Bargain Brushes!

I've been wanting to get kabuki style brushes for a while but I could never bring myself to spend ridiculous amounts for just single brushes, especially when I believe that it's not be necessarily about the tools you use but the techniques you know. 

Sigma are well known for making a range  of kabuki style brushes, but as you can see, they are very pricey! 

Sigma Kabuki Kit: $84 (£49.95) 

Sigma Precision 5 Brushes: $72 (£42.82)

I bought the above 10 piece brush set from eBay after seeing it being posted on Instagram for only £10.99 with free p&p. In the set you get 10 kabuki style brushes, extremely similar to the two Sigma brush sets above, but for just a fraction of the price. I am in love with these brushes!! They are such great quality and look very long lasting. I have already swapped out some of my RealTechniques brushes for these instead in my every day makeup routine! I would definitely recommmend snapping these up! 

There are many similar brush sets like this on eBay but many are based in China and Hong Kong, so delivery can take up to about 3 weeks. Me, being very impatient, decided to go with a slighter pricier set that was located in England, which would mean I receive it quicker! 

My brushes arrived in a dust bag and the larger brushes had covers. 

Kabuki Brushes Tool Set Kit

Long Brushes: 

Brush Length: 15.5cm (Approximately)

Handle Diameter: 1.2cm (Approximately)

Brush hair : Synthetic Hair

1. Precision Tapered: Exact placement of concealer in harder to reach areas such as around the eyes and nose, chin, and around the South.

2. Precision Round: Apply eye shadow base or primer onto the lid.

3. Precision Flat: Stipple concealer on sun spots, blemishes, and other small imperfections.

4. Precision Flat Angled: Use for precise application of concealer products anywhere on the face. 

5. Precision Angled: Apply product to areas such as the sides of the nose and the hollows of the cheeks.

Short Brushes: 

Brush Length: 10.5 cm (Approximately)

Handle Diameter: 2cm (Approximately)

Brush hair : Synthetic Hair

6.Tapered Kabuki: Apply cream and liquid foundations onto the harder to reach contours of the face.

7. Round Kabuki: Blend mineral products onto the skin.

8. Angled Kabuki: Buff cream blush or bronzer onto the skin.

9. Flat Kabuki: Application of liquid or cream products to flat areas of the face such as the forehead and cheeks.

10. Flat Angled Kabuki: Blends foundation easily onto hard to reach areas of the face. Angle fits all areas of the face seamlessly. 

Seller name: ccc_gadgets

Location: Portsmouth 

99.3% positive feedback

Bye lovelies, until next time. Stay happy, healthy and appreciative of life :) xxx 

Just Another ELF Haul!

So here we are again... Someone has spent more money on ELF goodies *hides face* But it's not all bad, because it was another 50% off sale!! And to top it off, ELF were giving away 2 free gifts with any order. :D 

My products came to a total of £18.85 including p&p and I received 12 products for that amazing price. 

Some of my products were repurchases because they are part of my everyday makeup routine and I was running low on them so the sale couldn't have come at a more perfect time!

Repurchase: 

Eyebrow kit in dark (Originally £3.95): I've also got Benefit's Browzing which retails at £23.50 and I can honestly say that I prefer this which is just a fraction of the price! This product comes with a gel which is applied first to the brows and a powder which sets the colour in place. The brush isn't very useful and I don't even bother keeping it! Instead I apply this product with my Real Techniques Accent Brush. There are a range of colours to choose from and I use the shade 'Dark' which is perfect if you have black hair. Definitely a must have product girls! 

Repurchase: 

Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara (Originally £1.95): To set my brows in place after filling them in I use this cheap and cheerful product. Be warned the product will change colour if you use it after a gel/ powder or pencil, but it still continues to do its job. When the brow gel runs out I simply use the mascara end instead as they have a similar formula, so the product ends up lasting me a very long time. 

New Product: 

Translucent Matte Powder (Originally £3.95): This powder feels soft to touch and is perfect for setting your liquid foundation and concealer. I personally prefer a full coverage look so I use my MAC studio fix liquid foundation along with my studio fix powder to create more coverage and to keep my foundation in place all day. However this product will be great for setting my under eye concealer to give me a lighter, dewy, bright eyed look. 

New Product: 

Studio Makeup Lock and Seal (Originally £3.95): I've been wanting to get my hands on this for a long time but it's always been out of stock! When the product arrived I noticed it had leaked a little during delivery, but luckily my bottle hadn't been damaged!

This is a swatch of the mineral eyeshadow in Royal. The top swatch is using the lock and seal and the bottom without. You can see that when using the lock and seal, the eyeshadow is more pigmented and has a glossier sheen. It was also very hard to take off even when using a baby wipe which means it would last all day... Or night! 

Repurchase/ New Product: 

Powder Brush(Originally £3.95): I bought this brush after seeing numerous YouTube Beauty Gurus raving about it and it served me well as a great brush for applying my liquid foundation with for an extremely long time. However, the bristles started to shed and I had to sadly say goodbye, so I was glad to be able to pick up a replacement. 

Small Stipple Brush(Originally £3.95): This brush will be perfect applying concealer on those target areas and blending out into your foundation.

New Product: 

Liquid Eyeliner in the colour Black (Originally £1.95): This isn't the greatest eye liners. It has a long thin brush which can be great, but the formula of the eye liner is very wet and doesn't give you a clear, solid line. It also takes a long time to dry and is susceptible to printing on your eyelid. I would keep away from this girls! There are eyeliners which are just as good for similar prices. 

New Product: 

Mineral Lip Liner in the colour Rose (Originally £3.95): A gorgeous nude/pink colour. I have yet to try this product to test whether it is long lasting but it has a creamy matte texture which looks like it will be perfect so your lipstick can adhere to it. 

New Product: 

Slant Tweezer (Originally £1.95): Is it me or do all tweezers just disappear?! I normally use Superdrug tweezers but thought I would try these as they would only be £1. I was pleasantly surprised as they work extremely well and pick up even the shortest hairs 

New Product: 

Nail Polish Matte Finisher (Originally £2.50): I tried this on my sister yesterday and it works!! It turns any nailpolish in a matte polish. I would definitely pick this up to turn those unloved polishes into something more on trend. 

Free Gifts:

New Product: 

Mineral Eye Shadow in the colour Royal (Originally £3.00): (Swatch above) This is my first mineral eyeshadow, I tend to keep away from lose powders only because of the mess! But this a gorgeous deep purple which I can see myself using regularly alongside the lock and seal. 

New Product: 

I've not tried this lipgloss because I'm not  much of a lipgloss wearer and I will probably give this away to a friend. 

I really enjoyed browsing the ELF website to see which products I could pick up, however there are still many products that I would love to experiment with, so there may be another ELF haul in the future, so watch out!!

Don't worry if you missed out on the 50% off because ELF are currently giving away a mystery collection worth £20 when you spend atleast £20!! 

What ELF products are your favourite? 

Bye lovelies, until next time. Stay happy, healthy and appreciative of life :) xxx