Metallic Makeup Brushes

It's been a while since I've bought any new makeup brushes, but lately I have had a bit of an influx and I can't lie, these metallic beauties are putting my old, grubby makeup brushes to shame!

Zoeva Rose Golden Complete Eye Set Vol 2 £48.00

The original Zoeva rose gold brush set has been on my wish list for so long, so when my friend Lucy gave me this set at work, I could have kissed her! 

These brushes are BEAUTIFUL and so is the pouch that they come in. In fact that's one of my favourite things about the Zoeva brush sets, the pouch. Its so handy for when you go on holiday. I will no longer have to try and cram my brushes in my makeup bag.

As you can tell I am pretty besotted with these brushes and I think its only a matter of time until I buy the face set! I would say though, if you aren't a regular eyeshadow wearer, you wont ever use half these brushes, so not one for you.

Real Techniques Bold Metal Collection

Being a huge fan of the original Real Techniques brush line, I was really excited to try their new luxe brush range. I went to the launch a few weeks ago and I have to say watching Sam and Nic gave me some serious makeup envy! 

From the launch I got three of the brushes to try

100 Arched Powder Brush £25.00

Large powder brush which is super soft. As lovely as this brush is, I actually gave this to my friend as no powder brush will ever compare to my Suqqu brush and nor should it given the price of that thing!

301 Flat Contour £22.00

Easily the brush I was most excited about out of the three but I have to say I haven't used it yet. I don't contour on a regular basis, who has the time?! But will report back as soon as I have.

200 Oval Shadow £15.00

Surprisingly out of the three this is my favourite and I have been using this loads. This is a large blending eyeshadow brush which makes eyeshadow application a speedy breeze. This also works beautifully with cream shadows as the hairs are synthetic. Well worth the price tag.

Overall I do love these brushes. They look beautiful and are unlike anything else out there. The handles are weighted and you can feel a difference in quality between these and the original line. I have since purchased one more brush, the tapered blush brush because I am a sucker for that classic blusher brush shape! 

Sigma E25 Blending Brushes £15.95

I mentioned my love for these eyeshadow brushes in my January favourites. I always use a fluffy blending brush to apply my eyeshadow and I really wanted to get a couple more, as mine get so dirty and I change my eyeshadow colours all the time. I really don't rate Sigma face brushes at all (stick with Real Techniques) but their eye brushes are good and you would be hard pressed to tell these and MAC brushes apart.

January Favourites

There is only one item of makeup in my favourites this month, which for me has to be some sort of record! 

As I mentioned in my last post, I am in the process of trying to use up and finish a lot of my makeup, so I'm currently using a lot of my not so favourite products. 

I do still have some noteworthy items worth sharing though and its made me take notice of all the other beauty products I have been loving which I don't usually acknowledge, because I'm so focused on makeup, makeup, makeup! 

Lush Dark Angels Cleanser

This was a recommendation from my friend Chloe. I'm not a massive fan of Lush, probably because I don't have a bath in my house, but when it comes to beauty recommendations I trust her!

This is an exfoliating cleanser which contains powdered charcoal, rhassoul mud (no clue!) avocado and rosewood oil. This is quite an abrasive exfoliator, so its definitely not one you would want to use on a daily basis but I love using it in the shower after cleansing. It looks like mud both in the pot and when you apply it to your face but don't let that put you off! I love that it leaves my skin feeling really clean without that horrible stripped feeling. Its good for those days where you have worn a lot of makeup or are just feeling particularly grubby!

Available from Lush £6.75

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 'Boy'

Can you believe that out of my 106 lipsticks, I only own one Chanel lipstick? Don't worry though, I wont be giving myself a pat on the back for that 'achievement' anytime soon! As I try and whittle down my lipsticks, I have been going through my collection, picking out my most used ones and trying to finish them first. Chanel Boy was one of my favourites back in the day but I had forgotten about it along the way and its sat in my makeup drawer unloved for too long. 

The Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks are very sheer and just give a hint of colour. They feel really moisturising and have a glossy finish but this does mean that they don't last very long and you do have to reapply several times throughout the day. 

I am so happy I dug this out of my makeup drawer!

Available from Debenhams £25.00

Living Proof Prime Style Extender Spray

I am a big, big fan of the Living Proof haircare range. I originally discovered it a couple of years ago in America and was most definitely lured in by the advertisements with Jennifer Aniston. When it comes to hair care I am extremely low maintenance, I don't even own a hairdryer and I love anything that makes life easier. 

I loved Living Proof's original Prime Style Extender so was intrigued to see if the spray bottle made any difference. This is designed to help your hair hold its style and stay cleaner for longer. 

I actually think I prefer the original tube packaging to the spray. I felt I noticed more of a difference with my 'style' lasting longer and I felt like I had more control over where I applied it. I still enjoyed this but out of the two I do prefer the original.

Available from Space NK £18.00

Topshop Nail Polish in 'En Pointe'

I noticed this colour on my friend Sop's nails, made a mental note to buy it and its pretty much all I've worn on my nails all month long. I have just been removing this when it chips and repainting, which is unheard of for me!

