barrym pinks

I've needed a new brush cleaner for the longest time, & when I came across the Beauties Factory Brush Cleaner it was the perfect price to give it a go.
Brush cleaners are awesome for spot cleaning in between use although it should not be replaced with deep cleansing which I do not get to do as much as I'd like.. although it is quite the chore!


 This bottle has an opening at the top, instead of a spray... which is ideal for me because the last brush cleaner I tried using didn't squirt so I would have to undo that every time I wanted to use it! It is easy to control how much comes out as it has a reasonable opening that ensures that it wont rush out all at once. It is easy to pour out by tipping it upside down against a paper towel or tissue, where you can run the brush over it.
This brush cleaner has a reasonable drying time, however, depending on how dense the brush is it may take longer. Like with my Real Techniques contour brush (which I use for blush), after swiping it on the paper towel it took a while as there was a lot of hair, but it is ideal for small eye brushes that need to be used for a different colour while doing your makeup.
You can see that it did a really good job of cleaning the pigment out of the brush but it does look wet.

I bought this on eBay for $9.99 with free shipping so it is worth a try!

Hope this is helpful to someone out there.

xx

Typically after showing you my foundation routine, I have to go and buy new brushes, huh! Not that I don't do the same technique but anyway, I thought I would treat myself to a few new brushes as I haven't for a while. :)


Real Techniques
I ordered these from Iherb.com, shipping was very reasonable at $12 for next day shipping or $4 for the usual waiting time. I received mine in a week which I think is the best shipping time I've ever had! Plus you cannot beat the prices online to instore at priceline!




Face Core Collection kit- Buffing Brush
Here is the buffing brush compared to my old foundation brush, E.L.F Flat Top Powder brush. The difference's are in the handle lengths & the buffing brush is more rounded and not as dense as the E.L.F. It somehow leaves my fdtn feeling wet while the E.L.F one made it feel dry & completely buffed into the skin. Does that make sense?

Contour Brush
 If I knew I was going to order RT brushes I wouldn't have ordered the sigma, but they are both good anyway. The RT contour brush is more rounded while the Sigma one has more of a flat head. As the RT one is synthetic you can also use it for liquids, too.
Pointed Foundation & Detailer Brushes (top & bottom, respectively)
When I first saw the sizes of these (compared to my eco tools concealer brush) I thought how one could use it for their purposes without taking a lifetime!? However I've found the foundation brush is perfect for under eye & around the nose concealer. The precise detailer is indeed good for precise application for small blemishes & for correcting around the lip line & eyebrows.

Eye Starter Kit- Deluxe Crease Brush
 Seriously let me tell you now, unless you have eyes the size of saucepans you do not want this for your crease. In comparison to the 217 brush you can hopefully see that it is huuuge. It would be good for under the eyes as how pixiwoo use it but I quite like it for cream eyeshadows that you blend over the lid & into the crease. It is quite round & dense so it's ok for anything unless you want precision.

Base Eyeshadow brush
 This is nice for a wash of colour over the lid, but as it is quite floppy it isn't good for packing on colour. It is however good for blending in the crease or highlighting.
Pixel Perfect Eyeliner brush
Yeahh um please don't take notice of this name either, because I could not imagining getting perfect eyeliner out of this. I think it would be good for drawing roughly into the crease & the outer v. You can see compared to my Sigma E05 that the tip is not as precise therefore winged eyeliner would be impossible. As the hairs are so long it would be too flimsy, too.

Brow Brush

Once again I think this brush is too big if you like very defined eyebrows but its nice for a more natural look. It's compared here to my old random brow brush & hopefully you can see how much more thicker the hairs are & the size difference. It would be good for smoking colours onto the lash line & blending out the crease slightly.

Accent Brush
This is pretty good for well, precision detailing as it is small & good for the lower lashline if you don't want colour every where. You could also use it for smudging although it's probably too thin for that.

