What to do with leftover Face Mask fluid...

Daiso has awesome things... if you love face masks like I do, you probably dislike all the wasted fluid in the pouch afterwards! I had previously been using the left over fluid on my body, but this nifty pack lets you do another mask!

 

It comes with a tray with a well to put the leftover fluid in, and 10 dry packed masks. 

 

I keep the mask fluid fresh with a food clip :)

 

Instructions say you need about 5 mL of mask fluid, which I find is just about all that's left in the bag. 

 

It really expands!

 

Sorry this is a terrible photo, but you get the idea, it's a mask. I do find it doesn't stick as well to my face as the original, since the mask is not made out of the same material. 

Another idea is you can make your own mask fluid to use with these! Perhaps some combo of oils and water and glycerin... 

What will Daiso have next...I can't wait to go back and visit again!

The Best Cheapo Brush Ever...

Even though I just recently posted about my new interest in luxe brushes, I still love a good deal. I was browsing Winners awhile back and found the Eco Tools Deluxe Fan Brush for $6.99,  and thought, hey, can't hurt. 

 

Turns out this is the best fan brush I have ever tried! Not that I've tried that many so you have to take this with a grain of salt...Let's see...there was a super cheapo one that came in the set from makeup school (it's now gone to the garbage it was that bad), and then there was the Bdellium Tools fan brush below:

It had looked promising as the fan wasn't as sparse as the garbage no-name one. 

 

Unfortunately it did not perform well for highlighters or blushes, as the brush is too sparse still and just doesn't pick up enough pigment. I imagine this might be good for some very intense glittery product that one would only want a tiny amount of.

Ah now look at the Eco Tools fan brush below...So thick and plush, and so soft! I'm amazed at how soft it was for the price. There was also no shedding or dye running while washing.

This picks up the right amount of product for highlighters, and also works well for my more pigmented blushes as it doesn't quite pick up as much pigment. It's made me take out an old super pigmented Lancome blush that had previously gone underground as I found it too intense, but now I can apply it lightly with this brush for a sheer wash of color. Oh and this brush also works well with overall face powder, placing just enough product to control oil but not to cake. 

Oh oh and did I mention already that it's super soft and feels soooo nice to use?!... yup I did, but it's worth mentioning again. For $6.99, really?!  I actually returned to Winners a few times in the month after to scour for a second one, but no such luck. Then one day this past week, I finally saw one! It was sitting on a shelf right infront of a lady browsing, so I politely asked her if it was hers, and she said "nope" (thankfully, or I'm not sure what I would have done haha, maybe try to convince her why she wouldn't want this brush so I could have it instead?! But no that wouldn't be nice...). Anyways, I'm so happy now to have a back up of this. Yay hurray for a good deal on an awesome product!

Do you have a favorite cheapo brush that is totally awesome?

Another Sponge (not the best ever, but pretty good!) - Beauty Blender micro.mini

I've gone a little crazy over different beauty "tools" recently, and finally decided to try this much debated mini version of the Beauty Blender. I've mentioned this before, I love the black BB, it's really awesome for foundation and I really haven't really seen negative reviews from others (except for the price tag of course). The "micro.mini" is more controversial though as it has received very mixed reviews. Some love it, and some hate it, thinking it's way too small and a complete waste, and also that it doesn't do anything that the original BB can't do.

It comes with instructions to use it for contouring and highlighting.

This sponge is meant to be used damp like the original, and I happily saw that it expands to twice its size and becomes a softy-bouncy cushion just like the original. It's actually even a bit more soft compared to the original and feels a bit more flimsy in that regard.

For me, I actually really like this for blending out under-eye concealer. Yes the pointed end of the original BB can do the same, but this thing is softer and I feel I get more control with it. It also just "feels" nice when I use it on my delicate under-eye area. The performance is just as good as the original for end result, but of course it takes a bit more effort since it's smaller and there is more "bouncing"/stippling involved. In this regard, it's not "too small" for me.

Do you need this?...nope, not at all. However, most things in the cosmetic world we don't "need", but heck they're enjoyable to use.  I like this sponge and I'm happy having it to change up how I apply my makeup. It costs $24 CDN for 2 of them. I've been using 1 for the past few weeks regularly with daily washing and it's still going strong.

Have you tried this? Love it or hate it? Or just enjoying it for what it is?

Cozzette Brushes Review: Vitality D225 - The Depositor and Divinity S130 - Round Blush

I have not been one to really splurge on brushes before, and the most expensive brushes I had previously were around the $20 range for face brushes. Especially with Real Techniques brushes being so affordable and high quality, I didn't feel the need. 

Recently I went a little crazy with online shopping during my exam period and picked up these two lovelies, which have now made me want more luxe brushes (they're like "gateway" brushes hehe).

This eye brush is from the "Vitality" line. The handle is red-lacquered gorgeousness, and is weighted just-right. Feels steady and balanced. 

