Brushes | Make Up By Katy

Royal and Langnickel Art Brushes

September 27, 2010 By Katy Messer 6 Comments

Hi Girls,

Whilst in my local Hobbycraft sourcing a new palette for my cream and stick foundations (my old one disintegrated spectacularly, see my post on that disaster here) I found myself wandering down the brush aisle.

For anyone who hasn’t discovered Hobbycraft yet, you must find one! It was an invaluable source of goodies for me in the planning of my wedding and every visit there makes me want to take up a new craft. I’m currently obsessed with Dolls Houses and ribbons.

I have approximately 50-60 brushes in my kit which sounds a lot but is relatively small for a make-up artist. This is purely because, after so many years, I really know the style of brush that I work best with. I also give brushes away quite regularly if it goes a while without being used. I fall out of love with them as quickly as I fall in love with them. Fickle? Moi?

So when I spotted these 3 brushes in the massive display I knew I had to give them a go.

Apologies for the poor quality photo. The clear handle really played havoc with my already struggling skills.

The company is Royal and Langnickel and they do both Art Brushes and Make-up Brushes.

I love the feel of them in my hand. I will stand and hold a brush in my hand for ages before deciding whether I like it or not, weighing up how it balances, whether it’s a good fit for me. I appreciate how pretentious this can sound but it is the tool of my trade. Also, I’m a terrible one for holding a brush really lightly, as in, I barely grip it, therefore, if it isn’t a well balanced brush, I tend to drop them. Not good when in a shoot or at a wedding! So this is why I snapped these up! These are from the ‘Soft Grip’ range and it’s pretty clear to see why. The soft plastic padding makes them a pleasure to use and allows great grip for more intricate work.

The first brush I want to take show you is the SG160 1/8". A small synthetic angle brush, ideal for super delicate lining or brow work. I’ve enlarged the photo to give you the best view of the brush head. It is in fact only 1/8” wide (the name is a bit of a giveaway…).

The second brush is a flat topped, square brush, the SG155 – 4. I’ll be using this for delicate tightlining along the inner corner of the lashes and under bottom lashes. I’ll reveal prices in a bit but as a comparison, a slightly wider version from Laura Mercier costs £22.

The 3rd and final brush I bought home with me is the SG 393 1/8". They call this a ‘deerfoot’ brush and I like the fact that I don’t have a brush head similar to this in my kit.

I think I’m going to find use for this with gel liner. It doesn’t show it in the photo but the end of the brush is perfectly round so I think I’ll be able to get a nice soft yet precise line with it.

At the end of the day however, if it turns out I don’t love these brushes, it won’t be a great bother, because they cost a mere £2.55 each. Yes, I said £2.55!!

I also love that these have slim, delicate handles. When you carry around multiple brushes, big chunky thick handles can be cumbersome for storage and take up too much bulk space in brush sets/rolls.

I’ll let you know how I get on with them. I’m doing the make up on a big Wella Hair Show tomorrow so no doubt, I’ll get the chance to play.

I hope this has been helpful

Yours,

Filed Under: bargains, Brushes, Eyeliner, Freelance, Make-Up, Make-Up Artist Tagged With: bargains, Brushes, Eyeliner, Freelance, Make-Up, Make-Up Artist

What I’m loving from Benefit

September 21, 2010 By Katy Messer 2 Comments

Hi Girls,
The next in the series of ‘What I’m loving’ is all about Benefit.
First up, my beloved Babe Cake. Sadly they recently discontinued this and I’m devastated. I used this so regularly and found it to be one of the best cake liners around. Great, dense pigment, long lasting (so many cake liners drop when they dry, this one NEVER does) and great value. Plus, the brown side, contrary to how it looks in this photo is a lovely deep brown, not as red as it looks. If any of your local Benefit counters still have any, snap one up.

I reviewed and swatched these on my blog a while back. You can see the selection of all the shades I have here. These have become invaluable to me as I get to know them and play with them and I’ve found that I reach for them in 90% of my work these days. I’d like to see more shades from the Benefit team in these. Pretty please?!

