Beauty Product Reviews

Great for "Mature" Eyes

I love these. This was a re-order. I had all the colors but when they went on sale, I bought a backup for each. They glide on my ancient crepey eyelids and stay on once set. They do have to be sharpened often to get that precision point that I love. I do wish Mr. Goss would make a sharpener for his pencils. I have found some can chew these up. I have found the little Chanel sharpener that comes with their pencils to be the best for these.

I Know Why it Was on Sale with No Returns...

The Monika Blunder foundation is a dry one, even though it is a cream. In fact it is the driest cream foundation I have ever seen. Even her instructions tell you to be well-moisturized before using it. I expected an Anti-Aging Primer to be moisturizing and plumping and all those good things consumers of anti-aging products wan. And make the foundation glide on and stay on. Nope on both counts. And this stuff is outrageously expensive for a tiny tube. On sale, I think it was about $60, IIRC. I really expected a much larger size. Oh yeah, and one that performed well with the foundation it was made for.

Perfection

I don't like foundation brushes. They are usually small and flat. They leave streaks. Using my fingers is easier. I love unusual brushes and this is definitely one. I have never seen anything like it. It is wide with a flat top, yet has one flat edge. It is sooooo soft. It is an incredibly effective foundation brush, the first one I have ever used that is fast and easy to use and gives an airbrushed effect. I use the method Wayne recommended - put it in plops on your face and then use the brush to buff it in. I can use it for bronzer by using the flat edge and then buff it out with the flat top. All this and the brush will stand up. It is just an incredible brush. Worth. Every. Penny.

Best I Have Ever Used

I have all of the colors and normally I hate a pencil liner that has to be sharpened. If they are easy to sharpen they are too hard for my eyes. If they are creamy, I have to put them in the refrigerator to firm them up before sharpening or I lose a lot of product. Somehow Wayne has made creamy pencils that are easy to sharpen and can give you the sharpest line. I had been using Chanel (the roll-up one) and Pat McGrath's which have to be sharpened and Wayne's blows them away. I have a hard time with eye makeup, pencils in particular, staying on, but with a bit of primer, these stay until I take my makeup off at night. They don't migrate on me one bit. The only thing that would make them better is if a sharpener came with them. I have been using a Chanel one and it works fine, but it would be nice to have one that was made specifically for Wayne's pencils.

Good and Not So Good

This has got good and not so good aspects to it. First the good: It blends like a dream, stays on even under my eyes, which rarely happens. I love the large pans (a genius idea), you can use it softly or build it up since it is not heavily pigmented like Pat McGrath's shadows. The idea of a black shadow in every palette is a great idea as well. And finally, it is Wayne, who is the most loveable makeup artist/blogger ever. I love how he said he goes for products that will work for older women because if they work for that demographic, they will work for anyone. I picture him asking his friend Mandy (an older woman who has appeared in some of his videos) to try various iterations of this palette.

The not so good: The black is not really black unless you use something like Mehron mixer. Alone in powder form, it is more like a dark grey. The palette is warm - very warm. A couple of the shades are very similar. I think the color story could have been better by using more neutrals and using shades that work together but are not so similar.

I was going to return this, had it in the box with the shipping label attached, but after thinking about it, I decided the good outweighed the not so good and kept it. If you cannot wear very warm shades like rust, you may want to think about this. I really hope Wayne comes out with more palettes that don't pull so warm. He certainly has the formulas nailed.

So Many Uses...

I will say I am a big fan of Wayne's brushes and these are no exception. Wayne's and a few Rae Morris brushes are all I use. As others have said, these are very soft, beautiful to look at and easy to hold and work with. As Wayne said, these are for powder only and I find they do exceptionally well with highly pigmented powders. I used these three brushes as the only brushes to do my whole face using a Pat McGrath palette. I am very fair and find her powders quite pigmented. I watched a Zoom presentation she had showing how to use some of her colors for blush and face highlighter, so that is what I did with these brushes. I used the smallest for eye shadow and highlighter, the medium for blush the largest for powder, and to pull over the colors to make sure they were really blended. I have also used these for pigmented bronzers and to just blend out colors. They work incredibly well and the more I use them, the more uses I find. They are a beautiful and useful addition to my brush collection.

It Absolutely Does Work for Light Skin Tones

I was reluctant to order based on the reviews saying it doesn't work for light skin. Then I watched Natasha demonstrate how to use this on light skin on Instagram and ordered it. I am about an NC/NW 15 for reference. I always wear the lightest or second lightest foundation in most lines. This is a great bronzer because it is cool toned and does not turn orangey. It looks like my skin when it gets some sun (I burn first then tan). Of course, the other products that can add as much glow as you want are fantastic - typical ND. You do have to use a light hand when you apply it. I like the Wayne Goss brushes, especially that limited edition powder brush that picks up a small amount of product (sorry, it doesn't have a number on it). I typically use my fingers to pat a small amount of the shimmer products and don't use them all at once. This is a palette that can be used on face and eyes. I would urge anyone with light skin to watch the Instagram video.

Didn't Work

The slot where you put the brushes are really stiff with no give at all. The small slots were too small for most of my thin brushes. When I tried to fold it back to get it to stand it just would not stay folded, it kept returning to the original shape. My brushes are mainly original Rae Morris and Wayne Goss with a few others thrown in and it just did not work for them. Great concept but needs work on execution. I returned it.

This is the best mirror I have ever used...

I put off buying this for a long time because it is expensive and I am not into taking selfies so I really don't care about hooking my phone up to it. I took the plunge and it is a fantastic mirror. I had a Simple Human mirror that was about the same price but this blows that one out of the water. First, I am older than dirt and really need magnification to put on eye makeup without looking like a clown. This has a very strong magnetic magnifying mirror that I use to do eye makeup and then easily remove to do the rest. I love the bright light. I can see everything and I do mean everything on my face. I know exactly how much concealer I need and where. The only thing I would want for this is a padded travel case. I am very careful with the mirror because it is very lightweight. I would hate to see it scratched or broken.