The handle end is tapered and slips nicely into brush rolls. (Real Techniques are terrible for this part, yes their handle has that nice fat stand, but it makes them hard to travel with). 

The brush head is synthetic goat hair so is cruelty free. It's very dense and soft, and does a good job at depositing powder just like the name indicates.

The blush brush is from the "Divinity" line, which is weighted and shaped just like the Vitality, but is colored purple.  They advertise to be each hand made.

The handle is tapered the same way but is of course thicker.

 

The brush head is very soft, so soft it made my previously favorite blush brush, the Real Techniques pale in comparison. It also applies blush evenly and swirls super lightly on the face and without any dragging sensation.

These brushes have become my new staples. There has been no shedding either with washing. My poor Real Techniques brushes have gone into storage. 

The blush brush was $37 CDN and the eye brush was $20 CDN, both of which I purchased from Blur Makeup Room here in Toronto. 

As for the "gateway", of course there are way more expensive brushes out there, which I previously had no interest in, but now I'm interested to see how much better they can be... oh this is a dangerous path to go down on isn't it...

What are your thoughts on luxe brushes? Worth it or no?

The Best Sponge I've Ever Used (no it's not the BeautyBlender...)

I love the Beautyblender, I really do, especially the black one. I have also tried many dupes, but the original is still the best . However, this new sponge from Sephora, surpasses even that and is now my new HG sponge. 

This is a double-sided flat sponge meant for BB/CC creams, as it advertises that it has a "velvety" side that will not absorb the thinner textures of BB/CC cream or tinted moisturizers. Well it does that and more...

This "velvety" side is seriously the softest thing I've ever brushed on my face, and it actually feels like a brush, not a sponge. Actually when I used it the first time I imagined it was like rubbing a baby bunny on my face (not that I've ever done that...).

 If you look closely it contains multiple synthetic brush-like fibers. It applies any cream-based base product like a dream, barely any blending needed. It's literally swipe and go. Yes, you can swipe, no "stippling" or "buffing" or repeatedly going back and forth on your face with this.

The back side is a regular black sponge. Nothing special here. I use it taco-style to apply powder to my T-zone. Sephora advertises to use this side to blend, but no need, the brushey side is that good on it's own. 

I have bought a couple of backups already. So far I have been using this almost daily for the past two weeks with daily washings and its holding up so far.  The only thing to be careful of is not to load too much product on, since the brush-sponge side won't absorb much product, you may end up putting too much on. I suggest dabbing the cream product on your face first, THEN use the sponge to swipe and spread it out.

Have you tried this? If not you should... it's only $10 CDN!

Inglot Brush #4SS Review

More and more Inglot...this is the one brush I picked up from my recent Inglot haul. It's made from "squirrel substitute", which the sales lady told me basically is synthetic meant to feel like squirrel. I've never actually tried a real squirrel brush, so can't comment on how this compares, but it is darn soft...

This brush is advertised as a blending eye brush, however I find it a bit big for my small hooded asian eyes. This is however puuuuurfect as a highlighting brush for detailed work on the cheekbones and nose bridge. I don't like to contour on my own face however this works great for contouring nose and under the cheekbones on others. I also use it to powder and set concealer underneath my eyes.

It's very dense and fluffy, and after a couple of washings no hairs came loose (a good sign). Also no dyes came screaming out into my brush soap lather, another good sign!

It's very soft on the face, and feels oh so nice when blending (you know that feeling...). I actually can't remember the exact price but it was something in the $20-$30 range, which is very reasonable.

Overall, this is a very versatile brush. You can use it to blend eye makeup if you have big eyes, or it can be used to highlight/contour, or for powdering under eyes, or powdering anywhere else. It's great!

What's your HG versatile brush? This has become mine now :)

Real Techniques Lip Brush Review

Since the Chapman sisters from Pixiwoo came out with the real Techniques brushes, I have been head over heels in love with their larger powder and blush brush (so much so I have bought backups...). Never have I felt brushes so full and soft, with no shedding, and at around $10 each, really there is nothing bad to say about them!

I was looking a better lip brush recently, so decided to try more of this amazing lineup.

The real Techniques lip brush retails for $7.99 from FTBBeauty. It is synthetic and appears similarly mixed black and grey-white hairs as the other face brushes I have.

Just like the others, it's soft and doesn't shed. It's also a very good size for my lips, which are on the thin side.  My Annabelle concealer brush I was using as a lip brush, became for me a tad big overtime (though on someone with bigger/more luscious lips it's awesome!).

The only downside, is this cap. Obviously this was meant to be a travel brush you can cap off, however the cap is VERY loose. Very little jiggling can loosen it and it will fall off. Can you imagine...it would be very annoying if this happened inside your makeup bag (imagine smeared lipstick inside your bag, never mind possibly ruining your brush-head having it jammed against the bag, ugh).

