Hi Everyone!
Today I wanted to talk about my make-up brush collection. It's only in the last couple of years that I really got into make-up brushes, before that I only had cheap ones bought from Amazon or cheaper brands but now I have a nice little collection, and they make a huge difference to make-up application. I used to tell myself that good brushes were surplus to requirements as I didn't really want to spend money on them, but now I'm of the opinion that money spent on good brushes is money well spent - they change the way your make-up looks and if you look after them will last you a long time.
Eyes
My eye brushes are the most inexpensive. At the moment I have a small collection of Zoeva brushes, that were ordered from their German-based site and some that were given to me as a gift by my best friend. Zoeva brushes are on the more inexpensive side, but are not extremely cheap - a single eye brush costs around 10 Euros and a set of eye brushes - I have the Classic Eye Set which contains 6 brushes - costs 44 Euros. A full set of eye and face brushes containing 15 brushes costs up to 125 Euros, but if you think of it as being around 8 Euros per brush it's very good value.
Zoeva brushes are great, and are made from both synthetic hair and goat hair which the site says is combed from goats, therefore no animal cruelty involved. I find them to be well-made, sturdy enough to stand up to regular washing (I use a bar of soap, it's the best method I've found for washing brushes), most Zoeva brushes are white-haired and return to white when washed, the shedding is minimal and they look nice to boot. I don't have any Zoeva face brushes in my collection (but I have a couple on my wish list) and my two favourites are 221 Luxe Soft Crease brush which is perfect for fluffing shadow over the crease, and the 234 Luxe Smokey Shader which does an impeccable job of laying colour/shimmers over the lid.
I also have a couple of Real Techniques - I have an eye set but only use one eye brush, the Base Shadow Brush (second-last on right) for a wash of colour over the eyes. If you are going for a quick and easy look using one shadow this brush is perfect. Honestly I find RT brushes to be inexplicably big, the Deluxe Crease Brush (third from Left) for example is so big that I use it for concealer as I can't get any type of precision when using it on my eyes - unlike Sam and Nic I don't have gorgeous, model-like eyes...! On saying that, my favourite brush for applying liner is the RT Accent Brush (last on right) - it's small and fine-tipped and allows you to push the liner right into the lashes.
Where to buy - https://www.zoevacosmetics.com/
http://www.beautybay.com/zoeva/
http://www.sephora.fr/ZOEVA/BZOEVA
https://realtechniques.com/
Face
This is where the obsession gets real. While I'm not particularly boujee with my eyebrushes and Zoeva is the most expensive I've gone, that all goes to hell with face brushes.
I'm a firm believer that the most important part of your make-up is your base - if you have beautifully blended foundation and powder you're good to go, even with some mascara. I'd rather have no eye make-up and a perfect base than the other way around.
If I had to choose one brush to use for the rest of my life, I'd start applying my eyeshadow with my fingers and go with the Marc Jacobs The Face III (middle in photo). This brush is perfection. I used to be a Beauty Blender addict and although I still have one, once it's gone I probably won't repurchase in a hurry as I only use it for powder and concealer, and it can be replaced with brushes.
My BF bought me The Face III for Christmas 2015, and I've used it pretty much every day since. It's dense, big and quick. With this brush it takes me about 2 minutes to flawlessly apply foundation - liquid or cream - and I also use it with my Chanel Soleil de Tan bronzer in a pinch. It applies evenly with nice coverage, and you can build it up if you like. It's expensive at 45 Euros, but absolutely worth it - I can count the number of hairs it has shed on one hand, I'm pretty rigorous when I wash it as it's so dense - and seeing as I used to buy a new Beauty Blender every 6-8 weeks at a cost of 17 Euro it's actually cost-effective. I did the math - say you buy a Beauty Blender every two months for 17 euros, thats 102 euros a year.
Marc Jacobs The Bronze Brush, 59 Euros, (Left in photo) is another favourite. You might see a pattern here - I love big brushes and this one is huge. Technically this is a bronzer brush and goes with the MJ bronzer which comes in a huge pan to accomodate the size of the brush - I don't have this bronzer (but I want it) so I use this brush with Soleil de Tan and to powder the face. It's beautiful, and I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a larger bronzing brush and don't mind the price tag. Like all MJ brushes, it's made from synthetic hair.