Setting Brush

Loove this, perfect for setting under/ on the eyes, around the nose & lips, and it would also be perfect for highlighting. And its so soft! Compared to the sigma tapered highlighter it is much more smaller but both sizes are good.


Notes
-Wish I also ordered the lash & brow groomer as it has metal bristles on the comb side & also comes with a protection cover.
-Ordering from iherb the first time gives you 10% discount woohoo! I also have a voucher for you: HKD726 that you can enter before checkout for 10% off (However I am not sure if these expire or not, huge apologies if it has!).
-Click here to view my review on the RT Blush Brush

Sigma
Some of you may or may not have noticed that I am now a Sigma Affiliate! Although I haven't done too much about it apart from adding a couple of pictures links. All that means is if you do buy from my page I get 10% profit from what you buy (don't worry it doesn't mean you have to pay more!) So if you'd like to support me I'd really appreciate it but I'm not forcing anyone to. :) Just to let you know I paid for these with my own money & was not sent them to review etc etc.
You can purchase sigma here 
 Tapered Highlighter F35- To replace using my fan brush for highlighter. Love this brush and it's shape, it applies powder highlighters perfectly.
Small Contour F05- I have been wanting a contour brush like this for ages, and I love it for contouring my cheek bones & nose. As you can see in the pic below it has quite a square shape which fits in the hollows nicely. However if I knew I was going to order the RT face kit I probably wouldn't have bothered with this... just to save some $.

 Pencil E30- I bought this more on the wanting & not needing side- I don't think it's really much of a necessity as I have plenty of smaller brushes that do the same job. But it is good for very precise highlighting & crease & lower lashline work.
Short Shader E20- Another type of brush I have needed for ages that I use similarly to the pencil brush & to smudge liner/shader or whatevers. Good brush to have on hand.

Compared to my MAC 217 brush so you can see the size differences in the handle & brush head.

Lip L05- A really nice basic lip brush that comes with a cover so it's great for travelling or keeping in your handbag. In the closeup I've compared it to the RT Precision brush and its smaller than that so it's really good to use to line your lips with lipstick, too.



I also got this along with my brushes- the brow powder was my free gift which matches quite nicely, I will save that for traveling so I don't always need to lug my Sleek Storm palette around. I also got a fall look book which will be hand for next year for inspiration.


Brush Storage
So finally I have an almost completed storage for my brushes. My eye ones used to be in a smaller container & my face ones were lying on their sides in a makeup bag which was annoying to find them in. I bought these pots from Red Dot (discount store) between $5-$10 depending on the size & they fit in nicely! However the big pot is too big for some of my shorter face brushes. I did try them in the smaller one too & they fit so I might get another one & use it for them.
But does anyone know where I can buy some small plastic beads preferably on eBay with international shipping to fit in the bottom of the pot to hold the brushes in place (if I can't find them anywhere I will try popcorn kernels as I've seen on youtube lol). ATM I have some small earring beads in the small pot but not enough for height.

Thanks for looking I hope this helps if you plan on purchasing any brushes from RT & Sigma.
XX

Real Technique brushes by Sam Chapman (One of the talented ladies behind pixiwoo) is available in Australia at selected Priceline stores. I had a look in a few but as far as I know it was available in the pharmacy's only, but it doesn't hurt to ask if. This retails for $9 (I think) in the US but I got mine for $25 which is a price I'd normally pay anyway so its NBD to me.
About the brush: It is super soft & fluffy for applying blush. It has a tapered end that is perfect for a light contour, not something I'd replace my contour brush with, however I'd use it for a light dusting of bronzer. As for using it for blush, I apply it on the side of the bristles, that way it is large enough for my cheeks & the blush is distributed nicely. Otherwise it can end up only on the apples of the cheeks, becoming hard to blend.

