Beauty Product Reviews
How have I not reviewed this?!?!
I feel like it's too easy for me to talk up this product. I absolutely live for how BLACK this liner is. However, I will ONLY use this product in conjunction with Inglot Duraline. (which is something I never allow myself to run out of because it truly brings out the best in this particular product along with a plethora of other makeup items) Additionally, I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone who is a beginner in the realm of eyeliner, especially GEL liners. This was the very first gel eyeliner I ever tried out and to be honest, at first, I didn't even enjoy using it. I knew it was well loved and worked great for SO many, but because of my lack of experience, my opinion of the item was greatly skewed and I actually threw my first one in the trash. (I know -- what a MORON!) After that terrible primary experience, I bounced around from liner to liner (liquid liner, pencil liner, even using Duraline with a black eyeshadow) until eventually I saw a bunch of YouTubers giving this product a new wave of love. Then I told myself, "Look, you are GOING to repurchase it, and you are GOING to make it work for you the way it works for them!!!" and I did just that. I make sure to pair it with Duraline (I know that seems like a bit much, spending over 25 dollars to purchase a liner and liquid medium -- I'm not telling you how to live your life, I'm just saying it works and will last you a lifetime compared to a liquid eyeliner) and every time since then that I've used this eyeliner, it goes on seamlessly, gives me a wonderful amount of control, and lasts and LASTS without cracking/flaking/smudging. At the end of the day, this is the LAST item to come off of my face because it simply won't budge! I definitely recommend using oil-based makeup removers or Albolene (what I use) to remove this product because once it's on, IT'S ON. All in all, it's fantastic and I won't ever be without this liner again.
A personal favorite!
What is there to say about Sugarpill's liquid lip formulas that we couldn't have already guessed? Gorgeously pigmented, long-wearing and touch-proof formulas with a lovely cream-sicle scent! I own quite a few of them but have only just recently tried two of the newly-released Liquid Poison lipsticks: Cubby and U4EA. This review is on U4EA.
A perfectly balanced deepened teal, U4EA is one of the most successful releases that Sugarpill has ever concocted. Even in the Pretty Poison bullet lipstick form, this color is already a cult classic from this wonderful cruelty-free brand. Even though I had the original bullet, when Liquid Poison released this past year, I made sure to add U4EA's liquid version to my collection. I could not be more happy that I did! One-swipe pigmentation that settles down beautifully onto the lips in a manner that doesn't exaggerate the texture of your lips, crack or crumble. U4EA is truly a fantastic deep teal liquid lipstick. The ONLY downside to this product is that because it is so unlike the color of natural lips, any little pinch of fading (it definitely happens if you eat, and honestly, if you are drinking a lot without a straw) becomes very obvious, so be careful while you are wearing this gorgeous shade! (Or bring it on the go with you!)
Almost perfect!
What is there to say about Sugarpill's liquid lip formulas that we couldn't have already guessed? Gorgeously pigmented, long-wearing and touch-proof formulas with a lovely cream-sicle scent! I own quite a few of them but have only just recently tried two of the newly-released Liquid Poison lipsticks: Cubby and U4EA. This review is on Cubby.
This shade is a fantastically vibrant coral that leans different amounts of pink on different people (but leans on the slightly pink side of coral nonetheless) and indeed dries down to a touch-proof matte finish. The consistency of this particular color seemed on the thinner side and required just a bit of finesse and patience to achieve full pigmentation on the lips. (Maybe 1.5 layers? I wouldn't say a full 2.) This particular color is always difficult for cosmetic companies to pull off in a liquid-to-matte lip color. Any coral that is brighter than mid-tone usually ends up patchy and, honestly, quite ugly. I am thankful to say that Cubby does not do that to me. If I am careful to exfoliate, moisturize and prime my lips (as one should always do when applying liquid lipstick) then I have almost no problems with Cubby. However, this color does tend to 'crack' on my lips very slightly if I am not careful to apply very thin layers. Overall, this is the best version of a bright coral liquid-to-matte formula that I've ever seen a brand release.
A treasure of a brush!
