Makeup Tools

I’ve Got Designs on the Soft Brushes in the New $38 Five-Piece Sephora Collection IZAK Brush Set

December 7th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

Since the world’s first beauty fanatic triumphantly shouted, “Eureka!” while thrusting her makeup brush into the air, faces and makeup bags everywhere have been plagued by boring brushes and stiff bristles.

For (what seemed like) millennia, brushes with boring black handles and scratchy bristles bothered beauty lovers, who dreamed of living life more colorfully, and comfortably, with brushes like the ones in the new $38 five-piece Sephora IZAK Brush Set.

Not only are the foundation, powder, eyeshadow, brow and liner brushes in this new limited edition holiday set super soft, they’re also quite sassy.

And the source of that sass? New York-based French illustrator Izak Zenou, who’s worked with some of the biggest names in beauty and fashion, including Chanel, Henri Bendel and Laura Mercier.

I love his illustrations and the work he’s done here. The black, white and hot pink brushes in the set, and the illustrated gal gracing the accompanying zippered pouch, are so glam yet oddly approachable…

The illustrated girl on the front looks like she’d be fun to hang out with — chic and totally down to earth. I bet she wouldn’t judge me if I showed up to our lunch date with two-tone matte lips and cat fur stuck to my suede ankle boots.

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Fishing for a Bargain on a Holiday Brush Set? Cast Your Eyes on Sonia Kashuk’s New Gilded Cages Holiday Brush Set, and Net Six Ultra Soft Face and Eye Brushes and a Cute, Sparkly Clutch

November 16th, 2012 by Karen 17 Comments

It may be cold and rainy here in the Bay Area tonight (boo!), but at least I don’t have to see dudes with long toenails wearing flip-flops. #glasshalffull

The rain also gives me an excuse to stay home and gaze at the sparkly clutch that comes with Sonia Kashuk’s new $24.99 Gilded Cages Holiday Brush Set…

(And rub the six ultra plush brush heads all over my face.)

sonia kashuk gilded cage holiday brush set 1 — From the left: Powder/Blush Brush, Eyeshadow Brush, Foundation Brush, Crease Brush, Synthetic Flat Liner Eyeliner Brush, Fan Brush

sonia kashuk gilded cage holiday brush set 3 — From the left: Flat Eyeliner Brush, Fan Brush, Powder/Blush Brush, Foundation Brush, Crease Brush and Eyeshadow Brush

sonia kashuk gilded cage holiday brush set 4 — Cute clutch!

sonia kashuk gilded cage holiday brush set 5 — CUTE!

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What’s the Word on the New MAC Perfectly Plush Advanced Brush Kit?

October 27th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

A lot of people don’t know this, but the bag that comes with MAC’s Perfectly Plush Advanced Brush Kit ($49.50) was patterned after the elusive pink lady leopard…

How cool is that? 🙂

But seriously, I can totally see one of the Pink Ladies from Grease working this kit in the powder room at the malt shop. It’s gotta be one of the best-looking MAC limited edition holiday brush sets I’ve ever seen.

Included with the bag: the 167 Bronzer Brush, the 168 Large Angled Contour Brush, the 239 Eye Shader Brush, the 217 Blending Brush and the 212 Flat Definer Brush.

Counting the bag, that works out to roughly $8.25 per piece.

Unfortunately, the kit has something else in common with fictitious big cats…

The bristles are so scratchy! — like leopard claws! They’re nowhere near as soft as my regular full-size MAC brushes.

Hrmpf! At least the face brushes seem okay, but those eye brushes are a total drag.

Sucks, too, because the set comes with two of my all-time favorite MAC brushes, the 239 and 217. Here, though, they’re both super scratchy, and the brush heads themselves also seem less dense than usual.

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Share a Tip Tuesdays: Your Brushes Are Major League Masters of Multitasking

September 25th, 2012 by Karen 28 Comments

Brushes are useless…

Oops! I meant “useful.” Brushes are useful. 🙂 And you can use ’em for way more than just the purpose they’re usually marketed for, because who says that a blush brush can only be used to apply blush? Hogwash! A brush is just a tool, right? And like any tool, it can be used for different things.

My tip for today’s installment of Share a Tip Tuesdays: think of your brushes as tools, and look for new and different ways to use them.

