Review: Zoeva Face Brushes

 

I've been using zoeva brushes for so long now - they're affordable, really great quality, and come in a mix of synthetic and natural hair bristles.  I've amassed a bit of a collection of both face and eye brushes, so will focus this post on face brushes. Another post will come later on eye brushes. 

I bought my brushes from both luxola and zoeva directly, but this was back when our dollar was mighty. I had good experiences with both websites, but you'll have to do some research to work out what is the best site to order from in terms of AUD value.

 

Brush shapes for all your facey needs.  

 

Brush 127 - Luxe Sheer cheek 

This is a natural hair brush, ideal for powders on the cheeks. Originally I used this to contour, but with washing this brush has lost its shape and the bristles aren't as dense, and have a bit more give to them. So now I use this when I want a hint of colour on my cheeks - if I'm using a super pigmented blush this brush works really well because it doesn't pick up that much product. Honestly though, that doesn't happen that often and the petit stippling brush has pretty much got my back on all my blush needs, so I'm hesitant to recommend this one. The brush cleans really well (apart from the aforementioned loss-of-shape issue), and dries really quickly. 

Brush 105 - Luxe Highlight

This brush is a natural-synthetic blend. This brush is super fluffy, and gently tapered. I use this every day for applying highlight to my cheekbones and to the top of my nose. This is probably one of my favourite brushes that I own. I think this would also probably work well when using powder to set the under-eye area. Again, cleans really well, dries quickly as the bristles aren't too dense and I've had no issues with this brush thus far. 

Brush 122 - Petit Stippling

This brush is another dual-fibre natural/synthetic brush. This brush is almost identical in shape to the Real Techniques stippling brush, but it's a teeny bit smaller. I actually prefer the zoeva brush to the RT's one. The size fits the apples of my cheeks just that bit better, making it perfect for applying blush. I love that this blush applies cream and powder with no problems. The bristles are really soft, have a little bit of give to them (so they're not super fluffy), but are still not that dense. Another favourite of mine.

 

Brush 106 - Powder

Pretty self-explanatory, this one. Applies both pressed and loose powder really well. Nice and fluffy, really soft synthetic bristles (I think softer than the RT powder brush - definitely a lot smaller than that one). I use this every day to apply pressed powder, and I really feel like it picks up so much product, and distributes it so flawlessly. Another favourite. 

Brush 104 - Buffer

This is my least favourite brush. The bristles are quite soft, and really dense. When I first got this brush, I thought it would be a good contender against my favourite foundation brush - the Sigma F80. Oh how wrong I was. This applies foundation really streaky, and it's never consistent. I also feel like this brush just absorbs most of the product, as I always need to use two pumps rather than my normal one. The brush is also such a pain in the butt to clean. Avoid this one.

Brush 102 - Silk Finish

This brush is synthetic. I haven't actually seen any other brushes with this brush shape. The bristles are super dense, and unlike the buffer brush, it applies liquid foundation really well. No streakiness here, sirree! I regularly use this brush to apply foundation, alternating with my Sigma F80. It cleans a lot easier than the Sigma F80 though, which gives it bonus points. 

Have you tried any zoeva brushes?

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Review: Furless Couture Body Contour Kit*

 

Furless are a cruelty-free, Australian company that pride themselves on selling high quality synthetic brushes. Back in April, Furless generously sent me their new limited edition body contour kit to try out. I'm so excited today to be sharing my thoughts about them with you!  

 

I've been using these brushes for about four months now, and I'm really impressed with them. 

The body contour kit contains four contour brushes, specifically designed to be used all over the body and face - think contouring abs, boobs, jawline, cheekbones...this set does it all! The brushes are all roughly the same shape, but different sizes for different areas of the body. 

 

 Top: BC4, Bottom: BC3 

I probably use the two smallest brushes in the kit the most. BC4, the smallest of the four, fits perfectly into the hollow of my cheeks, creating that perfect contour line. It would also be a really good brush for using to define / highlight your clavicles, if you're into that. 

