Product Review: Essence of Beauty Bent & Straight Eyeliner Brushes

Product: Essence of Beauty Bent & Straight Eyeliner Brushes
Packaging: 3 out of 5
Overall: 1 out of 5
Price: I got these on ebay for $3.25 including shipping
Would You Buy This Again? No

PROS: None at all.

CONS: The brush head is way too flimsy and there aren't enough bristles to keep it dense. It's impossible to draw a straight line.

OVERALL: Don't waste your money on this. I ordered this on ebay because the idea of a bent eyeliner brush interested me. I'm sure there are better bent eyeliner brushes out there (Just don't buy this one!)

Sigma!

Yay!!!! They finally came! I pre-ordered these back in the end of May and now they're mine! Woohoo! I was so surprised when the mailman delivered them cuz I wasn't expecting them so soon. I guess the mail people are working super fast.

A guide on how to use each brush

My beautiful brushes! They are now available here. You don't have to pre-order and wait because they're in stock! It's $64 for the kit without the brush roll and $79 with the brush roll. I got it without the brush roll since I have so many already. It essentially comes down to $5-$6/brush. Good deal, no?

They also included a freebie.

Swatches of the ELF eyeshadow. Not bad for a product that only costs $1.

Target Haul

The face wipes--THE SHIT. My cleanser doesn't take off all my makeup, so I'm always paranoid about whether or not I'm going to sleep with makeup on.. Because if I take the time to wash my face, then I might as well get it right. I don't want to go to bed with makeup on after washing it. These wipes don't dry out my face and they take off mascara and liner. Plus I think they were only $3-4 for a pack of 30.



I was looking for Sonia Kashuk brushes when I noticed a line of brushes called Studio Tools (the black handled brushes). The eye brushes cost like $2.49! CHEAP, no? The ones I got are made with natural bristles. I made sure that they were soft before I bought them, lol. I think they're a pretty good deal especially if you just want to try new brushes.





I also got Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara. I guess I'm satisfied with it. It has this weird rose perfume scent though which I really don't like... but the smell goes away after you put it on... Is anyone else's bottle scented?

Small MAC Haul

I decided to check out the Style Warrior collection that just came out so I stopped by my local MAC counter. Sadly, they didn't have testers of vibrant grape or bright future, so I didn't get them. They were completely sold out of bright future and only had a few left of vibrant grape. It looked similar to Simply Natural's wine pigment and it looks like it could be duped from the 88 palette... The yellow was stunning though. A few MAC associates were wearing bright future and vibrant grape and it looked amazing.


I also picked up my second 217 brush cuz I FRIGGIN love it to death! I wanted to have one for my house and one for the boyfriend's house so I wouldn't have to move it back and forth. It's a costly little brush, but so worth it! I think this and the 187 brush are my favorites from MAC. Definitely worth getting one, two... or three ;)


Left to right: Hue, Pretty Please
I B2Med for Pretty Please lipstick. I also got Hue because it's such a great nude pink lipstick. I've been looking for more nude lipsticks lately since all my other ones are not daytime friendly.


I know they don't show up well here, but they are gorgeous subtle colors.





I also pre-ordered the complete brush kit from Sigma Makeup. It comes with 12 brushes for $64 + $7 shipping which comes out to about $6/brush. Good deal, no? They got pretty good reviews and they're comparable to MAC brushes. Even the names of the brushes are the same... So I figured, what the hell, I might as well try them out being the huge brush freak that I am. Plus they aren't even that expensive if you do the math. The only real drawback is that they won't be in stock until July because all the ones in stock for May & June have already been pre-ordered. Oh well, I can wait. Whoop! :)

ELF!

I swore to myself that I'd NEVER buy from ELF again because of my previous experience with their horrible customer service, MONTH LONG (no kidding) turn around time, and because there were items missing in my shipment that they only half refunded me for. But anywho.... this time around, they shipped it out really fast... I think even within a week and nothing was missing from my order this time so they've redeemed themselves a little bit...

THIS time, I decided to order from them again cuz one of my best friends bought some brushes and I couldn't resist but to get some of my own. I did get their brow comb brush the first time I ordered from them and didn't like it at all so I thought their other brushes wouldn't be as good either, but all the eye brushes are VERY SOFT. My best friend got all the eye brushes and some of the face brushes. She said the eye brushes were good, but the face brushes were a bit scratchy and harsh and I agree. I was at her house playing with her brushes and ordered them right away lol. I haven't used them yet, but they are really really soft and they are totally worth it considering they're only $1 each. What do you have to lose right?




Smudge Brush
Blending Brush
Eye Defining Brush
Lip Brush
Eyeshadow Brush

I also got a quad that I'm TOTALLY satisfied with :D :D :D I bring a lot of my depotted eye shadows to my boyfriend's house a lot, but I only like taking a few colors and not the whole palette. The ELF quad totally outshines the MAC quad since it's only $1 and works just as well. I only ordered one of these, but I should've ordered more!

Why?

Why don't I like any of the new MAC collections? Don't you want my money MAC? lol. Nothing from New View up until now has really caught my eye... Which really sucks since my friends got me some awesome gift cards for my birthday to feed my MAC addiction. My birthday was on Monday and we went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It was suppppperrrrrr fun and I learned that I'm really good at laser tag!! Haha.

