Brushes : Beauty and Fashion Tech

DHC Eye Shadow Palette and Eye Shadow Brush

DHC is a Japanese skin care and cosmetics company. I am a long time fan of DHC skin care products, especially their Olive Oil cleanser (read review) and White Sunscreen (Read Review), but I had not tried any of the DHC makeup. Having read some good things about various DHC makeup items, I decided to change that by ordering some.

My first review is of the DHC Eye Shadow Perfect Pro Palette in topaz, and the DHC Eye Shadow Brush . I am impressed with both. Below is a photo I took of the palette.

The first thing that struck me about the DHC Eyeshadow palette was the packaging. A little door opens up over the applicator, and then a mirrored door opens over the eye shadow. It is unique and attractive. The shadow itself is fine. The shades are rather light, and sort of remind of some of the Clinque light neutral shades. That is also fine with me, but if you like really dramatic eye shadow, this might not be for you. The shadow also generally wore well for me. I also like how it is packaged, with the largest pan being the base shade and the liner as the smallest. It balances out the use better that way!

DHC also makes a line of synthetic brushes and sells them at a pretty good price, so I added an eye shadow brush to my purchase. This turned out to be one of the best synthetic brushes I have ever used. Most cheap brushes will have some initial hair loss and might not feel all that soft. But the DHS brush that I bought was quite soft and not a single hair fell out of it. So I was left quite impressed with it, especially considering its $9 price tag.

DHC items are only available online and through mail order. You also get your choice of four samples with every purchase and each mail catalog comes with a sample or two (or sometime three or four) in it. So it is a good mailing list to be on!

Popularity: 27% [?]

M.A.C. Cosmetics is in the Red This Holiday Season!

M.A.C. Cosmetics has officially released information on its 2008 holiday collections, available beginning October 16. Here is the information sent by M.A.C. :

M.A.C. heats up the holidays with red hot colours, cases and compacts this season. Give jeweled compacts, stylish brush sets, beautiful lip and eye palettes, or gifts that give back.

“RED” SHE SAID

Passion, heat and danger come together to create this simply sparkling holiday collection. Lips are coloured in lusty shades with shimmering Dazzleglass to add resplendent moisture. Two shades of Mineralize Eye Shadows are zipped together by a strip of silver or gold, while shimmery blushes and silky nail lacquers accentuate a radiant holiday look. (pictured below)

PASSIONS OF RED

Decadent and fiery colours for eyes and lips are housed in brilliant jeweled casings. Beautifully embossed, jeweled compacts create the ultimate gift of glamour. Choose from four Eye Shadow palettes (pictured below), with shades ranging from warm, cool, classic and smokey. Polish off the look with three luxurious Lip Palettes, complete with two lipsticks, one lipglass and a mini lip brush. Each compact is a treasured gift.

PASSIONATELY RED

Vivid colour with a passion for giving equals the perfect gift. Warm or cool, each lip palette contains two shades of Viva Glam Lipstick and one Viva Glam Lipglass for a chic lip look. Every cent of the selling price is donated to the M?A?C AIDS Fund to support men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS. Give glam, give hope.

ADORING CARMINE

Holiday gifting is in the bag. Lip colours and brush sets in red satin stocking stuffers with patent trim. Adorn lips with Adoring Carmine Lip Bags, filled with 2 full size Lipsticks and 1 Lipglass in holiday shades. Adoring Carmine Brush Bags feature elegant red-handled M?A?C brushes in a perfectly-sized holiday makeup bag that can be used year-round.

LITTLE DARLINGS

Glamourous goodies, perfectly presented. Dazzle and delight with mini-sets of Lipglass & Lustreglass, Pigments & Glitter, Softsparkle & Eye Pencils in our most cherished shades. Each set is encased in an elegant cylinder, wrapped in shiny, red patent paper (pictured below).

KIDS HELPING KIDS

Holiday cards that help bring joy. Greeting cards, gift tags and pillow packs designed by children living with, or affected by HIV/AIDS. Attractive and heartwarming, an easy way to give back to kids during the holidays. Proceeds go to the M?A?C AIDS Fund to help support pediatric AIDS organizations around the world.

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Popularity: 34% [?]

Elizabeth Arden Limited Edition For Fall

Elizabeth Arden has a nice selection of limited edition duo eye shadows for fall, along with a nice gel eyeliner, eye primer, and other items.

I tried out one of the duos in Illusion (center left above) and loved it. Elizabeth Arden shadows are always quality. They are finely milled and have a particularly good color payoff. Arden’s packaging is also always nice, with heavier attractive cases and many choices in palettes. The duo I tried is perfect for a light smoky effect. Pictured below are swatches from the duo:

I also was impressed with the gel liner,which comes packaged with a brush. The brush is useable, but I preferred to use my favorite, a Smashbox Arced Liner Brush. The gel goes on smooth and is easy to work with to create either a sharp or smudged line. There is an eye primer too that I have not tested yet. So keep an eye out for a later review of that!

Elizabeth Arden is available at better department stores, specialized beauty stores such as ULTA Beauty , and various online sources.

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Popularity: 26% [?]