I was blessed and lucky enough to have received this brush from a dear friend this past holiday season. However, had I not been so generously gifted this tool, I would definitely have swiped it up myself. The shape of this brush is actually very similar to a specific type of traditional Japanese craft brush (i.e. Hakuhodo Kebo brushes) which takes on a very interesting and distinct shape. Because of this shape, I find this brush works well at not only applying a quick sweep of powder highlighter but also blush, bronzer or even finishing powder! The softness of this brush is incredible -- that is partially because of how lightly packed the bristles are in the brush. This is one of the least densely packed brushes I have ever felt against my skin, and because of that it can be almost imperceptibly soft. That also can be attributed to the Blue Squirrel hair bristles that were used when making this brush, which is (I believe) among the five softest bristle types for cosmetic brushes. I am very glad that the instructions and warnings for this product clearly state that this brush is for POWDER products only, because cream or liquid products would make very quick work of destroying this very delicate brush!
I am having to tow a delicate line between wanting to be gentle with this brush and also wanting to use it for every makeup application! I find that lightly spot cleaning it using a simple microfiber cloth can be helpful but for a deep clean I use my Clean Apothecary Brush Shampoo. I was a little bit on edge the first time I cleaned the brush, but it dried just fine and held its shape thanks to my brush guard. I do definitely recommend keeping this brush in a guard because, by nature, the bristles are already splayed out just a bit. This brush requires a bit of care and love but in return you get such a pleasurable experience out of applying your powder makeup products! At $45 this brush is a steal -- usually, longer-length blue squirrel hairs are much more rare and difficult to obtain, which often translates to a much higher price. I applaud Wayne for delivering one of his Holiday releases at such a reasonable price.
Big surprise -- I love this one too!
I was sent the Grapefruit scent of this particular brush shampoo during its initial launch on the site, and it blew me away. It really lasted quite a while, too, because I didn't have to restock on it until November. (after having had it since June 8 and using it exclusively on ALL my brushes) Now, I only use it on my good natural brushes. My synthetics are workhorses, but they don't need a $15 shampoo like my Wayne Goss brushes do. Nothing takes better care of my squirrel/goat brushes quite like this shampoo. I will forever repurchase.
3 OF MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS!
"Possessions" isn't even the right word to use, because I feel so close to these beautiful tools! It's almost the difference between 'owning' a pet dog and having a pet dog as your companion. These are companion brushes -- they're gorgeously soft and remarkably well made. Beyond that, when I hold these brushes in my hand, I genuinely feel closer to the art of makeup. When you're using them, you can really feel the hard work that went into making this gorgeous tool.
Powder Brush - A gorgeous mix of grey squirrel and saikoho goat, this brush is perfect for a multitude of powder applications! (Do not use in conjunction with liquid or cream products, even if it's just to set concealer or foundation -- grey squirrel hair is very delicate!!!) I believe this brush is my favorite bronzer brush out of every brush I own. It gives a gorgeous diffused even application of powder and makes the skin truly come to life. Also great for sweeping finishing powders (Cle De Peau Luminizing Face Enhancer in Pastel is a personal fave!!!)
Highlighting Brush - Made from Saikoho goat hair, this is perhaps my favorite brush from the collection -- imagine the Highlight brush from the Chikuhodo x Beautylish Sakura 2016 set. This is like a smaller version of that -- similar in size to the Chikuhodo Passion series PS-3. Obviously this brush lays down highlight like a pro, but I also love it for contouring. Additionally, because it's only GOAT, you can even use it for setting concealer! (this shape is wonderful for under the eyes!)
Eyeshadow Brush - Made from grey squirrel hair, this brush was the deciding factor in why I purchased this set. I had bought the Sakura 2016 set only a few months prior and when I saw the Noel Azur collection, my first thought was, "No, no no no no. Too many dupes!" However, when I stumbled across the Violet collection, which, hold the phone -- let's just talk about THIS for a second. I was at home the night these dropped and I just RANDOMLY was browsing Beautylish (as I am always doing) and without seeing any notifications from Beautylish or Trendmood or ANYTHING, I stumbled across these babies. I didn't have money budgeted out for them or even have the Noel '16 collection on my RADAR at that point. I was SO blown away with them that I knew one of the sets would be mine. Now, back to the eyeshadow brush!
