Thursday 13 December 2012

17 REVIEW: Makeup brushes on a budget.

Hello!

I have a confession to make. I'm poor. My life is generally in a state of ridiculousness at the moment but I'm pretty convinced that's no excuse for not having a nice face. Because of my state of poverty, my makeup brush collection had got into a terrible state - I was reduced to one powder brush, one angled blusher brush, a blending brush and a shadow brush. And that's it. I know, #firstworldproblems. 

I'd heard on the grapevine that the Fraulein 38 brushes were good but I was initially skeptical - I'm used to Mac brushes but I've pretty much lost all of them (having moved house a lot in the past 3 years). The Fraulein 38 brushes are ridiculously cheap, however, so I decided to bite the bullet and invest regardless. I went for the 7 piece travel set that includes:

  • Powder brush, 
  • Blush brush, 
  • Foundation brush, 
  • Eyeshadow brush,
  • Small shader brush,
  • Sponge eyeshadow applicator,
  • Nasal shadow brush (I imagine this is used for contouring...)
  • Travel bag.
All this costed me around £7.30. Ridiculous, right?!
In my mind, cheap brushes never give the same results as pricier makeup brushes but here is my review of the travel size brushes!

The Powder Brush:
Not a huge fan of this brush - though mostly for size reasons. Travel sized powder brushes are a bit useless in my opinion, I prefer a much bigger brush. On the plus side, the bristles are beautifully soft and do give a good coverage. In the end, I decided to give this brush to my mum, who uses smaller brushes (I'm kind AND giving). 



The Blush Brush:
I love this brush! I'm using to for contouring purposes, rather than blushing (?!) purposes but it's working great. Once again, SUPER soft bristles and a perfect size for my tiny midget hands.

The Foundation Brush:
I'm a keen bean for this foundation brush. It's very small (travel sized, innit) but I quite like that because it means you can get into all the crooks and nannies nooks and crannies of your face. I might even prefer it to my old Mac foundation brush because it's much more soft - my foundation seems to glide on!


The Eyeshadow Brush, The Small Shader Brush and the Nasal Shadow Brush:
All of these are BRILLIANT. I use the nasal shadow brush on my eye creases however, as I have no need for nasal shadow.Which sounds like something very hairy men get after a few hours after shaving their noses.




The Sponge Eyeshadow Applicator:
I hate these things. I really don't know what use they are. This one is not absorbent enough to apply eyeshadow so I'm using it as a bit of a smudger for my eyeliner. A bit of a useless addition to the brush set, I'm afraid. 


My verdict? An excellent makeup set for £7.30. Some of the brushes are a bit redundant but the shadow brushes are worth that money on their own. Definitely a brilliant investment and a great addition to your makeup kit, particularly if you're on a budget!

So there you have it, my review of the Fraulein 38 travel size brush kit. Buy this set of brushes here and browse the rest of the range here!
:)

 

Teapot Love 
xoxo

Wednesday 12 December 2012

2 The Fight for Fakery.


Why I’m gluing on false eyelashes and bidding good day to natural beauty.

We’re bombarded with conflicting messages in the media these days: look beautiful (a cross between Mila Kunis and Scarlett Johansson if poss) but don’t overdo it. Get that must have sunkissed look but step away from the fake tan. Peer through big, bold eyes but falsies are a no-no.

The natural look is championed by the BBC’s Snog, Marry, Avoid? show where POD (the most irritating thing on TV, ever) gives the participants a make-under. The personal overhaul device strips the participants of their “fakery” and puts them in rubbish clothes, with crap haircuts/wigs and dull makeup. To be honest, most of them looked better before going on the show and practically all of them go back to their previous looks afterwards. I don’t blame them. False eyelashes are great.

The fact is, most of us look ill without makeup. And those who don’t look ill probably have mascara hidden down their bras. People can shout “she must have low self-esteem!” at me all you like but the proof is in the pics.




Of course, moderation is the buzz word used by fans of makeup/tan/all things artificial. If that works for you then that's great. However, us gals who like to slap on a little more than tinted moisturiser and a slick of mascara shouldn't feel guilty. I've had countless comments along the lines of "...Lauren wears a lot of makeup doesn't she?" or "Why do you fake tan? What's the point?" I would never dream of saying to someone "Why don't you use concealer? You look a bit peaky" and it should work the other way too.

At the end of the day, makeup/tan/extensions/eyelashes exist to improve and glam up your appearance. What's wrong with that? Appearances count for a lot, whether you want to be self-righteous or not, so why not stick on a lash and have a good time!

Teapot love
xox

 

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