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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NEW! Australis AC On Tour Contouring & Highlighting Kit AND Oh Hai Brow! (Review and Swatches)

Everyone has been OMG excited with the release of the Australis Contour&Highlighting Kit, with it completely selling out in just two weeks. I was super lucky to score the very last one at my local Priceline...these have been a bit tricky to track down with all stores near me selling out. 

So what is the attraction? The Contour Kit is a dead-ringer for the Anastasia Beverley Hills Contour Kit and at only $16.95. 

While I was in Priceline I also picked up the 'Oh Hai Brow' brow shaping kit, which I think is also new. 

The packaging is sleek, plain and sturdy. The brow shaping kit is shiny, whereas the contour kit is matte, which means fingerprints show up a little easier on it. 

The contour kit has six shades, named 1 through to 6. Shade one (top row, left) has peachy undertones, shade two (top row, middle) has yellow undertones, and shade three (top row, right) has golden undertones with a bit of shimmer. 

Shade four (bottom row, left) is a warm, mid-brown, shade five (bottom row, middle) is a cool toned brown, and shade six (bottom, right) is a reddish-brown. 

Natural light + with flash. 

Natural light. 

I love, the highlight shades that come with this, and think that each colour is really versatile. Shade three is definitely my favourite for reflecting light, but I really do love them all. 

The contour shades are a bit of a different story. Shade five looks ridiculously ashy on me, and is not a colour I would wear day-to-day. I don't think that number six works that well on me either, because it is slightly red-toned. I do like shade four. 

I have been loving the brow kit, and am surprised that it suits me so well (as far as I know there is only one colour in the range, which is a massive bummer). I've never used a brow wax before, and I thought the one contained in this kit would be too dark. I use the shade on the left for filling in over the wax, and it balances it out quite nicely. I also really love the highlighter shade that's been included. 

Did you manage to get your hands on the Contour kit before it sold out? 

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Mini Mecca Haul: NARS blush and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

For my birthday, I got a couple of Westfield vouchers. I spent ages considering what to spend them on…and then it hit me. I would spend them on that gorgeous palette at Mecca that was super luxurious and beautiful, but also really expensive and not something I could justify buying myself. Luckily for me, Mecca also recently lowered their prices (hooray!) so clearly the universe was validating my decision.

Of course, I’m talking about the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. Much loved and raved about within the beauty community, and now it’s mine!

The palette has three gorgeous highlighting shades, Dim Light, Incandescent Light and Radiant Light, with the middle shade (Incandescent Light) being exclusive to the palette. 

These colours make the light bounce off your face in all the right places. I’ve found that lightly dusting my face with the left one gives me a good healthy looking glow when I’m feeling tired, I love the middle colour for a highlight on top of my cheekbones, just under the brow-bone, and down the middle of my nose, when contouring, and the right colour is beautiful layered over the top of bronzer. 

When applied with nice brushes, my face just looks so flawless with this palette. I am obsessed with the luxury packaging as well. This palette was worth every dollar, and I would totally re-purchase it with my own money. 

(R-L: Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light)

I had a little money left over, so I also got a new NARS blush in Amour. This is matte, and quite a deep matte pink. I think this is probably more suited to darker skin tones as it is really pigmented. I make it work by using it with a really fluffy brush, so not too much product is picked up, and it is blended really well. Although this is such a deep colour, when blended well I think it looks quite natural and brings such a beautiful warmth to the skin. 

When was the last time you splurged on something high-end?



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Review: Make Up Store

A couple of stores down from where I work is the Make Up Store. The Make Up Store is a Swedish make-up brand, who have ah-may-zing make up artists and products. As you sometimes do when you work in retail, I have befriended one of the sales assistants in there. It's nice to feel a little camraderie in the staff elevator and the more retailers you know, the more likely that will happen.

Anyway, I went in there to get my make up done for my 21st birthday. The girls who work in the store always have impeccable make up themselves (which I think says a lot about the brand and the artists they hire...there's another certain make up store in our centre and there's a few artists there who frequently look a bit like a hot mess). I'm just sayin'...if you can't do your own make up, there is no way in hell you're touching my face to do mine. So the service is $95 which is redeemable for product at the end...score! On Monday, instead of my usual 'week in pictures' post, I will (finally!) have a post up with some photos from my birthday. So you'll get to see what my make up looked like then, but I will just quickly mention I was more than happy with the service.

I redeemed the eyelashes they used for my make up, a powder for contouring and a primer:

Vitamin Day Primer AUD$75 for 50mL
The make up artist used this on my face to prep me for my make-over. If you're a long-time reader, you'll know I have quite dry skin. This product is a primer and a moisturiser in one, containing shea butter, vitamin A, E and carrot extract.
Considering it's also a moisturiser, it is not at all thick. That being said, it takes a minute or two to absorb fully into the skin. You can instantly feel the difference though, and make up not only glides on to your skin better, but the primer aspect really helps it to last all day. I've found it extends the longevity of my foundations and face products better than my other primer; Australis Face Base Primer (which is the same formulation as Napoleon Perdis' Autopilot primer). It also has a nice, subtle scent to it which dissipates after applying the rest of your make up.
Make Up Store recommends this is suitable for all skin types.
The packaging isn't that great...it is in a cute round container with a pump. I find the pump isn't that effective at getting the product out smoothly, and sometimes I have to force the pump a few times and then too much product comes out. Which is a shame given how expensive the product is. Also, I feel the lid could be held on just slightly tighter. This isn't a problem if you're just using it at home but I can definitely see it coming off if in a bag when travelling.
Overall, I love this product.

When I was redeeming the product at the end, I mentioned I wanted to try something new for contouring. My make up artist recommended a darker shade of face powder.

Micronized Compact Powder in Chocolate: AUD$42 for 8g.
This powder is a face powder, so is designed to be used on top of foundation, to help 'set' it. As a powder, it is transparent, and helps to seal the pigments from your skin. To use as a contouring powder, I use a denser brush and apply a little more product. I like how it is easily build-able, and blend-able. The benefit with using a powder over a bronzer for contouring is that you will get a more natural, darker shadow, rather than a more 'orange' one.
Here's some swatches of it on the back of my hand:

 

As you can see, the powder has a matte finish, also making it perfect for contouring. Overall, I've been loving the result I'm getting from this product, and have been using it exclusively since I bought it.
The packaging is nice; the compact is made out of a sturdy plastic, there's a mirror on the inside of the lid and the powder lifts up to reveal a sponge underneath. Which would obviously be useful if you were using this as a powder, for touch ups during the day. The lid also snaps on nicely, and clicks into place.

Have you used products from the Make Up Store before?



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