Once I've also applied blush and highlighter to my cheeks, I'll use BC3 to blend it all together, so it looks a bit more natural.

 

Top: BC2, Bottom: BC1  

BC1 is the biggest of the four brushes, and probably the biggest brush I own in my collection - for reference, it's much larger than the Real Techniques Powder Brush. I don't normally do body contouring, so honestly this brush doesn't get that much use from me. I can definitely see how well it would work in larger areas of the body though - there are so many bristles, and they aren't dense at all. This brush would work really well for applying bronzer over the body. 

BC2 is slightly smaller, and makes a great powder brush. Again, there's a lot of bristles, and they're not too firm or tightly packed together, so it blends setting powder over foundation really nicely.

 

I really like the sleek conical shape of the brush handles - they fit nicely in my hand. However, with the two larger brushes the distribution in weight is quite uneven. 

As far as packaging goes, I really like the all-over black look, with the gold writing stamped on the handle. It goes well with the rest of my brush collection and looks quite luxurious. 

These brushes are vegan friendly, and obviously synthetic. The bristles are really silky smooth, and incredibly soft. As they are synthetic, I have noticed they tend to pick up a bit of dust, probably due to static electricity. As long as you clean your brushes regularly though, this shouldn't be a problem.

 

The brushes also clean really well, and dry really quickly. I love how silky soft they are, and I love that they're cruelty free. 

This brush kit retails for $99AUD, although you can also buy the brushes individually. 

Like I mentioned though, they are limited edition so if you want them you should get your paws on them quickly! 

Disclaimer: These brushes were sent to me by the lovely peeps at Furless. They haven't influenced my opinion in any way, shape or form, and all opinions are my own. Links in the post are not affiliate links - I've just linked for your convenience! For further info check out my disclaimer. 

 

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What's in my Rubbish Bin? #3

There's something so damn satisfying about seeing so many products totally used up.

I am always so sad when I finish a tub of the Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Masque - this product does wonders for my hair. It's a bit expensive at $32 for 250mL. It is a lot easier to get your hands on these days - when I first started using this I could only get it from Beauty Bay. Now it's stocked at Woolworths! I haven't repurchased this yet because I'm working through some other hair products, but I definitely will be buying this again. 

The Swisspers Dual Cosmetic Tips are absolutely essential to have on hand when doing eye make-up (especially when doing winged eyeliner!). These have a flat oval pad on one end, and a pointy tip at the other end. So versatile, I will forever repurchase these.

 

I've finished up two primers lately; the Face of Australia Face Base Primer and the Make-up Store Vitamin Day Primer. 

The MUS primer is really rich, very moisturising and my favourite primer ever. Unfortunately, it's also discontinued. I hate when companies do that. 

The FOA primer is a dupe for Napoleon Perdis' Autopilot primer. I used to love this, but I think now my skin needs something more hydrating - I find this leaves my foundation looking worse-for-wear at the end of the day. So I won't be repurchasing this one. 

I have finished up the Revlon Photoready concealer - I really like this concealer for my under-eye area. It's creamy and covers up dark circles well, without settling into fine lines. I don't love it as much for covering up blemishes - it tends to cling to the skin, and make pimples look scabby, so I avoid it for that use. I have already repurchased this.

 

 

Brush cleansers! I really like how effective the Napoleon Perdis Brush Cleaner is - it spot-cleans my brushes really well. I just totally resent paying $40 for 250mL when I'm positive the main ingredient is alcohol. For that reason, I won't repurchase it. 

I have also recently finished up the MAC Brush Cleanser -  This retails for $20 for 235mL. I hate the packaging for this - the lid leaks way too easily, which wastes a great deal of product. I also feel a bit 'meh' about the product. It doesn't do a great job at spot-cleaning - it just doesn't get the colour out when using it to clean eye brushes, and it doesn't effectively clean my foundation brushes. So I won't be repurchasing this ever again. 

