Review: ELF Studio Powder Brush

Quality: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Price: $3.00
Where To Buy: Eyeslipsface.com
Would I Buy Again: Yes!

This brush is so great! Its the first flat top brush I've tried, and it'll probably be the last. I had been thinking about getting a more expensive one from Coastal Scents but kept putting it off, finially I decided to try this one since its $10 cheaper. I've used it for both powder and liquid foundation with great results.

For powder foundation it gives great coverage and I've never had powder foundation look so good. It was easy to get the foundation around my nose but harder to get it around my eyebrows.

Applying liquid foundation with this brush was so much easier then any other brush I've used and quicker then using my fingers. Plus I got a great smooth streak free finish with zero effort. Today was really the fastest and easiest time I've ever had applying liquid foundation.

This brush is super soft, and it was easy to wash out my stubborn Revlon CS. Also there was very little foundation left on my brush, I expected there to be more on my brush then on my face like with other brushes but that doesn't happen with this brush.



PROS:
-super soft
-no shedding
-no smell
-applies both powder & liquid foundation like a dream
-cleans easy, doesn't suck foundation up into the bristles
-affordable for everyone
-vegan, bristles are synthetic

CONS:
-takes a few hours to dry like most synthetic brushes

Don't forget to use the code CAROLINA at the ELF website for 50% off orders up to $15. Also use Ebates for 4% cash back.

Review: POSH Brushes

Just to recap, I got these from PoshBrushes.com. You can use the code UA123 for 50% off your order (enter this on the payment page) and shipping is free on orders over $35 before the discount.


Eyeliner Duo
Cost: $12
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Both of these brushes are soft, but the bristles are firm and are great for lining under the bottom lashes. Even the larger one is easy to use for lining. I get the color out of the brushes by washing them with hot water. My only complant is that it would have been better if one of the brushes were angled.



Crease Brush Duo
Cost: $12
Rating: 5 out of 5

I loooooooove these little brushes! The larger one is fantastic for the crease. Its very soft and densly packed. Its great at color placement control, and it doesn't leave a harse line that you have to blend out, the lines from this are pretty soft. You can also use this to blend eye shadow. There were only 2 bristles that shed after I washed this. The smaller of these brushes is similar to the MAC 219 pencil brush (which I haven't used, just going by what I've seen in other videos and photos). So far I've only used it to apply e/s under my bottom lashes and its really nice. I don't yet know how this works in the crease.



Concealer Duo
Cost: $12
Rating: 5 out of 5

These are typical concealer brushes. They are soft with firm bristles and don't shed. I don't even have concealer so I don't quite remember why I got these but they are nice. The larger can be used for foiling eye shadow.



Touch Up Brush
Cost: $7
Rating: 5 out of 5

This is a very soft brush that can be used for applying powder around the nose or other small areas, touching up concealer, and can also be used to apply eye shadow. It does NOT do well applying wet eye shadow, but I love it for applying them dry! I've given it a few rough washings and it hasn't shed but a few of the hairs have kind of gone off in different directions. To clean this you need hot water to get the color out of the white hair. If/When I order from POSH again I would probably get another one of these brushes as long as the bristles don't start to go wonky.

My Brushes

This is for Nikki who asked what brushes I use, so here they are.

Sonia Kashuk Blush Brush (HG) & unknown Kabuki brush. I don't have any other face brushes. I use the kabuki to apply Fyrinnae's Rice Primer and to blend blush.


NYX #1 eye brush, Contour Dome (crease) brush
Studio Tools Large E/S brush (I use this to highlight brow bone), Medium E/S brush (I use this for all over e/s application), Smudge brush (used for blending & applying e/s under bottom lashes)
ELF Eyeshadow brushes, Eyeliner brush (used only to tightline), Angled brush
Sonia Kashuk Smudge brush (detail work, smudging, and lining lower lashes)
unknown angled brush & e/s brush

Avon Haul

I got a few things from Avon today. A Glimmerstick waterproof eyeliner in Pearly, the 3 in 1 pencil sharpener (works great on my NYX jumbo e/s pencil, good thing because my most used one was completely flat), and 4 glazewear lipsticks that are labeled on the last photo. I'm already planning my next order, I think I'm going to try some of the hair products.

And my entire Glazewear lipstick family! Don't they look happy?

They have some really good sales right now. The Glazewear lipsticks are 2 for $6.99, the Glimmersticks are $2.99, and hair styling products are 2 for $6.99, plus a tons of other things are on sale too. These sales are good until June 5th. One of the things I love/hate about Avon is that something is always on sale.