I like the handle on it, it is super sleek and feels nice to hold lol, and the bottom is rubbery and wider at the base so it's able to stand up on it's own if that's how you like to store your brushes, the only annoying thing is that it's harder to fit into my brush roll & it takes up more room. The handle is long enough so you can apply blush without pressure, which is what can lead to the appearance of clown cheeks so that's a good thing :P

As for the other real technique brushes you can get, I found Priceline didn't have the biggest selection. You can get the starter kits of $50 I think, but on the real technique's website they are only $18! I have heard you can buy them at iherb.com for a decent price and they ship overseas, the RT website also now sells them online but I couldn't see if they were international or not.

Overall I do recommend this brush, and I definitely want to purchase the eyes starter kit & setting brush when I have finished my no-buy, if I can last that long!! At the end of the day, the prices may be jacked up heaps here but it's better then nothing! :)

 Compared to the Eco Tools blush brush. You can see the shapes are totally different.
And since you've seen them, here are my NOTW :]
 Yes, my pinky nail broke and my ring finger is not far from the same destiny =/
I lovee this colour combo, It was a bit too orangey without the NP from FaceIt over the top, which gave it a nice peachy sheen. Don't get me wrong I love orange polish but it wasn't for my dress on the weekend lol.
The colours from L-R are C'est La Vie & OR202

Thanks for reading, I hope this was  usefull!
xx

This is a post that is hopefully helpful to the beginners out there who cannot decide what type of brushes they should be looking for. Don't get me wrong, my brush collection has taken a loong time to slowly build up, but as long as you start with the basics you can keep adding to it later on. You also don't need to buy the most expensive brushes for a great result.
However today I will not be focusing on the brands, simply on the type of brushes. I hope that makes sense lol.



 Lid brushes
*Apologies for the brushes not being in the same order, D'oh!*
Top: Synthetic Flat brush: This is not absolutely essential, but it is good for applying primer & cream eyeshadows to the eyelids. Synthetic is best for creams as it will not soak up all the product, making it easier to clean.
Middle: Large Stiff Shader brush: This is good for packing a whole lotta colour onto the lid.
Bottom: Small Shader Brush: Simply used for the same method as the larger one, however it is better for precise application of different colours to the lid.
Stiff shader brushes are also good for using the very tip to apply eyeshadow to the lower lash line.

 Eyeliner
Eyeliner brushes come in different shapes depending on the look you want to achieve.
Angled liner brushes: In this picture these are the same type of eyeliner brushes, however I use the top one for eyeliner and the bottom one for my eyebrows. That way I don't have to worry about cleaning them all the time & getting black on my eyebrows, lol. You can use this with Gel Eyeliner but I prefer to use it to pack on eyeshadow on top of my eyeliner for longevity.

The top 2 are thin brushes great for Gel & liquid eyeliner. You can see the only difference to the bottom ones are that the handles are shaped normally.
The bottom 2 are Bent Eyeliner brushes. I simply have 2 for light & dark colours. These are great because you can easily do your eyeliner without worrying about the handle getting in the way. Please note you do not need to own all of these. Whatever your preference is fine. Once again these are good for cream & gel eyeliner. You can even dip it into your liquid eyeliner if you wish.

 Crease Brushes
These are a few different types of brushes which are good for applying colour to the crease & outer v.
Top: Fluffy crease brush: This is good for applying & blending colours to the crease.
2nd: Pencil Brush: Good for precise application to the crease & outer v. Also good for the lower lash line if you have larger eyes or for smudging out eyeliner.
3rd: Pointed crease: (I had washed this the night before so its a bit out of shape). Really good for precise crease work e.g. for cut creases
Bottom: Pointed crease & Outer v: (again lol) Same concept as the one above, but especially good for the outer v because of the size.