The talent brush is a great multi-functional brush for a good price. I use it from under eye concealing. It can also be used with the creaseless creams, for an eye base, or just about any cream product. Plus, I like that it had a nice short handle for travel.

What I’d like to see from Benefit is a selection of specific Gel Liners. I know the Creaseless Creams are supposed to multi task but the only colours even slightly deep enough are Strut and Towne Car which I feel are still not dense enough. I’d like to see the same technology used to create an amazing range to rival Bobbi. Imagine a Dark Black/Red hybrid as a gel liner?!
What do you love from Benefit?

Filed Under: Benefit, Brushes, cake liner, Eyeliner, Eyeshadow, Review Tagged With: Benefit, Brushes, cake liner, Eyeliner, Eyeshadow, Review

What I’m loving from Christian Dior

September 8, 2010 By Katy Messer 4 Comments

Hi Girls,

The second in the series of the ‘What I’m loving’ series. This time, Christian Dior.

The team on the Christian Dior counter in Fenwick astound me regularly. Not only with their incredible product knowledge, but the passion they have for their brand is like no other! Whenever I comment to them that I like a particular product, I am met with the same comment in response – “of course you do, it’s Dior!”. I love that passion! So, without further ado, here are my favourites from them.

capture powder

First up is the Capture Total Powder which comes in one shade. Not the cheapest powder on the market (this is £40+) but it does leave the most incredible finish on the skin. It should last you well over a year so not all that bad when you break it down on a daily £/use basis. I buff this into the skin with a firm powder brush. It doesn’t disturb the make-up or change the colour and it is very flattering even on a more mature skin.

I am a big fan of Matte Bronzers and these Dior Bronze Matte hit the spot for me! 4 flattering shades, ranging from a light, flat yellow tone, through with a mid toned peachy shade to deep tawny hues. Great mix of colours and they glide on like a dream.

This is a gorgeous brush to buff over the skin with a powder or even to work a liquid foundation in for a flawless smooth finish. One of the only flat top kabuki style brushes on the high street. Nicely weighted and minimal hair shedding, I likey!

This has become my favourite brush to use for multi functional bronzer/blusher usage. Perfect to use to sweep bronzer over high points. Not so big that you cover too much surface area and it feels soft and expensive! I then swish the brush over a tissue to remove any residue and I use it to wash colour onto the cheekbones. Good for if you’re just after a loose wash of colour, not so great if it’s hard contouring that you want.

The iconic 5 colour palettes. Fabulous textures and always a great mix of shades. I always tell my clients to think of these as an extension of their colour wardrobe. Even though there are 5 shades here there is no law that states you have to use every colour in each look. Sometimes that is overkill and the pressure of trying to figure out how to fit them all in can be too stressful!

Super quick eye make-up remover, I soak 2 pads in this and can remove even a heavy eye in approx 3 swipes. Not quite ‘instant’ but as close as.

Quite possibly, the softest lip balm ever. I haven’t a clue what they put in it that makes it so soft. Angel breath? But it’s delightful and rose-laden. The packaging looks very vintage which I love.

Christian Dior is a brand that I am keeping my eye on over the next few seasons. I expect great things!

Are there any CD products that you love that you think I should try?

Yours,

Filed Under: Bronzer, Brushes, Christian Dior, Eyeshadow, Lip Balm, Powder Tagged With: Bronzer, Brushes, Christian Dior, Eyeshadow, Lip Balm, Powder

Sigma Brushes. Oh how I love thee.

August 11, 2010 By Katy Messer 1 Comment

Hi Girls!

A few months back, the delightful Amanda from Beauty Blogging Blonde and I decided to share a Sigma Brush Kit to give them a try and share the shipping charge. We split the set down the middle and had many a long involved phone conversation in which we decided who should get which brush!

Now, however, Sigma have decided that they are able to offer the brushes individually. This is an absolute JOY to me because I already own a huge amount of brushes and in buying another set, I’d have ended up with doubles of brushes I didn’t want…

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to my new favourite brushes!

This is the Concealer Brush, F70. A really firm yet flexible synthetic brush, I use this for Cream Shadow as opposed to concealer. I got this as part of the shared set back before Sigma changed their numbering so this is marked as SS194. This is sold for $9, which is approx £5.70.