I knew I wasn't getting the Azur set because of all the overlap between Sakura '16 and Noel Azur '16, but when I saw that each of the brushes in the Violet set was a different shape, my ears perked up BIG TIME. This is one of those really nice multitasker eye brushes. Good for laying down product, as well as for diffusing edges because of its softness. Again, this is squirrel, so don't use it to set your eyeshadow primer/base. Make sure the surface is already powdered before using!
Overall these brushes are some of the nicest I will probably ever own, and for that reason they don't get an incredible amount of use! I have never been scared to 'beat up' brushes like I am with these. I keep them (and my Sakura '16 brushes) in that gorgeous pouch that came with the Sakura set. They're so adorable together!
Great for brush shaping!
I purchased these because I spin-dry my brushes (trust me, I already know it's not good for them LOL) and they poof out hardcore with all the spinning. This does a great job of making them look as though they just came out of the packaging. I was worried for a second that the guards were scraping the paint off my brushes so I did something kind of risky. I grabbed my Hakuhodo J5521, and put it inside the Medium guard. I put the guard around the handle and tried to 'scrub' the paint off with the guard. It was an anxiety-producing experience, but I am happy to say that the guard did NOT remove any paint from my brush. (However, I am not so sure if the silver lettering on my Hakuhodo brushes will hold up so well -- they wash off over the course of a few months, so I wouldnt be surprised if these guards knocked off any other little decals of that nature) This wasn't a fully 5-star product for me, though. Unfortunately, the way the guards are separated (which appears to be like, a hot knife or something of that nature) causes the ends of the guards to appear melted, and they break/fray into the woven strands when you put the first brush in. (Am I doing this wrong? Are you supposed to 'break them in', so to speak?) Those strands then push into the bristles of the brush (to help shape the bristles) and I noticed that one of my Hakuhodo brushes had a hair pulled out of it, which made my heart stop for a second. I am trying to move past that and just keep giving them more use -- I used it with my Sakura 2016 powder brush and I didn't notice any pulling/shedding/chipping of paint, but I'm going to be VERY gentle with these moving forward. I will also probably avoid using these with any brushes that have any intricate detailing or expensive bristles (BeautylishXChikuhodo Sakura collections, any brushes with Saikoho Goat or squirrel hair, etc.) Overall I love the concept and for my less delicate/valuable brushes these are a great option!
Trolled~~~~ Love you guys!
This review is for the $20 gift card from the Beautylish Gift Card 2016 event. I am not sure why there is an option to provide a review for this item, but I'm going to review it just to troll Beautylish ;) All $20 were present on the gift card -- it came in beautiful matte black packaging with gorgeous handwriting on one side, with my gift card code on the other side. I would definitely repurchase! LOL
A stroke of genius...
Every once in a while I come across a beauty product that makes me say "Wow, this is really something" and that's exactly what I did when I received the PS-6. There are so many possibilities for creation with a brush like this: brows, liner, lips, waterline, precision detail. I have so much fun creating the tiniest brow hair lines, so fine they look real! A brow addict's must have tool!
I'm so in love with this brush line, someone please stop me!
Don't worry, I'm only kidding -- this is just my fourth brush from Wayne's line. The 03 is such an easy brush to use for blending out any harsh details on my face (for instance, a cut-crease, a nose contour, a lip/browbone highlight. It really just lets you work at your own pace doesn't put you in an awkward situation (like blending the powder ALL the way away and micro-exfoliating your skin). I don't have many dupes for this brush, especially considering nothing is going to come close to the softness of Blue squirrel hair. The closest one I can think of is maybe my Hakuhodo J5522, and even then, that's white goat hair. Very soft, but still not as soft as the WG03. Additionally, the 03 appears to taper more to a point whereas my J5522 rounds out a tad more. I do not use this brush to apply product, so I don't have a lot of input on that. It just does such a good job of blending that I don't dare risk dimming its shine by subjecting it to an activity it may not excel in. Additionally, please be aware of the delicate nature of blue squirrel hair prior to your purchase. Blue Squirrel hair, unlike many of the other bristle types on the market, has the capability to absorb oils in your skin, foundations, and concealers, which over time, will cause damage to the bristles and can even lead to shedding and breakage. Please do not use this with creams and make sure the skin has been sufficiently powdered prior to use. This is a gorgeous and effective tool, and if maintained properly it will last you a very long time.