My top 4 make up brushes product review

I celebrated my 25th birthday recently and received a fair few presents to commend my ripe old age. Amongst the presents I received what has since become my favourite foundation brush ever which has since inspired me to write a piece about my favourite make up brushes. If you are a regular reader of The Beauty Blog, you will know that I rarely splurge on make up and prefer to buy high street or online rather than designer brands. This is also true for make up brushes but it does not make them any less suitable than their more expensive counterparts. So without further ado I give you my favourite beauty brushes.

I have a somewhat large collection at home of new foundation brushes still fresh within their packaging. I almost always receive make up brushes as stocking fillers and clearly it has now followed suit on my birthdays. To add to my ever growing collection of make up brushes I received a beautiful one by so eco from Tesco surprisingly. It has fast become my favourite foundation brush, made from wood and synthetic hair, it is a real treat on the eyes. The so eco foundation brush is light and evenly weighted so it even feels feather light in your hands. I especially liked the ergonomic grooves on the brush for the thumb and forefinger to rest easily. The brush head is as soft as a dog's ear (if you can imagine how soft that is) and it works evenly to spread the foundation across the face. I really like this foundation brush as not only is it a perfect accompaniment to my make up bag, but it looks aesthetically pleasing with the light wood and rose gold finish. The so eco foundation brush has an array of credentials to add to its' name. The so eco foundation brush is cruelty free, hand cut and trimmed and vegan friendly. At a mere £5 this was an absolute bargain and I love it!

Next up is the angular rose gold brush that I received many moons ago in a long forgotten Glossybox. When I first reviewed the Luxie 504 Large Angled Pink blusher brush, I was not immediately impressed with the size of the brush head (the original review can be read here). Now however, I absolutely love the Luxie 504 Large Angled Pink blusher brush and it has since replaced my usual Angled blusher brush by AVON. I love the baby pink colour of the Luxie 504 Large Angled Pink blusher brush as well as the softness of the brush head. I really like angled blusher brushes as the shape stops you from overloading the brush with too much product. In my experience however, angled brushes do make it more difficult to tap off excess product. If however, you simply place the blusher brusher into the product rather than dabbing the blusher brush (as is often easier with flat or round head brushes) this limits the amount of excess product. The Luxie 504 Large Angled Pink blusher brush allows me to sweep my St. Moriz bronzer across my cheekbones and help to define them even more. I am so glad angled brushes have made their mark and they are definitely here to stay for me! 

I hardly ever use eyeshadow brushes, but when I do, I like to use either my eyeshading brush by look fantastic feel better or the eyeshadow brush by marsk, (which of course I have previously reviewed). The eyeshading brush by look fantastic feel better is long and thin which makes it really easy to apply powdery eyeshadows. The eyeshading brush looks and feels like a paintbrush and it is because of this design that encourages a more tapered finish.The head of the eyeshading brush is splayed out to allow a fuller coverage on the eyelid. I really like the eyeshading brush as it is both light and soft which makes applications even easier.

Last but not least is the eyeshadow brush by marsk which is shorter in length and fatter than the eyeshading brush. That said however, the marsk brush is not difficult to use as a result of its' size and is quite pleasant to use. The head is soft and fat so you can really load up on product if you wanted to! I like the bamboo finish of the eyeshadow brush as it gives it a more natural luck.

I'd love to know your thoughts and what your favourite make up brushes are, let me know in the comments below! P.S. I have a 5th favourite make up brush which I'll update the post once I've taken a picture! xx

Four product lip liner and lipstick review

I went on a bit of a make up splurge recently and bought myself three new lip liners and a berry lipstick to jump on the vampy lip trend. I've been meaning to buy some lip liners for a while ever since I discovered the MUA caramel nougat lip liner is the perfect accompaniment to my Revlon nude lipstick. I spent a while in Boots colouring my hand in all shades of reds, pinks and purples to help me decide which ones to buy. Admittedly, I looked a little diseased when I went to pay with pink stripes all over my hand (which of course didn't go unnoticed by the sales assistant). After perusing all of the independent make up companies in Boots I eventually decided on the Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30, paired with a COLORsensational lip liner in Midnight Plum number 338, a No7 Precision lip liner in pink to compliment my Cherry Pop red Clinique lipstick and L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Couture Lip Liner Number 258 Berry Blush to compliment my favourite Rimmel London Moisture Renew lipstick in Lily Extase number 340. I've wanted to embrace last year's vampy lip trend for a while but never really had the time or funds to buy everything. I was really pleased with my £20 make up selection and couldn't wait to try them out.

                                 
                                                            
First up was the Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30 (retailing at £5.49), paired with a COLORsensational lip liner in Midnight Plum number 338 retailing at around £3.99. The Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30 had a nice creamy texture when I applied it to my hand unlike many of the other purple or plum lipsticks which were greasy and slippery. I was always told when I was younger that to get your perfect shade you should try it on your hand to see if the colour matches your skin tone. I've since learnt that this isn't an accurate method of trying new lipsticks out as the skin on your hand is different to that on your face (you might be more tanned on your hands for example). Ideally you're supposed to place the lipstick up to your lips so you can see if the colour compliments your face. You might look a bit odd doing this in the middle of Boots though and as I had a nude lip when I was trying out colours I couldn't do this little tip. I really liked the coloured sticker on the tube for the Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30 and it looks purple when you push it up. I applied the COLORsensational lip liner in Midnight Plum number 338 first which was a bit trickier than my usual caramel nougat lip liner. You really have to take your time when applying a coloured lip liner and it took me a couple of attempts to get it perfect. Initially, I'd invariably drawn on the skin around my lip so the colours didn't quite match up at first. The COLORsensational lip liner in Midnight Plum number 338 turned out to be the perfect compliment to Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30. As for the lipstick I was unsure at first whether I liked it but after I wore it a few more times I really liked it. However, I managed to unwillingly pick up the same shade of lipstick that my mam wears which really brings out the red in her hair but it seemed to just wash me out at first. The Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30 is more a reddy purple than a true plum colour which I was led to believe going off the sticker on the tube. It took a little bit of getting use to as the Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30 is really quite dark. It looked a little too wine stained at first for my liking. I would strongly advise using this lipstick or similar shades with freshly whitened teeth. My teeth aren't exactly gross but nor are they shiny pearly whites so the Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30 made my teeth look grey in comparison. I found that it depends on the shade of foundation as to how the lipstick compliments the skin tone and the more I wore it the more I liked the Rossetto Kate Moss lipstick. I've worn the Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30 a few times now and I really like the colour of this lipstick. The rich plum colour lasts ages and it looks really striking on. I love the Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in Rossetto Number 30 and the COLORsensational lip liner in Midnight Plum number 338 sets the colour off perfectly.

Next I tried the No7 Precision lip liner in fire paired with my favourite Rimmel London Moisture Renew lipstick in Lily Extase number 340. The lip liner is the perfect shade for to compliment my lipstick which I was really surprised with given that my lipstick is years old. I assumed that as the No7 Precision lip liner in fire was a precision liner it would be easier to apply to my lips. The lip liner is pointed at the tip to aid for precision but I actually found that it made it harder to apply. I somehow managed to miss a section of my lip when I applied it which was made more obvious by the strange outlined shape of my lip when I filled it in with the colour of the lipstick. The lip liner set the colour of the lipstick off and although it's fiddly to use at first I really liked the design of the lip liner. Unfortunately the two together didn't last very long after eating and drinking but when it was first on the lips both colours looked really bright and popping. I've previously reviewed my favourite lipstick which you can read about here so this review was more so focused on the No7 Precision lip liner in fire. Priced at £6.75 it's a perfect little lip liner the only downside is that it can't be sharpened.

Lastly, I tried the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Couture Lip Liner Number 258, Berry Blush alongside my Elizabeth Arden Moisturising Lipstick in Bold Red 41 Matt. I went to a Gatsby themed party recently and I had all of my accessories planned including my lipstick and make up look. I had intended to use my Cherry Pop Red Clinique lipstick that night but I had unfortunately misplaced it. My back up plan was to use my Elizabeth Arden Moisturising Lipstick in Bold Red 41 Matt which you can read about here. I won't go into too much detail about the Elizabeth Arden Moisturising Lipstick in Bold Red 41 Matt but I was constantly reapplying it on the night. After drinks and food my lipstick slipped off and it was a constant battle to maintain the red colour. I had even blotted my lips together at the start of the night, applied the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Couture Lip Liner Number 258, Berry Blush and applied Lipcote to seal the colour in. Although the lipstick seemed to stay put it wasn't as bright and popping as I would have liked. As a result of this constant slippage the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Couture Lip Liner Number 258, Berry Blush wore off fairly quickly. Priced at £3.99 the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Couture Lip Liner Number 258, Berry Blush was the most aesthetically pleasing with the pink snakeskin pattern on the pencil. Despite the bright pink pencil I was pleasantly surprised to find that the L'Oral Paris Colour Riche Couture Lip Liner Number 258, Berry Blush is the perfect compliment for my orangey red lipsticks. I've yet to try the L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Couture Lip Liner Number 258, Berry Blush with my Cherry Pop red Clinique lipstick which I will do at some point and alter this review.

      

  
I really liked all three lip-liners but found that the COLORsensational lip liner in Midnight Plum number 338 went on much easier than the other two that I tried out. I have since found out that it is easier to apply lipliner by moving the head with the pencil rather than drawing an outline of my lips. My arms shake a lot and I find it much easier to move my head with the pencil rather than draw it in as I often miss sections of my lips doing it this way. Applying lip liner takes a bit of time and practice so it's best to apply it when you have a bit of time and not rushing around

Let me know what you thought of this multi-product review in the comments below xx