This was another one I got as part of the set , the Large Angled Contour brush. I use this as a blush brush, I can use it for contouring but I love the way this distributes the pigment evenly and has just the right spread for colour placement. Previously known as the SS168 it is now the F40. This sells for $14 which is approx £9.

I had a little moment to myself when I finally got this Flat Top Kabuki in my hands. This is pure joy to use. I used it today on a shoot, I placed some stick foundation onto the skin and used this to buff the product in. This is an alternative to my other favourite buffing brush from Sephora that I reviewed here. This is known as the F80 and is $16, or £10.20.

This is another one of the brushes I purchased last week and is the Tapered Highlighter. I am using this to both softly contour and also to highlight. It shed ever so slightly but no more than I expected on first use after washing. A really nice brush. Previously known as the SS165, it’s now known as the F35 (although, for some reason I got sent one of the older style with the SS numbering on?) It sells for $16 or £10.20.

The Eye Shading Brush was one from the set. Now known as the E55, previously known as the SS239. I’d use this to press loose minerals onto the lid. It’s an OK brush, nothing wrong with it just nothing incredible. Maybe if I used more loose shadows I’d have more use for it? $9 – £5.70

I was keen to get this Pencil Brush from the set and I have been using it a lot. Just not in the way I thought would! I was going to use this for dense contouring in the crease but it just didn’t work out like that? Instead I’m enjoying using it to work shadow into the lash line over kohl pencils etc. It’s an especially good brush for softly smoking shadow under bottom lashes. Now the E30, previously the SS219 it’s a bargain at $9 – £5.70

This Small Tapered Blending brush is now my favourite brush to contour through the crease with . It’s just the right balance of length, tapering and point. I will be ordering more of this brush because one won’t be enough for me. This is the E45 and is $9 – £5.70.

The Tapered Blending is the old SS217, the infamous dupe of the MAC 217, now called the E35. I use it to blend out the edges of my creme shadows. It’s a very essential brush for me in my kit. J’adore! $9 -£5.70

I have been using this Blending brush for a few different purposed but always for my cream products. I’m loving it for buffing a really sheer layer of Laura Mercier Eye Basic over the lid. It distributes so smoothly and leaves the finest layer on the eye. The E25 is also $9.

Last but not least is the Lip brush. I do wish this brush was slightly longer, even by a millimetre. But it’s noce and wide and light to hold. The L05 is $9.

Overall, my 6 new brushes cost me approx £55 including shipping and arrived with a week. Amazing value and amazing quality. I’m really happy with them and will most definitely be ordering more.

So, when you see the new box on the left hand side of my blog that is the Sigma ad, know that I joined their affiliate group because I love the brushes and I’d love for everyone to be able to enjoy them too.

Yours,

Filed Under: Brushes, Review, Sigma Tagged With: Brushes, Review, Sigma

Sephora Brushes – Mini Review

June 29, 2010 By Katy Messer 4 Comments

Hi Girls,

On my recent trip to Greece, I managed to convince the hub that I deserved a visit to Sephora in the bustling city of Thessaloniki. This is one of the most over crowded, uncomfortable yet beautiful cities I’ve been to. Architecturally eye catching, but SO over populated it’s scary. Therefore, even with the air-con, I couldn’t spend more than half an hour in their. I was also on a Euro budget but they were having 25% off so I thought it’s be quite frankly, rude not to…

I walked away with 4 items, one of which was a glass nail file. I’m not going to post about that. It’s a nail file made of glass. What can I say? And one of the brushes I bought 2 of, one for the kit and one for meeeee!

First up, I.T Stippling Brush. Not that I use it for stippling. And the IT stands for Intelligent Tools… um…ok.

I like to use these dual-fibre brushes for buffing in highlighter powders and this appealed to me as it has a nice, small firm head, good for directional placement of colour.

I used this on my bride at the weekend. It’s ok. Nothing spectacular. However, it’s the only d/f brush of that size I have in my kit, so it’ll get used. But 32 Euros? Meh.