In better review-news, I freaking love the Loreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil - this is the original formula; they've since released a few different ones. I love this and use it constantly on my hair - after straightening, before blow-drying, after blow-drying, when it's just feeling dry. I love how this restores the smoothness and shine to my hair. I have repurchased one of the other formula types, but I will definitely return to this original one. 

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Review: Daiso Brush Cleaner

A couple of months ago I shared with you guys my Daiso beauty haul. The product I was most excited about purchasing and using was the Daiso 'Detergent for Puff and Sponge'. I'd heard so many great things about it, and for $2.80, if it was as good as people claimed, it might just be the answer to my prayers. 

Cleaning a handful of brushes is time-consuming and annoying, and not that fun of an activity. I really love the end result, and I love clean brushes. But I hate the process. So anything that aims to make that process less frustrating is welcome in my life. Hello, Daiso. 

This brush cleanser is very different from all others I've tried. It doesn't lather up, and instead works by dissolving all the oil and product on the brush fibres, leaving you with a squeaky clean brush. That means that the actual process for using this is different to other brush cleansers. For this, I fill up a glass with a tiny bit of water (in all honesty, in that above photo, that's a bit too much water). You then add a few drops of the cleaner. Literally. A few drops. 

Then you just swirl your brushes in (making absolutely sure not to dip the ferrule in), until the water goes a disgusting murky colour. When it gets to that colour, empty out the water, re-fill the glass, add a few more drops of cleaner and repeat. You repeat this process until you get to the point where you swirl your brush and the water stays clear. Depending on the brush you're cleaning, this can take a few repeats of the process. 

I do most of my eye brushes in the one water, running through the process twice. 

All face brushes take maybe three or four repeats. 

My Sigma F80 flat top kabuki brush is incredibly dense, and it is this brush that I judge all cleansers by. Even though I spot clean this every single time I use it, product still works its way into the brush and it's a monster to clean. This brush took maybe six or seven repeats of the process. 

I then rinse the brushes under clean water just to make sure there's no residue on them. 

I add brush guards to my brushes while they dry. It's alleged this helps them dry faster. I don't think it actually does, I think it makes it take a bit longer, but it helps re-shape the bristles, and I'm down with the extra waiting time for that. 

I really do love this cleanser. I think it saves a lot of time for all but one of my brushes...that damn F80 is such a pain and I think a bit of a lather and scrub makes it clean up a lot faster than this method. Note this isn't a criticism on how well the detergent cleans...it definitely gets the brush clean and looking new, and it takes almost zero effort to do so. I'm just lazy and hate standing at the kitchen sink for ages, so I like to rush the process along. 

Have you used the Daiso brush cleaner before? What do you think of it? 

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Daiso Beauty Haul

A couple of weeks ago I had to head into the city to pick up some uni textbooks. As I was walking to the bus stop, I passed a Daiso. I still had some time to spare, so thought I'd head on in. J and I checked out the one in Parramatta back in December, but I thought I'd give it another go. If you're not familiar, Daiso is basically a 100 yen Japanese store, where absolutely everything is $2.80. I picked up a bunch of things to help me organise some things at home, (more on that later) as well as picking up a few beauty items. 

I'm not going to lie, I am a little wary of $2.80 make-up, and wasn't quite game enough to try it. So instead I picked up some lashes:

I also grabbed a bottle of the famous brush cleanser. I'm happy with the cleanser I currently use for my brushes, but for $2.80...how could you not pick it up to try it? What can I say? I am a weapon of massive consumption.

I also picked up these cute nail stickers. I think the lace design is really cute, and can't wait to play with it and show you all how it turns out! 

What are your top Daiso picks?

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May Favourites

As yet another semester of uni winds down, my life gets busier than ever. Unfortunately I haven't been deviating too far from a simple, day routine as far as make-up goes, so no new favourites in that department. I do have some great things to share, so grab a cup of tea (which btw, I've been loving T2's Creme Brulee!) and have a squiz: