’s really useful- and I don’t get super excited about pencils- but it’s just like every other pencil I’ve used. Which is good- because I expect it to put product on- and stay there.

Bonus- they did NOT skimp on the spoolie- I do not have small brows- and tiny spoolies don’t do it for me!

Pre-application and Post application!

So I’m not mad at it. I’ve been using for about a month and a half and it’s made it through multiple sessions at the gym, long days at work and my sweaty gigs- so YAY for not sliding around. That was a big win for me but I am neither under whelmed or over whelmed- possibly just whelmed (insert jokes if you know!) I would buy it again- but likely I’ll try a different pencil only because I’m on the hunt for a product that might actually wow me. So far it’s been Anastasia Beverly Hills, the NYX version of that, Loreal and this one- right now to me- a brow pencil is a brow pencil is a brow pencil. I just can’t get excited. I know- it makes me a horrible make up person- but it is what it is.

Next up we have the airbrush blender by ELF. I am REALLY loving these clear handled brushes- they are a step up – a little more pricey (10.99 for this) but the quality is REALLY nice. I’m quiet happy with them to touch and feel.

The finish is really lovely. I am currently NOT crazy about the shape- I can’t quiet figure out how to make this a thing. I think it’s going to be better for cream contour products than foundation- but I’m going to keep trying- upside- I wanted to go get the IT cosmetics version of this based on Katheleen Lights recommendation since she loves it- but I’m kind of glad I haven’t- if I can’t make this 10$ version work- why would I go drop another 38$ on a nicer one if I have issues with the shape- don’t be silly Jo- don’t be silly. Here’s a look I did with the above products:

Next up are the Sonia Kashuk Brushes from the Essential Make up Collection- they are the mid-line brushes I believe- not the top end ones- I actually thought these were nicer for what I was looking for-the higher end blender brush she offers- IMHO the bristles were way to long and floppy for a good blender brush.

I bought two, retailing for 6$ each:

• No 260, small eye shadow brush
• No 273, blending crease brush

These are pleasantly soft brushes- I feel a little bit like I wish the handles were more robust- and a little more weighty- but for 6$ brushes- I’m not mad at my initial uses.

What I really liked about these off the bat was that they did not have overly long bristles- I hate overly long bristled brushes- that annoys me, I feel I don’t have as much control that way- and with the longer bristles, they are either too stiff in order to hold the shape with that length- or they are too soft and make for less effective blending tools.

So the eye shadow brush is slightly flatter as you can see- and what I think I like about it is that it’s still got enough shape to pick up product and use either as more of a flat brush- OR straight on and use it to place product and blend a little. The flat eye shadow brushes there is no blending- it’s “pat pat pat” place- if you do anything else it seems to just smudge and muddy everything.

The blender is a nice controlled blending tool- which is what I was looking for, I have this really cheap coastal scents densely packed- but longer pencil brush that I’ve been looking to replace and having a hard time finding an adequate substitute.  Most pencil brushes are too short and densely packed and hurt- they don’t blend well. Or they are so small they are really for the under eye- so something that isn’t a full blender- but something smaller- and more precise. This is the closest brush I’ve found so far in my hunt.

I’ve lined up the new blender with some of my other blending brushes so you can see the shape/quality.

Above- left to right we have: Wet N Wild, Morphe 433, Morphe Y18, Real Techniques and Sonia Kashuk

And below close ups of the products.

Honestly – next to Real Techniques- these are the nicest brushes I’ve purchased in store that are “affordable drug store” brand ones- I REALLY like my wet n wild brush- and I use it regularly- but you can see how long the bristles are and it pretty much is ONLY useful to me for blown out crease looks- and not detail looks.  I do abuse it regularly and it’s holding up so I usually DO recommend it- but it has a specific use. Morphe is a quality product- but you have to order and if you want something right now- or need to see it in person- well you’re SOL. I’m really grateful and glad that Sonia Kashuk has expanded and is offering a mid-line/affordable option that you can pick what you want- it’s one of my big pet peeves with Real Techniques is they sort of limit you to buying the whole set- I get they make more money- but sometimes I want double of something- without buying TWO of the whole set.

So- if you are looking for a good in person buy on the spot brush- I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to you- these are really nice brushes.  And actually as far as sets go- this 8 piece Archival brush Set right here is probably one of the nicer “oh I’d use all of those brushes” sets I’ve seen produced by a company.

So that’s the wrap for today- but stay tuned- so many exciting things coming for August and September. As far as make up goes- I have some highlighters coming from the famous Bitter Lace Beauty (home of the original rainbow highlighter!) that I am looking forward to reviewing for you all next month after they arrive!  Please go take a look though- they just went through a horrific moving experience and have placed a lot of product on sale in an effort to move product and bring in some income to get resettled- so help a small brand out order some highlighter so you too can look like a glazed doughnut! Happy highlighting folks- and I’ll see you next time!