My main issue with this brush? It’s so bloody long! I mean seriously loooong. Stupidly so. Un-necessary!

What I do like about it is it comes with a nifty plastic lockable lid. Whether this is meant to be kept on, I don’t know but it works for me. Brushes are so easily mashed out of shape, especially when Ryanair are throwing your kit around like a rugby ball…

Massively long Stipple Brush with it’s crash helmet on.

The next brush is my new favourite! I’m a mineral powder wearer and am always on the look out for a brush that gives me the nicest finish and by golly I think I’ve found it! It’s the Professional Mineral Brush #45

These bristles are the softest I’ve ever felt. Imagine a baby Koalas tummy fur… Slightly softer than that. I love the domed shape and look, it’s a normal length brush handle!

And another thing. It doesn’t shed a single hair. At all. Woop!

I hope this helps!

Yours, as ever

Filed Under: Brushes, Make-Up, Sephora

Wedding- South of France 26/06/10

June 28, 2010 By Katy Messer 7 Comments

Hi Girls,

I was honoured to be asked early this year to be the Make-up Artist for a bride who was having her wedding in the South of France. Well I was hardly going to say no was I?! And lo and behold, it was everything I imagined it would be. An absolutely smashing couple with a lovely baby boy, they really had the Wedding Day that they deserved. I do weddings a lot! It’s not often I do one and sit there afterwards thinking ‘Wow’. I did here. And these pictures will show you why! These are from the company’s website, I haven’t posted any action pictures from the actual day as it was only yesterday and I will wait to see the official pictures and if I have permission to post some, I will.

I present to you, Chateau De Provence. Nice innit?

Just a quick peek at my set up. I had to travel with my kit and I pared it down as much as I could but I had 5 people to do, only 2 of whom I’d met and didn’t want to risk not having something I needed.

From L_R – I had one of my brush rolls, containing my smaller brushes, mostly eye brushes. My sponges, foundation and base pots, concealers and highlighters. My second brush roll, these are my longer, larger brushes, mostly face. 3 powders (1 setting, 2 highlighters). My eyeshadow bases and creme shadows. Eye and brow pencils, waterproof mascara. On top of the cotton bud box I have my Laura Mercier lash curlers, Tweezerman Tweezers and scissors for brow tweaks. Then I have my palettes with my Foundation Sticks on the left, as well as 7 full Z-Palettes and a Yaby blush palette. Behind them, a selection of false lashes, my Pro Make-up Store disposable mascara wands (my faves are the ‘Wide Eyed Wendys’). Finally, on the far right, I had my 2 lipstick palettes and my 3 favourite OCC Lip Tars, Hush, Melange and Feathered.

The night before I flew I decanted all my liquids into these stackable travel pots from Boots.com which are 5 for £2. So instead of carrying around 40 bottles and tubes, I carry these. Lovely. They’re a bit messy as the flight pressure caused them to leak slightly but I probably shouldn’t have filled them quite so full.

All in all, an amazing experience and I can’t wait to show you the pictures!

Yours,

Filed Under: Bridal Shoot, Brushes, Freelance, Kit, Make-Up, Make-Up Artist, OCC, Wedding, Yaby

New Discoveries and Future Favourites

May 21, 2010 By Katy Messer 4 Comments

Hi Girls,
The past few weeks have seen me swatching left, right and centre! I’m like a kid in a sweet shop, surrounded by my favourites from a multitude of different brands. I’ve got Christian Dior, Chanel, Clarins, Estee Lauder, Lancôme, Benefit and then some!
I want to give you a run down on the products I’ve fallen for from each brand. Starting with…
Chanel- I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the little crème pot that is Soleil Tan de Chanel.

A lovely, light whipped cream-gel that is a great alternative to a powder bronzer. I’ve been applying it with a small, natural hair brush from Bare Minerals.
I love that it’s light enough in texture and colour to be wearable for all skin types, even the fairest.
On a warm, tanned olive skin, one might even buff this in first, onto bare skin and then layer a light illuminated tinted moisturiser over the top.

