My Other Brushes

The hairs of my powder brush are falling which is sad and made me think to make this post.  I already shared with you my ecotools mini brush set now let's turn the spotlight to the rest of my humble brushes.  These are not expensive and two of them we're just given to me.

Let's first talked about the two brushes from Artist Studio (the ones with bronze and black handles); a brand which is recommended by many bloggers for beginners as they are affordable and decent enough to be used on a daily basis.  The first that I got is the powder brush which is fluffly, soft, dense and gentle enough for the face.  I usually use this to blend my blushers not as a powder brush because I rarely use powders on my face.  After months and months of using it, it is finally showing some signs of wear as its hair are slowly falling on an everyday basis.

The other brush that I got from Artist Studio is the eyeliner/brow brush.  I bought this for the sake of me having a brow brush when I got frustrated at fixing my brows (I already accepted the fact that my brows are straight and looking sad now).  Now, I only use this to practice on how to line my eyes with the black eyeshadow that I have.  The bristles of this is very sturdy and I think this is a bit too thick to be used as a gel/liquid eyeliner brush (but I might be wrong, remember that I'm not an expert).

The one with the cream wooden handle is a dual ended eyeshadow blending brush from Blush handed down to me by my sister.  She actually gave me a set but gave the rest back to her when I moved to a new place.  I like the brown eyeshadow end since it's soft enough and can cover my whole lids in one swipe.  The black blending brush though is so harsh, I rarely used it and it bleeds when I clean it.

The last one is from Jasmine La Belle(?) which was also just given to me (in a mini set, but I only kept this one).  It says shade on the handle but I use this to soften my eyeshadows or highlight my inner corners (when I'm practicing on my makeup "skills") or put extra shadows on my crease since it's soft and small enough for those areas.

I still have a flat top mini kabuki but I forgot to include it in the photos, maybe I'll just show it to you next time.

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Ellana Icon Lip & Cheek Cream Color

And lastly, the most pigmented and boldest blush that I have - the Ellana Lip & Cheek Cream Color in Strawberry Red.  Like I said in my last post, I'm careful in choosing colors and most of the time choose something safe but one day while on youtube, the vloggers that I subscribed to rave about a certain blush and Estee of essiebutton wear it on one of her videos and showed the Nars Orgasm and I was like WHAT!!!! that is so bright and pigmented but it looks so natural on her.  And that's when it hits me that something loud or bold or pigmented can be naturally beautiful when applied properly and this just proves how little knowledge I have when it comes to make-up.  Anyway, I looked for an alternative-a bit similar to Orgasm and found Strawberry Red of Ellana.

Ellana Icon Lip & Cheek Cream Color in Strawberry Red
"Mini-pots of a sheer wash of long-lasting luminous color, creamy & easily blendable. To use as blush, dot on the apples of your cheeks and blend. To use as lip color, dot on the middle of the lips and blend towards the edges. Highly pigmented, a little goes a long way."

It looks dark pink in the picture but in person it really looks like the strawberry color in paints (almost like what is on this link).  It looks matte but when I apply it on my skin, it actually has a bit of shimmer on it.  It is creamy and blendable but I wouldn't use a brush in applying this if I we're you because it will just get stuck on the bristles.  It's more proper to use clean fingers in blending it and a dot really goes a long way (I made a mistake of swiping my fingers twice on the pan and slapped it on my cheek and it's like those little girls who buy the very red chewing gums and swipe them on their lips and cheeks for color hehehe memories, I use to do it when I was a kid).  Looking at the swatches below, the bottom part is just a light swipe from the pan showing how pigmented it really is and the upper one is just the blended leftover from my finger.

I haven't tried this on my lips and I do not have the intention to wear it on my lips, the shimmer forbids me to do so hahaha, silly but it's the only reason I can think of.  Anyway, I bought it with the pure intention of using it as a blusher.

I love the illustration of Soleil Ignacio in the packaging and that it has a magnet (I keep on opening and closing it for fun, is that crazy?) although the cuts and pasting of the paper and the interior needs a little improvement (I'm very careful not to stain the white interior of the packaging).  A little bit of shimmer is nice but I hope Ellana has a matte-as-in-no-shimmer-at-all version of this one because I really like how creamy and pigmented it is and the color just suits my skintone really well and it last the whole day on my cheeks with minimal fading (and I thank my dry skin for that, dry skin and cream blush go hand in hand) but there are days that I'm just simply not into shimmery things.

If you wanted to meet the rest of my blushers then you can check out my A Touch of Blush post and might as well look into my ELF Color Stick and Studio Blush and Nature Republic Shine Blossom Rose Blusher entries (just click on the names and it will directly lead you to the post).  Thanks!