Anastasia Beverly Hills, Everything You Need For a Perfect Brow

Anastasia has long been a powerhouse in the area of brow tools and cosmetics. So I was excited to give a bunch of items a try and they definitely didn’t disappoint. Anastasia has everything you need to achieve a perfect brow.

First off, the tweezers are great. Next to Tweezerman, these are the best eyebrow tweezers that I have used, and they come at a decent price for the quality. Plus, they are pink!

Anastasia also offers brow stencils, which are a fairly unique item for shaping your brows. Available in either stick on temporary form or a thicker reusable plastic form, the stencil can be applied across the brow and filled with color to show what you should tweeze and what you should keep. The stencils are available in various sizes and arch heights, so you can choose the one that works the best. I found the heavier plastic ones easier to use than the lightweight temporary ones, and the low arch stencil seemed to fit me well. For those who have no idea where to begin shaping, the stencils are a good option.

For color, Anastasia offers a wide range of options, from pencils to powder duos. All that I tried were effective, nice to use, and in attractive packaging. The Anastasia Duo II Brow Powder in Medium Ash was my favorite and worked well with my medium blonde hair and light skin tone. The Brow Pencil was effective as well. The company also offers a series of very nice highlighting pencils, such as the Anastasia Eye Lights Shimmer in Petal, which is a beautiful soft pink highlighter.

For setting, I liked the Anastasia Clear Brow Gel, and I really loved the Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel (pictured), which had just a bit of warm sparkle to it that was perfect for a night out. I tried the tinted version in Carmel, which is a beautiful shade for golden and medium to dark blondes.

For those who want the basics all together, the Anastasia Five Piece Brow Kit (pictured) comes in various shades, with an attractive pink case that includes Tweezers, Brow Powder, Brow Stencils (Set of Four Shapes), One Duo Brush (Angled Cut/Spooley), and Brow Gel. Move up to the Anastasia Seven Piece Brow Kit to add Pre-Tweeze Gel and an Eye Light Matte Pencil. Those looking to fill in thin spots or to condition the brow, might also want to look at Anastasia Brow Enhancing Serum. I might write more on that in the future after I try it for awhile.

Overall, Anastasia is one stop shopping for just about all you need in brow care and cosmetics!

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Popularity: 17% [?]

Elf Cosmetics Mineral Makeup Kit

e.l.f. cosmetics is widely known for their $1 cosmetics, although some of their items run a few dollars more. Now they have released a full line of mineral makeup at excellent prices.

A Mineral Starter Kit is $20 and contains:

Mineral Foundation-SPF 15
Mineral Concealer-SPF 15
Mineral Blush
Total Face Brush
Blush Brush
Canvas Case

That is a good amount of items for the price. Mineral eye shadows are only $3 each. One thing to note though is that these items contain bismuth, which is common ingredient in many mineral makeup brands, but unfortunately, it is also an irritant to some people. The kit is paraben free.

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Essence of Beauty Brush Kit with Press Liner

Essence of Beauty makeup brushes come from a quality drugstore line that can be found at CVS stores. For more on them in general, see my previous review.

When I was in CVS the other day, I noticed that the line had a travel kit on sale that included a press liner (also known as a push liner). If you are unfamiliar with what a press liner is, it is a stiff, flat brush, that allows the user to push eyeshadow or liner up under the lashes. Having one is a great way to use dark shadow easily as a eyeliner. Pictured is one from NARS that is a bit expensive, but that I also rather like.

It looks like the only way to get the more affordable Essence of Beauty liner is to buy the travel kit set. If the brush is sold separately, my local CVS did not have it. But the kit was only $9.99. So, anyone wanting an affordable press liner brush might want to take a look at the specials isle at their local CVS (the kit not in the brush section at my local CVS–it was only in the specials area)

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Popularity: 19% [?]

Eco-Tools: Affordable Makeup Brushes Full of Quality and and Conscious

I have a thing for makeup brushes and own a ridiculously large number of them, but my favorites within that number are few. Usually they tend to be on the expensive side and not synthetic. But once in awhile a line comes along that is affordable and manges to put out a quality synthetic product, such as Essence of Beauty Brushes (Read Review). Eco-Tools is another one of those quality lines that is very affordable. Add a bit of environmentally friendly aspects, and the line is a real winner!

Eco-tools make their brushes with bamboo handles, which provides both a low impact environmental effect and attractiveness. The ferule is also ecologically thoughtful, being made from recycled aluminum. The brushes come packaged in a reusable and bio-degradable sleeve; each with an earth-friendly tip on the back.

The synthetic taklon bristles do a perfectly good job of evenly applying makeup, and to my very pleasant surprise were very stable. Usually even the best cheap brushes lose a few hairs when they are new. That was not the case when I tried the eco-tools brushes. I was particularly impressed with the foundation brush. The last time I tried a synthetic foundation brush, I didn’t get great results, but this one worked just fine. In fact, it worked just as well as my favorite MAC foundation brush. I also have been using the powder brush nearly daily since I received it.Now here is the best part: These brushes run in th $4-$8 range and for $11, you can get a five piece set. That is pretty darn impressive!

Eco-tools also make a line of bath tools (I love the foot scrubber!) that are well worth checking out. The line can be found online or at select Walgreens, Kmart, or Ulta stores.

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Popularity: 20% [?]