Christian Dior- Another Bronzer that I have discovered I quite love! I was drawn to these as they are q uite lovely and I’m pleased to say, matte. Called Original Tan, there are 4 available shades.
I have also discovered their Capture Total High Definition Loose Powder. At £44 this powder needs to seriously perform! I’m using this on my more mature clients and very firmly buffing this into the skin. It leaves a beautiful glow to the skin, but NOT a shimmer.

A favourite for my own use is from the Dior Addict Vibrant Couture Colour Collection and is shade 439, Coral Lace. And if you read my Blog Post from yesterday, you’d have seen my first try with the Dior Airflash Spray foundation didn’t work as well as it should have. Today however, I tried it again and it worked alot better today! It’s one of the fullest foundations in my collection, I wouldn’t wear any heavier than that. My hair still bore the brunt of a lot of excess spray, I’m thinking a shower cap may be my best option?!

Lastly from Dior is a surprise for me, as a self confessed brush snob, I wasn’t expecting to like this, but I really do. I really do!! I have used this Cheek Brush over and over and it’s quite fantabulous

Onto Aveda where I have been using their Ukuru Bronzing Brush with my powders and Bronzers. An entirely non-animal hair brush, this glides over skin like a dream. £34.00 and it doesn’t shed a single hair. Hallelujah!
I’ve been working my Laura Mercier Mineral Powder foundation in with this. It could also be used for either of the above Bronzers.

YSL – The most impressive thing about the amazing Perfect Touch Radiance Brush foundation is the wide array of shades it comes in. Goodbye Yellow dominated hues, Hello to not looking jaundiced and sallow. I wear #3 and it is a perfect match for my cooler toned, pale skin. The brush isn’t the most amazing, but if I don’t want to use it, I simply apply the product to my hand and use a sponge or my fingers. Voila!
They also have a nice base primer that is good for an oilier skin in the Top Secret range called Pore Refiner Skincare Brush. It has a lovely fresh feeling and doesn’t leave a silicone-y film on the skin.

Here’s my biggest surprise, I have been selling these 2 products from Benefit like I was on commission (which I’m not, FYI). My favourite trick in the world is the Tight Liner trick which I showed in a master class here. Now I stopped using the Laura Mercier Cake Liner a year or so ago, they have changed the texture and for the life of me I don’t know why?! It’s too soft and now it flakes and crumbles. A great alternative is the Benefit Babe Cake which is an awesome £15.50 and has 2 shades to choose from.
It lasts too!!
They have a brush called the Talent Brush, a lovely shaped, synthetic brush that is great for laying concealer onto the face or around the eyes.
Over at Estee Lauder I’ve been having fun with the Double Wear Stay in Place Pencils, my favourite shade is Graphite, a lovely deep slate grey. 12 hours isn’t an exaggeration. Gorgeous texture, I’m not too find of the smudger on the end, I find that tends to remove rather than blend, so I use a small brush to soften the edge.
My biggest new find are the Nuance blushers, especially Peach Nuance which I am obsessed with!
There are 4 shades in the Nuance family, Nude, Plum, Rose and Peach. All are gradient and luxuriously soft and a pleasure to wear. I start by picking up the colour from the centre of the palette, intensify with the darker end and highlight with the lighter, golden end.
Sublime. And not a Limited Edition like Ripe Peach.

Finally, I’m going to list the MAC brushes I’ve been using and enjoying. I don’t use any of these as yet in my private work but I soon will.
I’m loving the 217 to contour the crease with, good for when I need a firmer brush than the Laura Mercier Pony Tail brush. The 227 is a large fluff brush that I’m using when doing a quick simple one colour look. A good all round cheek brush is the 116, as is the 168 for contouring. I’ve also been using their 316, a nice firm lip brush with a good taper.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading this, it’s a category I’ll be adding to throughout the year no doubt, as I fall in love with more and more products. It’s bound to happen
Until next time,

Filed Under: Aveda, Benefit, Blusher, Bronzer, Brushes, Chanel, Christian Dior, Estee Lauder, Eyeliner, foundation, Mac, Powder, YSL

Boots No7 Brushes- Pictures and mini reviews

April 11, 2010 By Katy Messer 7 Comments

Hi Girls,

I was recently sent these products by the PR company for my perusal so I’m going to take you through them and give you my initial impressions of them. I’ve tried to take some good, close honest pictures as I’ve found the website pictures are a bit dissapointing.