I did manage to squeeze in a mini haul. I got the 217 brush that I've been wanting for a while. I'm going to give my 224 a little break. And I got another paint pot! I love paint pots! I think I use them more as an eye shadow than as a base though because the colors are too pretty to cover up as a base.


Artifact Paint Pot & 217 Brush

I'm waiting for the Cult of Cherry collection to come out. I saw the MAC MAs getting ready to label their testers when I was there. The collection isn't out until the 21st though. Their palettes look promising... But then again, I'm usually a sucker for palettes :P

Colour Forms

EDIT: I added some more pics of the brushes for comparison. Hope this helps!

I had a really hard time deciding whether or not I should cancel my Colour Forms order. I did actually call them to cancel, but they had already charged my card so my options were to either go pick them up and keep them or go to the store on pick up day and get a refund... I decided to pick them up and play with them to see if I really want to keep them... I got the advanced brush set & Naked to the Core l/s. I have to say that I'm definitely keeping the lipstick! When I pre-ordered them, I didn't swatch them on my lips since I would never let one of the tester lipsticks ever touch my lips so I swatched them on my hand and decided I liked it enough... But I tried my new one on today after I picked it up and I LOVE IT! It's now my HG nude lippie! It doesn't make me look washed out and it has a hint of pink in it. I think it'd make a really nice color for the winter time.

I think I might keep the brush set too... The 187 SE is nowhere near as stiff as the regular 187 that I already have, but it would make a good brush for powders and blushes. When I was washing it, a whole bunch of black dye came out which I thought was disgusting (a good example of why you should always wash your new brushes!) Also, it didn't shed too much. Only 2-3 hairs came out which surprised me a lot since I was expecting it to shed more. The 187 SE's brush hairs also aren't as good quality as the regular brush. You'll notice that on the regular brush, there are long white hairs and shorter black hairs that are separate. The shorter black hairs densely pack the longer white hairs together and that's what makes the brush so stiff. On the 187 SE, there are no longer white hairs and shorter black hairs (except on the outside). The bristles are all the same with the tips being white and the base being black.







The 168 SE is just as good quality as the regular one except it's so much smaller! meaning the handle AND the brush head itself. I prefer the regular sized one for everyday use, but I guess the small one would be good for traveling. I haven't used any of the brushes yet so this is all from feeling their texture, bristles, and stiffness. The 168 SE might be good for small blushes like ELF blushes or sample jars.





The 219 SE is tapered like the regular one, but the SE is not as pointy (meaning not as precise), but it'll still do the job for putting color on the lower lash line and in the crease. It seems like the SE has more brush hairs than the regular which is weird in my opinion... Why waste money on producing a brush with more bristles than the regular one? lol.



I don't own the regular sized brushes of the 275 SE and the 212 SE, but they seem alright. The 275 SE is pretty soft and very very flimsy. The bristles practically bend over when you put pressure on them. It does seem like it'd be very easy to just sweep color across the lid though since it's angled.

I can already tell that the 212 SE is going to be a good brush. It's a flat liner brush and the only liner brushes I've used are angled ones. This one is very stiff (EXTREMELY stiff!) which makes it ideal for putting on eyeliner. It's small and I think that's a good thing since I'll have more control over applying my eyeliner.



I had no intention of keeping this brush set until I washed them lol. Now I'm kinda growing fond of them. I think I just need to kick myself in the behind for hoarding things that I do not need and just want. I also checked out the Electro Flash, Sonic Chic, & New View collections, but surprisingly enough, I didn't like ANY of them! All of them were just way too shimmery for me and I usually like a little bit of shimmer, but those babies were super shimmery! Sucks for the MA that kept trying so hard to push for a sale. I hate when they do that! Why can't they do it when I need them at the right time when I actually want a makeover and actually need help? lol.

Ecotools Brush Set

I was wandering around in my local Walgreens when I spotted this baby. After seeing it on Vanessa's blog, I thought I'd give these brushes a chance. I could tell that they were super soft even in the plastic bag that they came in. I tried to whip em out of the bag to feel the bristles, but you actually have to cut off the top to open them! smarties... Anywho, I ended up buying them and I'm glad I did! The brush set was around $12 for 5 brushes--a blush brush, eye shadow brush, eyeliner brush, concealer brush and brow brush. If you buy them separately, I think they're all around $7 each except the eye shadow brush alone is $4... So it's way more worth it to get the whole set. My only concern is how big the eye shadow brush is... It'd do better as a concealer brush in my opinion...

I'm beginning to second guess myself on MAC now. The more I find cheaper products that work just as well (if not better), the less I seem to like MAC. Don't get me wrong, if things cost more than MAC, then of course I'd go for MAC instead, but these brushes are pretty good quality.

Product Review: Bare Escentuals Blending Brush

Product: Bare Escentuals Blending Brush for eyes
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Overall: 1 out of 5
Price: $18
Would you buy this again? No

PROS: The brush does not shed at all. I've had this for a good 3-4 years now and the silver lettering is still intact. It's been jumbled around with the rest of my makeup, but the lettering still holds up.

CONS: This DOESN'T work! First of all, the brush size is way too big for eyes. It looks like it'd be more appropriate as a face brush. It also doesn't BLEND like it's supposed to. One swipe over the eyelid and it ERASES the eye shadows that are on there. It literally swipes all the color off as if I never even applied eye shadow in the first place! If you're looking for a good blending brush, check out MAC's 217 or 224 brush.