YOUR BRUSH GUIDE

Essential Brushes/Choosing Brushes

Having the right makeup wont get you anywhere if you don't have the right brushes/sponges to apply it. Application is key. Use this post as a guide for getting everything you need...

Blush:

- A soft medium round brush

- Natural Fiber

- Other uses: Applying Powder or Bronzer

Fan:

- Various Sizes

- Good for applying Highlighter

- Other uses: Brushing away loose eyeshadow

Foundation:

- Synthetic Brush

- Other uses: Applying Cream Blush

Eyebrow:

- Firm, Angled Brush

- Fill in with brow powder

- Other Uses: Eyeliner/Lip liner or Eyeshadow liner

Powder:

- Big, soft natural fiber brush.

- Other uses: Bronzer

 Eyeshadow: 

- Round Tapered (can be also flat)

 - Other Uses: Blending Concealer

 Concealer:

- Narrow, Synthetic brush, Tapered edge

- Other Uses: Brow Bone Highlight or Inner Corner Highlight

 Brow Comb:

- Removes clumps of mascara

- A Spoolie works the same way

Contour:

 - Soft Brush (can have angled edge)

 - Other Uses: Bronzer, Blush, Powder

 Eye/Lip Liner:

  - Narrow

  - Other uses: Gel liner, Eyeshadow as liner

Firstly, by no means think that you have to buy a ton load of brushes at once because I know how overwhelming it can be looking at all the shapes, sizes and colours of these brushes. These brushes you buy will last you forever if you take good care of them - can be expensive. 

Building your brushes one step at a time can take a while till you're satisfied with your collection.

Bare in mind that a lot of brushes can have another job in applying something for example a blush brush can also be good for powder, and even bronzer! Just think about what you're buying and how you can use it for other things too.

Cleaning Your Brushes

Product used:

No7 Brush Cleaner

(You should wash your brushes once a week!)

Different Ways of Cleaning Brushes:

- Using a Brush Cleaning Glove which offers different textures to clean your brush depending on the size and how firm it is. This offers more of an accurate wash. There are many gloves out there specialised for brushes, from many brands, just look for positive reviews.

- Using Shampoo or Mild Soap is a cheaper alternative since you already have shampoo in your house, so just put a pea sized amount (again depending on the size of the brush) and swirl the brush in your hand under the gently running tap. 

- On the spot Cleaning. This is good if you don't have time to wash your brushes with water and soap, this will just vaguely clean the tip of it to make application smoother. Also perfect for eye brushes if you decide to use a different tone of colour. However don't always rely on this since it doesn't clean brushes thoroughly.

Just use one pump, depending on the size of the brush, on a cotton pad. Gently swirl your brush on the pad until the brush is clean.

3 Essential Eye Brushes

Brushes Mentioned:

Sigma E25 Blending

Real Techniques Detailer (from the Core Collection)

Real Techniques Shading

 

What I use them for..

 

Detailer Brush - I love this brush for applying highlighter in the inner corners of your eyes or for your brow bone since its flat and small for precision. It can also be used for concealer.

Blending Brush - Well as the name says, blending. I use this brush for blending the shade 'Primal' from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics pallete in my crease, which really accentuates blue eyes. 

  

Shading Brush - This brush is smaller than a blending brush. It's really good for blending in that highlighter in more or for a more precise eyeshadow look so it doesn't give such a smokey effect which a blending brush would give.

 

What's your all time favourite makeup brush?



SALLY HANSEN NAIL POLISH COLLECTION | REVIEW

 Products mentioned:

Miracle Gel Top Coat '100'

Miracle Gel 'Bare Dare 120'

'160 Shell We Dance'

'370 Commander in Chic'

'121 Golden Rule'

'210 Naked Ambition' 

 

(L to R) 210, 120, 100, 121, 370, 160

'160 Shell We Dance' is probably one of my favourites since you can vary the intensity of the colour depending on how many layers you apply. The first layer is like a clear nail polish with a pretty baby pink tint - which you can only see under certain light. Second layer is still translucent and gentle. The only down side about these is that by the third layer, you've had enough of waiting till it dries but it's worth it since its a pretty baby pink opaque colour.

 

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☞ How many layers recommended?

2 layers for a more opaque colour.

☞ How long does it last?

Depends if you have a good top coat and what your daily activities are that could possibly chip it but overall they can tend to peel off easily if you apply many coats.

☞ Why choose them?

This brand offers a lot more colours and also glitter nail polishes that vary from the tiniest shimmer to bigger glitter.

☞ Are they worth the price?

Personally, after I discovered Essie, I think that would beat Sally Hansen.

☞ Texture description

These nail polishes have more of a smoother feel as in they can peel off if you have more layers but the beauty of it is that the nude colours are translucent which means you can choose how you want it.

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Miracle Gel - Is it worth it?

The miracle gel is a bit gimmicky since you have to buy that extra special top coat which rarely does a difference, and also you need to buy the 'gel formula' nail polish only which doesn't give as much colour options. Personally for me, they still chip sometimes and since the name is so promising, it just kind of raises your expectations for it to be like real gel nails.  

PHOTOGRAPHY III

Here are just a small bunch of photos that I took, and also a few of my friend.. Enjoy ha