Let’s start with brushes. I was sent 7 brushes, all individually packed in clear perspex packs ziplocked closed. This is good as it gives you something to put them into if you need to carry them around or take them away on holiday.

First up, Directional Powder Brush.

Now this is a tricky one for me because myself and Lisa Eldridge both have different views on setting make-up with powder. I always find brushing powder on leaves a residue, no matter how well buffed in it is. I also find that buffing too much can move the make-up underneath. This brush is designed for that purpose. So I’m trying to think about what I would want from the brush if that was my chosen technique. Firstly, I’d want Natural Hair, this is synthetic. Can you see the shine in the picture?! It’s a flat domed shape, the bristles are very soft. Personally I think the end is too flat for the purpose of buffing. I’d have prefered a more circular shape.

This retails at £17 in Boots.

Next is the Powder Blush Brush,

Although this looks the same size as the Powder brush, it’s approximately half the size. Just over an inch in width at the fullest part along the top. This brush wouldn’t touch my face. Sorry, but it feels scratchy and cheap. It’s another synthetic brush and I would always veer towards a natural hair brush for powder products. It’s not a shape I would enjoy using either. I’m afraid this brush is a No from me. It retails at £11.

Onto a brush I do like! The Foundation Brush.

Now, I’m not generally the biggest foundation brush fan but I do use them occasionally and I understand their relevance. My preference when putting foundation on with a brush is a synthetic kabuki style brush. This however is in the tradional paint brush style. It feels lovely and has a wide enough end to be able to use it head on and buff without leaving streaks. This is one I’d possibly use with a light sheer base such as Nars Sheer Glow or MyFace. Anything with more pigment I’d either use a kabuki or a sponge. RRP £12

This is the Concealer Brush,

This is almost identical to the Foundation Brush except a wee version. Ok for concealing large areas such as redness on the cheeks and at a push, under the eyes. I’d be cautious though as it’s still quite large. If you’re using it for under eye concealer it might apply product too liberally and in places you don’t want/need coverage. I wouldn’t use it for blemishes. How can you cover a spot with this? The conealer will end up all around the blemish too! I like to use a tiny brush and take the cover up onto the exact mark I’m trying to correct, that way I end up with a natural look not a caked finish. RRP £7.50

The Eye Colour brush;

Another synthetic brush, so straight away that rules out using it with any powder shadows. I would however use this to lay a cream shadow or eye primer onto the lid. It could also double up as another under eye concealer brush. This retails at £6.50

Nearly done! 2 more to go.This is the Precision Eyeliner brush.

This is deceptively small, Apologies, the photo almost makes it look lip brush sized. I would say this would work with your Gel Liners. It reminds me of the Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush which retails at £20.50 whereas this is a mere £6.50. It has a nice short handle and is a well balanced brush to hold. Nice!

Finally, the squarest lip brush I’ve ever seen. I give you Essential Lip Brush.

I really like this lip brush. The sharp edge for me is a benefit as it will help towards getting the lip line nice and crisp.It’s slightly larger than the average lip brush so a steady hand is needed if you’re using it on a smaller lip. The only possible problem is that it could be prone to spreading. By this I mean that it is already starting to loose it’s ‘tightness’ However, for £6.50, who cares?

This is them all aligned so you can see them in comparison to eachother.

Overall, a few clangers in there. I’m putting the Foundation Brush and Lip Brush in my kit. The Concealer brush I’m going to play with myself. The rest will go into the big box of unused items for a giveaway. If there’s any of these 4 remaining you’d particularly like to see in a giveaway, leave a note in the comments.

Yours, as ever

Filed Under: Brushes, No7, Review

Review – Sheer Cover Mineral Make-up

April 4, 2010 By Katy Messer 3 Comments

Hi Girls,

I was sent this Sheer Cover set by the PR company for review purposes. (I am not affiliated with them nor am I tried into giving anything other than an honest review).