Marc Jacobs The Blush Brush, 39 Euros. I like this brush, I do. But...I don't know if I would buy it again. It is scratchier than the other MJ brushes I have and sheds more. For some reason the lettering has also rubbed off, which it hasn't on my other two MJ brushes. It's still a nice brush and the tapered shape is great for a more detailed blush, but if I had a do-over I'd probably save my money and go with a Wayne Goss (I am DYING to try his brushes). A lot of the time I reach for my RT Blush Brush (Left in previous photo) over this one, as every time I use it I'm ever so slightly disappointed with it.
Real Techniques Setting Brush (Second from Left in previous photo). This is a great brush for highlighter. You can also use it for powder under the eyes, but I generally use a Beauty Blender for that. I find that this is nice and fluffy and works really well with my BECCA Moonstone Skin Perfecter - it's a nice diffused type of glow rather than the strip of highlight that a fan brush gives which isn't my favourite look. I will probably buy another highlighter brush, maybe something from Wayne Goss, but I really do love this brush and use it almost every day.
Last, but certainly not least, is my beautiful Tom Ford Powder Brush. I don't even know how to describe it, there simply arent enough positive adjectives. Again, it's big. It's fluffy. It's luxe. It's beautiful to look at and it's expensive at 120 Euros. My best friend strikes again here as she bought me this for my birthday along with the Huda Beauty 3D Highlighter Palette. This is a stunning powder brush, it's incredibly soft and applies powder evenly and perfectly. The bristles are so soft that using it is an experience in itself! I've also started using this with bronzer recently (Too Faced Chocolate Soleil which I like but won't buy again as I discussed in my post on Beauty Gurus) and it gives a beautiful, diffused bronze. Added to that, it makes a stunning addition to any vanity as it has a flat bottom and stands by itself. Am I telling you to run out and spend 120 Euros on a powder brush? No. But if you have the money, or have a birthday coming up then I would definitely put this on the list. Tom Ford brushes are certainly on mine.
Where to buy - http://www.marcjacobsbeauty.com/makeup/face
https://www.johnlewis.com/brand/marc-jacobs/make-up-brushes
http://www.tomford.com/beauty/face/brushes/
http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/tom-ford-makeup-brushes-and-tools
Sephora.fr/Sephora.com
Do you own any of these brushes or are any of them on your to buy list? Let me know in the comments!
As always thank you for reading, please follow me at https://www.facebook.com/doyouevencleanse/ and https://www.instagram.com/doyouevencleanse/ for more!
Have a great day!
A x
Today I wanted to talk about my make-up brush collection. It's only in the last couple of years that I really got into make-up brushes, before that I only had cheap ones bought from Amazon or cheaper brands but now I have a nice little collection, and they make a huge difference to make-up application. I used to tell myself that good brushes were surplus to requirements as I didn't really want to spend money on them, but now I'm of the opinion that money spent on good brushes is money well spent - they change the way your make-up looks and if you look after them will last you a long time.
Eyes
My eye brushes are the most inexpensive. At the moment I have a small collection of Zoeva brushes, that were ordered from their German-based site and some that were given to me as a gift by my best friend. Zoeva brushes are on the more inexpensive side, but are not extremely cheap - a single eye brush costs around 10 Euros and a set of eye brushes - I have the Classic Eye Set which contains 6 brushes - costs 44 Euros. A full set of eye and face brushes containing 15 brushes costs up to 125 Euros, but if you think of it as being around 8 Euros per brush it's very good value.
Zoeva brushes are great, and are made from both synthetic hair and goat hair which the site says is combed from goats, therefore no animal cruelty involved. I find them to be well-made, sturdy enough to stand up to regular washing (I use a bar of soap, it's the best method I've found for washing brushes), most Zoeva brushes are white-haired and return to white when washed, the shedding is minimal and they look nice to boot. I don't have any Zoeva face brushes in my collection (but I have a couple on my wish list) and my two favourites are 221 Luxe Soft Crease brush which is perfect for fluffing shadow over the crease, and the 234 Luxe Smokey Shader which does an impeccable job of laying colour/shimmers over the lid.