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Nature Republic Shine Blossom Rose Blusher

Here's a short makeup story in my life:  There's a time wherein I'm afraid to wear blush because of those girls who reapply blush every now and then or they just apply too much that it seems like they've been slapped a couple of times and I was like "do I have to put blush like that?" with a very worried face.  Sorry if this seem to be a bit mean to others but I just want my cheeks to have a natural flush for me to have some glow and color and so I've been a bit careful in choosing colors and I make sure to just put enough and blend well when I'm using the two blushers that I have that are quite pigmented.

One of the blushers that I have that just do the right thing even when I apply to much is the Nature Republic's Shine Blossom Rose Blusher in 02 Coral Rose.  Wondering why there's a sun in front of the packaging?  My explanation is that it gives a nice sun-kissed effect on the cheeks.

Nature Republic Shine Blossom Rose Blusher 02 Coral Rose (No 3711)
"Shine Blossom Rose Blusher makes your skin look more feminine with romantic rose color and perfume."

The coral rose perfectly describes the color of this blush:  it's like an old rose combined with the brightness of coral.  Like I said, it gives this natural sun-kissed effect that just brightens the face and can be used on a daily basis whether your at school or office or just doing some errands.  Let's just say that the color is pretty safe, simple, natural and laid back and even if I apply this thrice on my cheeks and forgot to blend it, I won't worry that I'll look like a clown.

Just look at the swatches below:  I applied the blusher thrice on the bottom swatch while the upper one is just lightly tapped and it just blends well with the color of my skin.

I also love the tin can packaging of this blusher with its metallic bronze/gold rose color and the size is just perfect for us girls who do not have a large makeup space.  The puff that comes with it also looks cute and perfectly fits the shape of my cheeks.  And even if this is in powder form, it can last the whole day that is IF I won't be sweating and wiping my face too much.

If you wanted to read my intro with my blushers then you can check out my A Touch of Blush post and might as well look into my ELF Color Stick and Studio Blush entry (just click on the names and it will directly lead you to the post).  Thanks!

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ELF Color Stick and Studio Blush

Finally, our internet is back!  I can finally continue with my blushers posts.

The first two blushers that I bought are from Eyes.Lips.Face aka e.l.f.  The Essential All Over Color Stick (the one in white chubby stick) is a cream type of blusher that is perfect for beginners like me because I just lightly tap it on my cheeks and blend it with my clean fingers and voila! my face is flushing with pinkish color, no need for extra tools.

e.l.f. Essential All Over Color Stick
"This 3-in-1 Color Stick adds a beautiful glow to your eyes, lips, or face! Get gorgeous color that illuminates and instantly conditions skin for fresh and natural color all day long. Blend anywhere you would like to highlight and brighten like your cheeks and brow bones."

I got the pink lemonade which according to the SA is the most pigmented among the 5 colors available while the others are more like highlighters rather than blushers.  These color sticks all have shimmer that acts like a highlighter though I haven't tried it as a brow bone highlighter but I tried it as a lipstick and it looks weird, it's like I'm from the future wherein all people wanted everything to have a touch of chrome.  It looked okay though when I top it with a nude lip balm and smack my lips plenty of times.

Overall, I'm okay with it as a blusher which leads me to decide to get an orangey color (because last year,  orange makeup looks really good).

But the color that I'm looking for is not available so the SA suggested another blush this time in powder form and it's the Studio Blush in peachy keen which I fondly call as a demi contour and demi blush because it seems like its contouring and blushing at the same time when I apply it in between the hollows and apples of my cheeks.  Yes, it looks orangey but when worn, it's more like a peachy with a bit of a golden tan color.  This one has a more refine shimmer to it compared with the Essential All Over Color Stick.

e.l.f. Studio Blush
"The soft sheer texture blends into the skin for a silky finish. Designed to be worn alone or layered for more depth. Highlight your complexion with a subtle healthy glow!"

My sister said that the packaging reminds her of the ones from NARS except for the clear plastic part and I already saw a blog post comparing the colors from the two brands.  So far I'm loving what I got from e.l.f. and though they are more pricey here in the Philippines compared in the US, they are budget friendly.

The shimmery effect is most noticeable when under a direct light.  Oh I almost forgot about their longevity,  I think 4 hours is the max...sorry that's my best guess I really don't look at the mirror much and I also don't have the habit of retouching makeup :)

If you wanted to read my intro with my blushers then you can check out my A Touch of Blush post.  Thanks!

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