Mineral foundations seem to be everwhere these days. From my recollection, Sheer Cover were one of the first companies I’d seen advertised. I am a mineral fan, I know alot of people aren’t. I think I have the right skin for it. Combination/Oily. I have always worn a powder on top of my liquid foundations and don’t mind a Matte finish, especially as it doesnt stay fully matte for long.

I have used Mineral foundations before, I use Laura Merciers Mineral Loose powder in Tender Rose regularly in my daily make-up, so I was interested to see the difference between them.

I received this in a pack, nicely presented in a glossy black vinyl zip up Vanity Case. My set was the Light set, containing;

1 X Sheer Cover Base Perfector
1 X Duo Concealer in Light
2 X Mineral Foundation 1.5g, Nude (cool Toned) and Bisque (warm toned)
1 X Powder Brush
1 X Concealer Brush
1 X Mascara
1 X Colour Compact

Firstly, I applied the Base Perfector after my moisturiser. This is essentially a silicon based gel/cream that is designed to even out the texture of the skin and promote smoothness and longevity. I’m not a fan of that silicon feel that alot of primers have, this one had it in abundance. My skin felt artificial and ‘filled’ which for an open pored person isn’t comfortable.
Next, I wanted to see what they said about when to use the concealer. I have always used my mineral powder first and then concealed blemishes and redness etc afterwards. For this I use an oil-free concealer, to prevent the clumpiness and patchiness that can happen when cream is layered on top of powder. What I found confusing is that the booklet and the website say 2 different things?

Concealer; In the booklet it states that the concealer step goes before the mineral foundation, whereas the website says the opposite. When I tried it before, I found that the powder clung to the concealer, leaving a definite mark. Not really ideal when trying to cover a blemish, this more or less illuminated it!
When I tried it the other way, I felt it was better, however, this concealer is very creamy and I found it didn’t really lay perfectly on top of the powder. The other option would be to use the concealer first and set it with a translucent powder before applying the mineral foundation.
The actual concealer is split into 2 shades.The lighter is a cooler, peachy shade. This is the colour I used. The darker shade was far too yellow for me, possible I could use it in the summer but I doubt it. I don’t find that I change from cool to warm tone even if I get a tan.Coverage wise, it was ok. Nothing particularly amazing. Around my eyes I felt it was nice but showed up fine lines more than usual.

Concealer brush; The brush that comes in the pack that is for concealer is reminiscent of a Benefit concealer brush and I was comfortable using it round my eyes. For the face however I found it too big. When I’m trying to cover a blemish, I like to cover only the spot and not also the surrounding skin. This brush didn’t give me a fine enough point to do this.

Mineral Powder; We are given the option of mixing the shades together to create the perfect shade. I like this. I’m always between a cool and a neutral tone, never yellow so I was able to really get a good match. It’s a bit fiddly dipping the brush from one to the other but I utilised the lid as my mixing tray. I noticed that this builds up very quickly and if the light isn’t great, it can very quickly become a full coverage finish which isn’t flattering in this texture. It only took me making that mistake once and I soon mastered it after that! I found the finish to be nice and even, almost creamy and without the tell tale ‘shimmer’ that some mineral brands can leave.

Powder brush; The brush that came with the set is smaller and rougher in textrue than the brush I usually use for my mineral foundation and has a definite ‘animal’ smell to it. I was hesitant at first to use it but I wanted to give the set a thorough review. It gives very sheer coverage when used with this brush. The small surface area means it can be a bit time consuming when using it all over (not that I have a particularly big face mind!)
I tried using an alternative brush and I found it works best with a larger, fuller, firmer brush. Mine is an old Sephora Platinum Bronzer brush from years back but I love it! I also tried it with an Elf Powder Brush that I love but it gave far too much coverage.

The mascara I tried once and was seriously unimpressed with it. The colour palette I swatched on my hand and it barely registered on my porcelain skintone.

If I was being brutally honest, I’d say that I don’t understand why a brand that it clearly good at mineral foundations would even venture into colour. If you’re going to do it, at least make it decent?! It reminded me of a childs make-up palette. It doesn’t even compete with other brands and makes no improvements to the pack, in my opinion.