When I started really getting into makeup, I also started investing in brushes. I did my research and picked up the best brushes I could afford, only using them according to each brush’s official description. Eyeliner brushes for liner, blending brushes for blending, and so on like that. It never occurred to me to use my brushes for more than their designated tasks…

Until it finally did. Now, I regularly use crease brushes for concealer, concealer brushes for lips, angled brushes for liner, blush brushes for foundation — why not?

Play with your brushes, because you never know when you’ll find one that excels at doing something it wasn’t originally designed to do. 🙂

Welcome to another edition of Share a Tip Tuesdays! Last week we talked liner tips, and you guys/gals left some great ones in the comments…

I use UD Perversion for my water line..is really reeeallly black and stays put without too much of a fuss. I find applying a bit of primer along the lash line (on the skin, not the lashes, of course!) helps avoid raccoon eyes.
— Rads

My fave trick for lining my waterline (and I do so almost everyday) is to use a long wearing gray eyeliner. Things like UD 24Ã—7 in Gunmetal, Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Charcoal or MAC Grey Utility Powerpoint Liner.
Its less harsh and finishes softer, making it more forgiving and easier to correct (use a pointy QTip to correct, its cheap and works wonders).
— Nina

My trick is to use a primer, like UD in Sin or Eden, along the area of the waterline. I have found it really makes a difference and helps my cheaper liners, like Rimmel Exaggerate in Deep Ocean, and my NYX Slide On Glide On liners, really stay put all day.
— Katherine G

I sometimes use a gel liner like MAC Blacktrack. I will also carry a mini Smashbox pencil in my bag for touch ups.
— Chris25

I don’t use liner on my waterliner (my eyes are incredibly sensitive!) but to keep my liner on my top lash line I layer, layer, layer! First, Primer — Usually Too Faced Shadow Insurance) then I set it with Cover FX Setting Powder. Next I apply a long wearing liner — usually gel, then set it with a matching shadow! Poof! All day liner!
— Shaylee

Try Guerlain Kohl powder, it is designed for the waterline. Its a kolh powder, so i will line it on my waterline, blink and reapply.
— Rena

This week, let’s open the floor up to any makeup/beauty topics, and here are a few ideas to get the conversation started: what’s your favorite multitasking makeup brush? Can you recommend a long-lasting beige, nude or white eyeliner with all-day staying power? What are the best eyeliners for gals who wear contacts?
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MAC Unsung Heroes: The 239 Eye Shader Brush

August 31st, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush

I can’t believe I haven’t unsung the heroic MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush yet!

Weird! — considering how much I love it. I’m even thinking about getting a second one to go with the first. That way, I could reserve one for powders and one for creams.

Heck, while I’m at it, might as well get a third (strictly for blending, of course).

No, no, I guess one is enough… It’s just a brush, after all.

Or is it? 🙂

A medium-sized flat eyeshadow brush with gloriously soft goat hair fibers packed into a firm, dense head with a rounded shape, the $25 MAC 239 is capable of a multitude of makeup tasks, from applying and blending eyeshadows (loose and pressed powders, and creams), to highlighting beneath my brows, lining my eyes and adding color into the outer V and inner corners.

I have a handful of brushes from other brands that by all appearances, look like the MAC 239, but that’s where the similarities end.

The size of the 239’s brush head is like my favorite part of the Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, juuuust right. Not too big, not too small. It covers a fairly wide area on my lid, and yet is small enough to fit into the inner and outer corners of my eyes, and directly below my lashes.

It’s like getting a bunch of different brushes in one!
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The Hourglass Foundation/Blush Brush No. 2: A Brush With Greatness (Too Bad It Also Brushes Budgets Aside)

August 30th, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

hourglass foundation blush brush no 2 closeup

Before I left for Tahoe this morning, I triple-checked to make sure that my Hourglass Foundation/Blush Brush No. 2 was snug as a bug in a rug in my makeup bag.

I wasn’t taking any chances…not with a tool as terrific as this.

A medium-sized face brush with a round, domed head and synthetic fibers made of high-grade Takelon, this $58 beast is one of my top tools because of something it doesn’t do, instead of something it does.