En Pointe is a very nude colour, I call it my skin colour but I love it because its opaque. As I get older I find myself gravitating more towards nude colours but they have be opaque, sheer nail polish makes me shudder! 

Available from Topshop £5.00

Sigma Blending E25 Eyeshadow brush in Copper

The day I discovered the MAC 217 eyeshadow brush is the day my eyeshadow application changed for the better! I love that brush, it applies and blends your eyeshadow at the same time, whats not to love?!

This is Sigma's version of that brush and I already had a couple but because I use them everyday I  thought I would get a couple more. Also the fact that I found these rose gold ones on Amazon, may have slightly influenced my purchasing decision! 

I really recommend Sigma's eye brushes, cheaper than MAC but practically identical. However I do not recommend their face brushes. I've have a couple and had to throw them all away because they shed hairs so badly. 

Available from Amazon £14.95

Diptyque Noisetier Candle

I love Diptyque candles, they fill the room with scent like nothing else and I have an obsession with collecting the empty jars. They are definitely pricey but feel like such a special treat when you burn them. I like to ask for one at Christmas or on my birthday and my Sister picked me the Noisetier scent for Christmas. I'm terrible at not really branching out when it comes to candle scents but I'm so happy she picked this because it smells amazing, very warming and woody with a hint of spice. 

Available from Space NK £40.00

My Favourite Makeup Brushes

I have collected and used a fair few brushes in my time. When I studied theatrical and media makeup I got my first set of "professional" brushes, these weren't actually that great and I only have one or two brushes left from the set now. I have collected a variety of different brushes which I love and use everyday. These brushes are a real mixture in terms of price, from high street to more high end but they all do their job perfectly.

Real Techniques Brushes

If I could only use one brand of brushes, I would pick Real Techniques hands down. 

Buffing Brush - My favourite brush for foundation, this guy is extremely well loved. I personally don't like traditional flat foundation brushes, as my foundation always streaks when using them. Discovering this brush was a revelation. 

Available from Boots in the Core Collection which contains this and 3 other brushes for £21.99

Duo Fiber Face Brush - I remember a time when you could only get duo fiber brushes from MAC and now you can pick them up in Boots for a third of the price! I like using a duo fiber brush to apply my powder as the bristles are less densely packed so you get a lighter finish and it stops you looking cakey.

Available from Boots in the limited edition Duo Fiber Set which contains this and 2 other brushes for £23.99

Stippling Brush - My favourite brush to apply cream blusher

Available from Boots £11.99

Duo Fiber Contour Brush - This also comes in the duo fiber set along with the face brush. I don't use this to contour, I actually use it to highlight. Again, as the bristles are less densely packed you get a lighter finish and a much more subtle effect.

Bobbi Brown Bronzer Brush - Since I got this for my Birthday last year I have used it every single day. Although the bristles are quite dense, this brush is so soft and even with daily use it never sheds any hairs.

Available from Bobbi Brown £38.00

Chanel Blush Brush - My favourite brush for powder blushes. I like that this brush picks up a lot of product and allows you to be quite precise with your application. I can really focus my blush on a certain area and build colour easily.

Available from Debenhams £33.00

MAC 217 Blending Brush - The only eyeshadow brush you need. This brush does everything, packs on colour but blends it out at the same time. Also as the bristles are slightly narrower at the top this is great for doing my favourite trick of blending eyeshadow underneath the lower lash line.

Available from MAC £18.00

Sigma SS217 Blending Brush x 2 - Now I know I just said you only need one eyeshadow brush and you do. These Sigma brushes are knock offs of MAC's 217. The brush is exactly the same, except for  a shorter handle. Sigma are an American company which essentially copied all of MACs brushes but for a cheaper price. They have now renamed all their brushes and these are now called the E25 Blending Brush. If you are on a budget I highly recommend Sigma's eye brushes, their face brushes however I'm not so keen on but I can honestly not tell a difference between this and my MAC 217. I got these both for free as gifts with purchase from love-makeup.co.uk

Available from Love Makeup £10.50

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler - Simply the best eyelash curlers. The gold ones were limited edition and are no longer available but you can buy the original silver ones.

Available from Space NK £20.00

Tweezerman Tweezers - Again, you cannot get any better than Tweezerman tweezers. These New York print ones are no longer available but ohmygoodness I have seen the cutest Harajuku Lovers pair which I want so bad!

Harajuku Lovers Tweezerman Tweezers Available from Beauty Bay £23.76

Revlon Brow Brush - Its ridiculous how hard it is to find a traditional eyebrow brush, after an age of searching I finally found this Revlon brush in Superdrug. I use it to brush through my brows if I have been a bit overzealous with the eyebrow pencil. I cant find a link to this online but try your local Superdrug.

Ardell Brow Trim and Shape Grooming Tool - I discovered these mini eyebrow razors about 3 years ago in New York and I have used them ever since. They are perfect for those fair hairs which you cant pluck or for the monobrow area! As it removes all the fair hairs it makes your makeup go on so much smoother! You cant buy these exact ones in the UK but have a google for similar versions.