In summary, I will continue to use the mineral powders, I really enjoyed them. The concealer I will keep as a back up, but I will only use it with my liquid bases, I really didn’t find it compatable under or over the mineral powder.

This was an introductary kit, however, when I looked on the website, the kit they’re offering comes with even more items in and this one isn’t there. If you’re interested in a good value, nice finish mineral brand, I would suggest giving them a try, just be prepared to only use a fraction of the products that come in the kit.

Yours, until next time

Filed Under: Brushes, Concealers, Mineral, Review, Sheer Cover

Eyeliner Masterclass

March 23, 2010 By Katy Messer 8 Comments

Hi Girls,

This is a post I wrote to appear on the fabulous Get Lippie’s blog yesterday but for those subscribers who haven’t yet seen it, here it is….

I’ve been asked by a few people to take them step by step through my eyeliner technique. I do try and show this on my video tutorials but will admit that I often skip over it so as to get to the fun part which is the colour. However, this is a very important part of all my looks so I think it’s a good idea to go through, step by step.

Firstly, I use a cake liner, this works better than a gel liner and especially safer than a kohl. This is a Kryolan cake liner, the very best that I have found. It doesn’t smudge, flake or run and it’s a true black. It’s also available in other shades such as brown and navy which are worth getting for a softer look. The brush needs to be synthetic, tightly packed and totally flat. No slants, no domes and definately NO points. The cake liner needs to be mixed with a small amount of water to create a paste. Think of the texture as being similar to a runny mascara.

Let’s start by going through application of Step 1. This takes a steady hand so it might be worth sitting down and resting your elbow to create a pivot. You can use your free hand to lift the lid slightly, or, as shown just place the brush under the lashes and press and wiggle right into the roots. Start in the centre and work outwards. The end result should look like the 3rd picture along. Ideally there won’t be any liner on the inner rim. If there is, simply take a cotton bud, damp and gently run along to remove. I take the liner from lash end to lash end, going right into the inner corner is much more dramatic, so probably best saved for evening.

Step 2 is similar to Step 1, although the brush now sits on top of the lashes. This is not to create a liquid liner effect. This should be placed in the same point as before, inbetween the lashes. As you can see, the lashes are pulled down and the end of the brush is hitting the same spot as from underneath. This helps to darken the roots of vlonde eyelashes, as often mascara won’t reach this part. The end result of this is a clean, defined look. If mascara is put on, this line dissapears and all that is left is the impression of fuller, thicker lashes. Nice!

This eyeliner trick can be worn alone, or with a soft shadow for a natural look. I’m going to take you through how to create a smoky eyeliner look using just a kohl pencil and one brush.

Above are 3 brushes, from left to right Shu Uemura Kolinsky Brush 10F, Laura Mercier Corner Eye Brush, Laura Mercier Smoky Liner Brush. These would all be suitable to use for this step but would give different finishes. The longer and larger the brush head, the more smudged the liner would be. I wanted a reasonably small smudge so I used the Smoky Liner Brush.

I used my favourite Kohl pencil. Prestige Total Intensity Pencil. I urge you to give this a try. It’s under £5 from Boots! I’m just doing a line along the top in this demonstration.

Note how I have the pencil on it’s side. This is the easiest way to run the pencil along the lashes as you can almost use the lashes to rest the brush on. The issue of wiggling the pencil inbetween the lashes to darken the roots os no more as the cake eyeliner is already there, creating a base for your kohl.

I start in the centre, above the iris and work outwards, coming to the inner corner at the end. I wanted to open my eye up with this technique so i have lifted the liner in the centre as opposed to creating the width at the outer corner.

Before smudging.

To smudge I take the brush and run gently along the edge of the line, pulling upwards as I go as I’m not looking to pull the line outwards. Note how I’m holning the brush at the same angle as the pencil. I’m using the long edge of the brush as opposed to the fine point. The end result should look soft, blended and subtle.

This is the end result, sans Mascara. For an evening transformation, I’d simply take the pencil, dot very subtly under bottom lashes and use the Shu Uemura 10F brush to work right into the lashes. To intesify further, I’d line the inner rim too.