I also have a couple of Real Techniques - I have an eye set but only use one eye brush, the Base Shadow Brush (second-last on right) for a wash of colour over the eyes. If you are going for a quick and easy look using one shadow this brush is perfect. Honestly I find RT brushes to be inexplicably big, the Deluxe Crease Brush (third from Left) for example is so big that I use it for concealer as I can't get any type of precision when using it on my eyes - unlike Sam and Nic I don't have gorgeous, model-like eyes...! On saying that, my favourite brush for applying liner is the RT Accent Brush (last on right) - it's small and fine-tipped and allows you to push the liner right into the lashes.
Where to buy - https://www.zoevacosmetics.com/
http://www.beautybay.com/zoeva/
http://www.sephora.fr/ZOEVA/BZOEVA
https://realtechniques.com/
Face
This is where the obsession gets real. While I'm not particularly boujee with my eyebrushes and Zoeva is the most expensive I've gone, that all goes to hell with face brushes.
I'm a firm believer that the most important part of your make-up is your base - if you have beautifully blended foundation and powder you're good to go, even with some mascara. I'd rather have no eye make-up and a perfect base than the other way around.
If I had to choose one brush to use for the rest of my life, I'd start applying my eyeshadow with my fingers and go with the Marc Jacobs The Face III (middle in photo). This brush is perfection. I used to be a Beauty Blender addict and although I still have one, once it's gone I probably won't repurchase in a hurry as I only use it for powder and concealer, and it can be replaced with brushes.
My BF bought me The Face III for Christmas 2015, and I've used it pretty much every day since. It's dense, big and quick. With this brush it takes me about 2 minutes to flawlessly apply foundation - liquid or cream - and I also use it with my Chanel Soleil de Tan bronzer in a pinch. It applies evenly with nice coverage, and you can build it up if you like. It's expensive at 45 Euros, but absolutely worth it - I can count the number of hairs it has shed on one hand, I'm pretty rigorous when I wash it as it's so dense - and seeing as I used to buy a new Beauty Blender every 6-8 weeks at a cost of 17 Euro it's actually cost-effective. I did the math - say you buy a Beauty Blender every two months for 17 euros, thats 102 euros a year.
Marc Jacobs The Bronze Brush, 59 Euros, (Left in photo) is another favourite. You might see a pattern here - I love big brushes and this one is huge. Technically this is a bronzer brush and goes with the MJ bronzer which comes in a huge pan to accomodate the size of the brush - I don't have this bronzer (but I want it) so I use this brush with Soleil de Tan and to powder the face. It's beautiful, and I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a larger bronzing brush and don't mind the price tag. Like all MJ brushes, it's made from synthetic hair.
Marc Jacobs The Blush Brush, 39 Euros. I like this brush, I do. But...I don't know if I would buy it again. It is scratchier than the other MJ brushes I have and sheds more. For some reason the lettering has also rubbed off, which it hasn't on my other two MJ brushes. It's still a nice brush and the tapered shape is great for a more detailed blush, but if I had a do-over I'd probably save my money and go with a Wayne Goss (I am DYING to try his brushes). A lot of the time I reach for my RT Blush Brush (Left in previous photo) over this one, as every time I use it I'm ever so slightly disappointed with it.
Real Techniques Setting Brush (Second from Left in previous photo). This is a great brush for highlighter. You can also use it for powder under the eyes, but I generally use a Beauty Blender for that. I find that this is nice and fluffy and works really well with my BECCA Moonstone Skin Perfecter - it's a nice diffused type of glow rather than the strip of highlight that a fan brush gives which isn't my favourite look. I will probably buy another highlighter brush, maybe something from Wayne Goss, but I really do love this brush and use it almost every day.
Where to buy - http://www.marcjacobsbeauty.com/makeup/face
https://www.johnlewis.com/brand/marc-jacobs/make-up-brushes
http://www.tomford.com/beauty/face/brushes/
http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/tom-ford-makeup-brushes-and-tools
Sephora.fr/Sephora.com
Do you own any of these brushes or are any of them on your to buy list? Let me know in the comments!
As always thank you for reading, please follow me at https://www.facebook.com/doyouevencleanse/ and https://www.instagram.com/doyouevencleanse/ for more!
Have a great day!
A x
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