Loose Powder

Who knew that soft brushes could be bought without breaking the bank? For years I have been using cheap brushes I’ve found at discount stores, since I had always assumed that good quality soft brushes would cost me an arm and a leg and maybe an ear. But thanks to Cyn’s recommendation, she told me to give Ecotools a try.

Since there was another “Buy one get one free” sale at Rite Aid, which happens every so often, I picked up the 5 piece brush set for about $9.99 and the Retractable Kabuki Brush, but this review is for the 5 piece brush set.

This set comes with the following:

• Mineral Powder Brush
• Concealer Brush
• Eye Shading Brush
• Baby Kabuki
• Cosmetic Bag

Mineral Powder Brush

I used this brush for my mineral foundation and it works very well, and I just can’t get over how soft the bristles are.

Concealer Brush

This brush is still soft, but it is still stiff enough to apply concealer on a specific location without it spreading all over the place.

Eye Shading Brush

Again I love the softness of the brush, but I like my eye shading brushes to be a little stiffer. This brush might be a bit too soft for eye shading. Though I think it makes for good shadow blending and applications for a softer or natural look.

Baby Kabuki

I love this Baby Kabuki. This Kabuki is perfect to carry around because of its size. Because it’s not huge and not too small, I can apply my finishing powder all over my face quickly when I’m not at home. And like all the other brushes putting this on your face just feels like heaven.

Cosmetic Bag

This ecofriendly cosmetic bag is made of 55% hemp linen and 45% cotton. All the brushes fit neatly into the bag. However, the cream white color of the bag may get dirty very easily, but it is still a very cute and ecofriendly bag, but wish it was a darker color.

These brushes are “travel size” so they are nice and short and can fit into any makeup bag easily. The bristles are amazingly soft and they also pick up the powders very well. I have not noticed any shedding, and they don’t feel like they are going to shed anytime soon. The handles of the brushes are made from bamboo except for the Baby Kabuki. Bristles are synthetic taklon and 100% cruelty free, and lastly, the ferrule is made from recycled aluminum. So not only are these great brushes at a great price, but they are also earth-friendly.

After one usage of these brushes, I was in love, and I highly recommend these brushes. I will most likely review the other brush sets once I get my hands on them.

Eyeliner is my main man when it comes to makeup. I can go without anything else, but I have to line my eyes and I’ve used just about everything: powder, pencil, liquid, and gel.  On my latest drugstore run, I bought L’oreal’s  High Intensity Pigment Color Rich Cream Crayon in Perfectionist (i.e. black).

Once you use it, you'll never get back the nice, sharp tip it had when it was new.

I think “eyeliner” is loosely applied here. Marketed as a versatile eyeliner and shadow product, what it really delivers on is the high intensity. The product’s thick and creamy texture make it a poor eyeliner. It’s hard to control and easy to smear, especially once the tip becomes blunt from use. It does have a conveniently-placed “sharpener” at the other end, but the crayon is so soft the tip just keeps breaking off and making a mess all over my fingers.

I wouldn’t recommend this as an eyeliner, unless you’re about to play football or single-handedly annihilate a dictator and his army for kidnapping your daughter.

It does, however, make a great eye shadow base, especially for the sparkly, bright colors in my palette that I couldn’t otherwise wear to work. So far I’ve tried the black HIP Crayon under greens and purples, with great success. I applied the black base all over the lid, then patted the desired color over most of it, starting at the outer corner, blending out the edges, and working my way in. The effects depend on the composition of the eye shadow, but the variety of the Color Rich Cream Crayon colors seems like a great way to tone down a bright shade or make a sparkly shadow pop.

Pros: Long-lasting, bold color that makes a great base.

Cons: Too sloppy to be practical as an eyeliner.

I feel like there’s a use for every kind of eye liner, but gel liners are really my favorite so far. So aside from the crayon that wished it was an eyeliner, I also bought the Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in blackest black.

Mac Fluidline

I’ve actually been using Mac’s Fluidline eyeliner since I first saw it a few years ago. Not every day, but it’s a very good liner. Gel is easier to control than a liquid liner, and I think it stays put a bit better. At the very least, you can layer more on and it won’t fade or flake, or dry with that weird plasticky sheen that some liquid liners unfortunately have.

Maybelline Lasting Drama

But after trying  Maybelline’s gel liner, Lasting Drama is my new daily must. It’s every bit as good as  Fluidline for half the price. It lasts all day and has passed the sweaty work-out test without smearing at all. I will definitely be buying more of this liner and trying out the other colors.   But here’s the bonus:

It comes with a brush—a  small tapered brush that comes to such a fine point, you can really control what you do. That’s not to say it’s 100% mistake-proof, but I’m getting really good at doing fine lines at the outer corners, which I could never quite pull off with the angled eyeliner brush (sold separately) I used with the Fluidline product.

Pros: Easily manipulated, waterproof, long-lasting gel liner paired with a great brush. It’s a conveniently-packaged duo of eye-defining perfection.

Cons: I haven’t found any yet, but I will keep you posted.

I am fickle with foundations.  I’ll be all mineral for months and then switch to a tinted moisturizer before moving back to full-coverage liquids.

When I was in the kitchens (culinary school), I was having a lot of issue with sweating off my makeup or just having magical disappearing foundation in the heat.  Mineral makeup has a longer last point than some but my skin gets itchy when I sweat; the tinted foundation that I love (Laura Mercier; maybe I’ll do another post on it) didn’t have enough coverage to last for a whole day.

And then I discovered China Doll by Napoleon Perdis.  I’d heard about it from Australian friends but hadn’t been able to find it over here until about six months ago.  It used to be available at Sephora but I think it’s switched to Ulta now.  It runs at $50/bottle, which might sound steep, but one bottle lasts at least four months —unless you’re putting way more on your face than I do.

The upshot of all this is that China Doll is a foundation plus a powder (it goes on wet and dries to a matte finish).  I love that because it saves me a whole step in my morning routine.  The coverage is very nice, solid enough to cover imperfections but not so opaque that you look like you’re wearing pancake makeup.  It needs to be applied with a foundation brush or it gets streaky.  My favorite is the Sephora Professional line.  Soft, durable, and not too expensive ($25).