Blending
Top & 2nd: Stiff dome blending brushes: TMakeup Geekhese are really versatile for applying a wash of colour over the lid & crease, blending colours on the lid & crease while depositing colours.. I recently purchased a second one because it doesn't take long for them to get dirty lol.
3rd: Soft Dome : This one is slightly pointed however because it's not stiff it's great for blending colours together on the lid or blending out in the crease. You can live without it if you have a stiff blending brush.
4th & 5th: These are just a couple of other different brush shapes good for blending. Once again they are not needed,but I think the more the better, especially if you are doing a look where you need a clean brush to blend out & one with colour to add more colour on at the same time. Hope that makes sense ;)

Other Eye Brushes
Top: Brow & Lash brush: Just any run of the mill brush like this should do, good for combing through your brows & lashes to get rid of clumps.
2nd & 3rd: Highlighting Brushes: These are good for highlighting on the brow bone & tear duct. The 2nd brush is good for blending it out as it's applied & the 3rd, because of the angle & being stiff, is good for precision.

Lips
The top brush is good for applying your lip colour all over, the bottom is good for precise application right around the lip line. If you use a pencil lip liner first you don't exactly need the 2nd brush.

I hope this is helpful & not confusing. All in all you do not have to have everyone of these brushes especially if your starting out, you can use certain brushes for different things. You also don't need to spend the big bucks for great brushes. I'll post some websites for great affordable brushes (all are non affiliated).

Makeup Geek As far as I know these are crown brushes that have been repackaged (Please correct me if I'm wrong) but they are so affordable & offer worldwide shipping.

Sigma They offer a great selection on many different types of brushes, duping the famous MAC 217 brush (Sigma E25, one I bought not too long ago)

Eco Tools The 6 piece brush set is great for starting out (I love the eyeliner brush)

Tip: DO NOT buy MAC brushes (or really MAC anything) on eBay. Most of the stuff on there is fake. You cannot buy a whole set for the price of one brush, haha. Just a warning!

I've been window shopping on the Sigma website for the longest time, making wishlists but not actually purchasing. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a couple of face & eyebrushes.
Today I'm reviewing the Sigma f82 and f84 brushes. I purchased them a few weeks ago as a pack together as they had a special of $8 off and because I have been looking for something like these for a while.


Description from the Sigma Website.
"The Synthetic Sigmax Duo contains two of our best-selling brushes with classic black matte handles. The brushes in this collection feature the exclusive Sigmax filament, which allows for flawless makeup application without absorption into the fibers. The F82 is soft, dense and round for seamless blending of mineral products onto the skin. The F84 is soft, dense and angled for easy buffing of blush or bronzer onto the skin."

From what I've seen, the Sigma f82 is a smaller, rounded version of the f80 brush. I think you can use it for foundation but as it is so small that may take a while, however I think its perfect for blending in concealer and for the size it works well for the eye area.
Again from the website:

Unique Feature: Dense and rounded head  Function: Buffed powder foundation application  Recommended Use: Blend mineral products onto the skin.  Bristle Type: Synthetic Sigmax

Although it says to use it for powder foundation it works fine with liquids & creams.
As you can see it blended very nicely into the skin. I used the brush in a stippling motion on top of the concealer but also dragged it slightly as I stippled.

I've tried using the f84 brush for powder blush application, but because the bristles are so stiff & dense it's hard to blend the blush in, however it is great for applying cream blush & for contouring. I have needed a brush for the cream purpose for so long so I'm glad I've finally gone ahead and bought one, lol.

Unique Feature: Soft and angled head

I applied a wee bit too much on the brush but I'm going to demonstrate using the Nyx cream blush in Hot Pink.

You can see that I applied a fair amount in the first pic but in the second I blended over the top with my E.L.F Flat top brush. It really did apply the brush nicely but because it picks up so much colour (especially if its as bright as this one!) you have to have a light hand.

 All in all I'm really glad I bought these brushes and I'm really happy with them. I hope this review is helpful. (let me know in the comment box!) I've also washed them once and there seems to be no shedding.