Free shipping code is Ultimate815, good on orders over $15.

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Ebates

Who doesn't like a rebate? With ebates you can get back a certain percentage of your purchase from select online stores, granted it isn't much (usually 4-5% back) but if you shop online a lot it adds up. This works with Sephora, Target, Avon, Macy's, and about 900 other other stores. You can also earn money by referring other people (that's what I'm trying to do right here baby, support my shopping habit). Ebates will send you a check or deposit what you earn into your paypal account 4 times a year. I just got mine, that's what paid for my Avon haul. To sign up follow the link below, create an account just buy entering your email and creating a password. Making a purchase at any store they support before June 30th will give me $10, and you'll get $10 just for signing up. Then you can refer more people and get cash for that too, plus rebates for your online shopping. It might sound like bull but its not at all, I've been using this sight for 4 months with no problems. I wouldn't promote anything that wasn't totally genuine.

http://www.ebates.com/referral/0508bonusosu.htm?referrerid=zmiCm03v2roZ9LYxZ3dLeQ%3D%3D

Now if only I could remember to use the site, I didn't for this Avon haul *hangs head*.

Review: ELF Brushes

ELF brushes have a special place in my heart, they were the first ones I bought just as I was seriously getting into make up. So I thought I would do a little tribute to them here.

Quality: 4 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Price: $1
Where to buy: eyeslipsface.com
Cruelty Free: Yes

-Total Face, 2 out of 5
Total crap. Its not soft, its not dense enough, its not firm enough. At least it doesn't shed a lot, but thats about the only thing going for it. I never use this.

-Blushing, Bronzing, Blending, 3 out of 5
The ELF website doesn't show it, but this brush is angled. While its not scratchy, its also not very soft. I also don't like it because its not wide enough to apply blush in just a few strokes, you have to go back for more to cover a decent area. I did use this for a really long time, but then I bought my Sonia Kashuk blush brush and finally knew blush brush happiness. It had almost no shedding.

-Foundation, 3 out of 5
The bristles on the brush are stiff but soft, and also kind of crappy at applying liquid foundation (or maybe thats just me, I don't have a lot of/any experiance using foundation brushes). I liked it find for applying powder though. I never really use this, except sometimes I'll use it to put on asprin masks. I think there are probably better quality foundation brushes so I wouldn't recommend this one.

-Blending, 1 out of 5
I do NOT recommend this brush unless you like having your skin scratched off. The bristles are too sparse to blend well and very harsh. I only use this to brush off fallout pigment and to blend foiled pigments, and thats not very often. I don't know if it sheds a lot because I haven't used it enough to find out.

-Angled/Defining, 5 out of 5
This brush has soft angled bristles that are great for precise shadow application, brow filling, and lining. I have not experienced any shedding and this brush is still in great condition after months and month of regular use. I definitely recommend trying it. Zero shedding.

-Eyeliner, 5 out of 5
This is a thin, straight flat brush with firm bristles. I use this to tightline my top and bottom waterlines. Its also good for applying cream or gel liners above and below eye lashes although I do like an angled brush better for that.

-Eye Shadow, 5 out of 5

The quality of this brush is very good. Its soft but not flimsy, and it holds eyeshadow well. My eyeshadow goes on very smooth and blended, and I don't usually have any powder dropping onto my cheeks or lashes. I've had two of these brushes for almost a year and despite the cheap price they are still in as great a condition as ever. Have experianced little to no shedding.

Review: Sonia Kashuk Blush Brush

Quality: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Price: $10
Where to buy: Target
Cruelty Free: Yes
Overall: 5 out of 5

I had 3 blush brushes before, but they were either too scratchy (the ELF blush brush) or they shed too much (Studio Tools), or both. So I saw the Sonia Kashuk brushes for 10% off at Target and decided to try the blush brush (white handled, not black) in hopes that it would not shed like a cat or scratch like... well, a pissed off shedding cat.



I wasn't disappointed. The Sonia K blush brush is so soft, I just want to cuddle with it. It hardly feels like I'm brushing anything against my face. The brush is wide enough that it covers the right area without any hassle, but it doesn't apply too much. The best part is that it picks up just the right amount of blush so I only have to do one stroke from the apples of my cheeks to my hair line and one back, then I'm done. It doesn't look splotchy and I don't have any harsh lines to blend. I haven't noticed any shedding hairs either, so I'm in blush brush heaven!

Highly Recommended!
xox