So…I know, $58 is a lot of tacos, but this brush never, ever streaks. It delivers a smooth, even, flawless finish every single time. If you’re looking for that airbrushed look, the No. 2 is your gal.

I think I may have mentioned it a few times before…

Okay, more than a few, LOL!

hourglass foundation blush brush no 2 product shot

I this brush so much that it’s one of the products on my “can’t leave home without it” list, both because of how useful it is, and because it’s the only foundation brush I’ve ever used (and I’ve used quite a few) that never, ever sheds.

Never sheds nor streaks? That’s not bad.

I used the No. 2 throughout the summer to apply my foundation and tinted moisturizer, and not once did I have to pick bristles off my face.
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Under-Eye Concealer Brushes: A Few of My Faves

August 16th, 2012 by Karen 45 Comments

under eye concealer brushes 1
Brushes from the left: Laura Mercier Blending Brush, MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush, MAC 217 Blending Brush, Sonia Kashuk Crease brush

I kid you not, I just accidentally swiped a tube of MAC C-Thru Lipglass beneath my right eye because I thought it was my tube of MAC Select Moisturecover concealer, LOL! Yup…total concealer #fail. 🙂

Under-eye concealer has been on my mind, and under my eyes, a little more than usual lately because I haven’t been getting enough sleep (lots of late-night reading), so I’ve been carrying around some of my favorite concealers and concealer brushes wherever I go.

under eye concealer brushes 2
MAC Eyeshadow X 2 in Marche Aux Puces and MAC Fluidline in Dark Diversion on my eyes; MAC Powder Blush in Supercontinental on my cheeks (all are products from the new Styleseeker collection)
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Because You Never Know When You’ll Need to Do Your Makeup in the Desert at Twilight: The New Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight Mini Brush Set

July 18th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

bobbi brown desert twilight mini brush kit

On the set of An Owl Hoots in the Dark…

“Places, everyone! Places! Okay, Karen, it’s twilight. The sun is setting. Remember, you’re in the desert, and it suddenly strikes you to do your makeup.”

“Okay…”

“Aaaaand, action!”

“Doopdadoo, let’s see… I think I’ll do my makeup now. Seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do here in the desert, seeing as it’s too dark to read.”

An owl hoots somewhere close by.

“What’s that?! Jeez, I’m really jumpy tonight. That’s gonna make it hard to do my makeup with these little brushes…” 🙂

When I was getting ready the other day, I challenged myself to do an entire eye look from start to finish with the four mini brushes in the new limited edition Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight Mini Brush Set ($55), and ya know, I actually got pretty far.

I finished my eyeshadow and liner, both of which I think turned out okay, but then I got stumped.

The Desert Twilight Set comes with a roomy metallic and turquoise pouch (cute!), a tiny Blush Brush, an Eye Sweep Brush (basically, a flat eyeshadow brush), one of Bobbi’s Angle Eye Shadow Brushes, and an Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush. Here’s the thing, though: it doesn’t come with a blending brush, which makes application a little tricky for me.

I like to use a fluffy, domed eye brush to buff out any edges and create color gradients when I do my makeup (my favorite for blending is the MAC 217).

bobbi brown desert twilight mini brush kit

Now that I think about it…I kinda wish Bobbi had swapped the cheek brush in the set for a fluffy domed blending brush. I mean, I think the cheek brush works fine — I’ve been using it to apply powder beneath my eyes — but for me at least a blending brush would have been more useful.

Oh, and what about brows, B? I know there’s room in that cute little pouch for a small-angle brow brush, too (like the MAC 266). Having one would make filling in my brows with MAC Concrete that much easier.

So, would I ditch my regular arsenal of everyday brushes for the brushes in this kit? Um…probably not, although I wouldn’t hesitate to use it if I suddenly woke up in Vegas one morning without my regular brushes and had to quickly slap on some face paint to be the maid of honor in a spur-of-the-moment wedding at an Elvis-themed chapel.

In a pinch, I think they’d do fine. You might just have to work around some of the set’s limitations, like by using a brow pencil instead of a powder or by packing a separate blending brush.

bobbi brown desert twilight mini brush kit
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Makeup Tools

Welcome to another edition of Share a Tip Tuesdays! Last week we talked liner tips, and you guys/gals left some great ones in the comments…

On the set of An Owl Hoots in the Dark…