Oh & these brushes are still on sale so if you like what you've seen & heard then I recommend them.
http://www.sigmabeauty.com/Synthetic_Duo_p/smax05.htm
(Not Affiliated- These were purchased with my own money, all thoughts & opinions are true)

So finally I can breathe while I'm doing my makeup, as at last I have obtained a bigger & better way to store my (small but sweet) stash. Well, its not small compared to the average person, but I have seen some beauty's posted on the web. Anyway, I took some before pictures, to show you how I had been living ha ha. And of course, the after pictures.

Before you see anything, don't hesitate to click on the pictures to get a better look & also, it looks a lot worse then what it is because of the mirror (Ok yeah, it was a huge ball of clutter, but still...)

..Before..


I use a pencil organiser to hold my pencil eyeliners, lipliners, jumbo eye pencils and other colour stick bases. I keep my eye brushes in a white cup thing, I still want to find some little ball things that I can use to hold them upright that I don't need to buy online lol. Here is most of my lipsticks, kept in a very handy chocolate container. I don't know how I lived before I put them in here, but then I didn't own very many.

 I keep my face brushes in a cosmetic bag.
 Most used lip glosses/ balms, kept in a cute little bag which I wasn't sure what to use it for.
 A few smaller palettes that I use often. Here is Stila x2, Sleek, Wet n Wild, and Bourjois.

Blushes kept in another couple of chocolate containers.

 In the white hello kitty bag (hehe, that mum got from thailand a few years back) eye stuff,
Pink bag at the back, mostly face stuff, plus things I don't use too often & need to throw out!
Tiger print box underneath the pink bag, a random array of items that I forget about
Underneath the box in the container thing where I keep some concealer, foundation I don't use & my eye primer (I had to cut the end off of it lol but that's another story
I sit my bigger palettes (120, 88 warm, 28 neutral) & naked palette on top of the silver case.
Inside the silver case where I keep my e/s quads & such.
2nd shelf in the small bookshelf I have next to my dresser, forgotten lipglosses in the green bag, eyeliners just sitting there that I need to throw out (I am such a hoarder!!) some piggies in another choccy holder!! (these are from over the years, I promise!), in the pink easter basket is some NYX pigments, & in the back right corner is some eyelash stuff, & handy tape.

3rd shelf where I keep my hair accessories & brushes in a basket.

Holy molly I hope your computer is keeping up with all these pictures!! At long last we now come to....

Organized Clutter!!!

In my makeup bag, the essentials, & I mean it this time!

Pink bag, still a few things that need throwing out/ organizing
 Why hello there! We got some new trolleys at work, & I was allowed to take an old one home!!
There are side bits that I can open out & they have a little indent on both sides that fits my holders in perfectly without them moving around! Perfect if I needed to move my trolley to do makeup. Still undecided what to put on the top though or if I should leave it so it looks neater.
Top drawer, starting from the top left basket & going clockwise : Bronzers & highlighters, & then a few extra face stuff, & then obviously my blushes. I will move these into more baskets since they will hold the blushes better.
2nd drawer, my palettes moved over.
3rd drawer, single eye shadows' sorted out into loose & pressed.... well, almost lol. However in the bottom left basket is my liquid & gel eyeliners (excluding the pink square thing, IDK how that got there). Baskets fit perfectly!! I wasn't sure if they would so I only got a few.

4th drawer, main eyelash stuff & tape. Still not sure what else to add, but I may add more of my eyelashes even though I don't use them too often.

5th drawer, hair brushes, clips, bumpits, & wave wand.

Temporarily next to the trolley atm on the ground is the same basket with my headbands & stuff.
 I keep my main/ new ones I use on top in a white box that got sent in the mail with nail polishes (thanks step MIL :)) Its a handy thing to keep them in, but not the prettiest lol.

Underneath that is some more nail stuff, that I should really go through haha.

So thank you for reading if you did (& I hope someone did 'coz that took me foreverrr *death glare*) hehe just kidding. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!! I'll be seeing you soon with more posts :)
xxx