So this thing just sits on my bathroom counter to be used at home only, which is fine with me, though I will keep looking for a good travel lip brush.

Have you tried this? Let me know what you think of it or if you recommend any good travel lip brushes!

Benjabelle Daisy Brush Tree Review

Where have I been... I only saw this on FTB not too long ago and ordered it cuz it looked like it could change my brush-drying life. It has apparently been around for awhile, but as usual, I'm slow on the uptake! So here's a slow-poke's review of this game-changer product (I don't say that about many things).

It comes nicely in flat pieces, yay easy storage!

How the base snaps into the top

And it stands! Proud of my construction skills here...

Here goes sticking in my wet brushes

Brush guards (the mesh over the bristles) are optional but I prefer them.

Oh Benjabelle...where have you been all those days and nights my brushes were left lying horizontally taking up counter space and possibly with water seeping into the precious ferrules (yes this happens even when brushes are horizontal, just less). This not only takes up less space, it lets my brushes dry completely with bristles down, hence water will go down and won't seep anywhere except into the air. The cherry on top is that it's decorative too! 

This is the "daisy" which is the smallest one. There is a much bigger one for those of you MUAs with multiple brush sets or junkies with tons of brushes. You can buy this from FTB; oh and yes, it comes in pink too....

Do you have any special contraptions you use to dry your brushes?

Clean Organic Goat`s Milk Brush Shampoo Review

After my review of EnKore's solid brush soap awhile back where upon I said that I disliked solid soaps, I caved to buying another due to so many positive reviews. 

The one big difference with Clean`s soap is that it`s stuck in the tub and meant to be used while it`s in the tub. EnKore`s was free of the tub and meant to be taken out so as to use both sides.

The instructions say to wet the brush then swirl on the soap, then rinse.

ick lipbrush gunk!

It did an amazing job of cleaning the most difficult tools (you know what I`m talking about, that lip brush...that stained beauty blender...).  The lip brush gunk came out super easily. Sponges cleaned really well too, however WHITE sponges still had a slight stain. This is where Enkore`s soap is better, as it can get all the stains out of my white sponges!

The one part that`s improved over EnKore`s, is the tub. I don`t get my hands all icky with holding the soap!

This product sells for $15 on Blur Makeup Room`s online store, or if you`re in Toronto you can get it in store on Queen St. 

Share with me your favorite deep cleansing soaps or shampoos for brushes and sponges!

Review: Face Atelier Brush Buff

I've talked about a few different cosmetic products from Face Atelier on various posts already, but what I haven't yet shared is my HG on-the-spot brush cleansers (for use either between clients when you didn't bring enough brush sets, or for yourself day to day between the more "serious" washings with a brush soap/shampoo). I generally keep 3 on hand (one in the work kit, on in my personal kit, and one backup).

If you aren't already familiar, Face Atelier is a Canadian brand based out of Calgary (my favorite Canadian city, despite the erratic weather...). They're quite popular with MUAs particularly for their foundations, which are dewy and amazing especially for mature skin (a favorite for mother-of-the-bride for bridal artists!)

Other than saying this brush cleanser is da bomb...thought I'd show it in action

Here's a dirty Real Techniques blush brush. If you know these brushes you know the tips are white, which are generally the worst for staining and difficulty returning to it's whiteness.

I spray the brush and the tissue behind it,

and we have white tips again.

Here we are with a similar styled powder brush

and good and white...

If your brushes are being used daily I recommend doing deep cleansing with brush soap or shampoo once every 1-2 weeks (1 week for liquid products, 2 weeks for powder) in addition to this daily spray cleanser to prevent buildup.

Overall, HG product for me that I will purchase over and over again. You can buy this for $21 CDN from Face Atelier directly online.

What's your favorite brush cleanser?

Sephora The Perfectionist Makeup Sponge

 Got this from the sale section at Sephora. I love the beauty blender but it's so darn expensive for something that needs to be replaced regularly that I keep looking for dupes.

This expands a fair bit with water, though not as much as the BB (which doubles up in size). It feels nice and bouncy on the face though is a bit too malleable. The BB is soft yet stiff enough to get good stippling without having to press too hard. This one I find I have to press harder to do the stippling properly.

The shape is also...meh... It's fine. I think the pointy ends are meant for concealer or around eyes/nose area, however it's not stiff enough to do this. The point just gets squished and becomes flattened. The BB's pointy end does a much better job.

expanded with water

 One cute inclusion is the little stand which lets the sponge air dry without contacting a flat surface. Lovely addition.

The foundation result is very similar to the BB, so no complaints there.
 
Overall, good enough dupe for end result, though the "feel" with usage is not up to par.  I think I will use it intermittently between my BB so I don't have to replace that as often.

Have you found any good BB dupes?