Beauty Product Reviews

Nope.

I don't know why I thought this brush was a good idea but I bought into the hype. I didn't want to use a electronic brush, thinking that it might be too harsh (since I have dry, dehydrated, and sensitive skin), but I love a good exfoliation, so I figure with this brush I could control the pressure and prevent it from digging right into my face.

But, nope. This brush never made it near my face. I felt the bristles with my hand and passed. The bristles are very firm and pointy. Just no. Not even with a light touch. Nothing that I want near my face. The voice of Caroline Hirons came to me and brought me to my senses and I put the brush back into the box to return.

If you wanted a really fancy brush to, like, exfoliate your feet...I'm sure this would be fine for that. But it's way too firm to go anywhere near your face.

This is the best rose hip oil. Period.

I found out that my very dry, sensitive skin loved rose hip a few years and will never be without it. Rose hip has dramatically improved dryness and helps a little with redness.

I have tried many rose hips oil--from drugstore to luxury. This one is simply the best and the price cannot be beat.

I like this brush for applying concealers to my undereye area. Because it's a larger concealer brush, I do the whole are in 1-2 swipes. I still find that I need to at everything out my fingers (my undereyes are very dry), but I like this for sanitary reasons if I'm using a cream concealer in a pot.

Bonus, I like this for applying liquid foundation. I generally prefer a sheer foundation applied to just the redder parts in the center of my face and this does the job around the nose easily. I then blend it out the edges with a flat top foundation brush.

Extra bonus, try this brush for a cream highlighter, like the It Cosmetics one with the absurdly long name.

I'm a pale person with pale pink lips and #16 is a great pinky nude for me that doesn't make me look washed out.

I like this pencil under a lip balm for a quick, natural-looking lip. I also like this as a lip liner under pretty much any pinky nude lipstick. Plus because the pencil tip is larger than your average lip liner but smaller than a "lip stylo" (like from Hourglass), this makes a perfect liner for someone like me that doesn't want to spend more than 3 seconds lining lips.

This is a must have in my book. Better than Clinique High Impact, better than Lancome Definicils. Plus, it's cheaper!

This gives the most natural-looking curled eyelashes. Perfect for everyday or the office. It you want a simple curled lash, you need this in your life. FYI, my lashes are naturally very straight and hate holding a curl. This mascara plus an eye lash curler hold my curl easily on 16 hour days. I recently told a friend about this mascara and she couldn't even tell that I was wearing mascara.

This also layers well. If I want a bolder lash look, I use this first and then another mascara on top.

If this product has one con, it does start to dry out quickly (maybe 4 months). However, that consistency is great for picking up the mascara with a lash fan brush to use on lower lashes, so I'm letting that slide.

I bought into the hype around this brush and sort of regret it.

If you use thicker concealers only under your eyes and have normal or oily skin, this brush might work better for you.

I have very dry skin under my eyes plus the It Cosmetics concealers do not have a color match for me--I'm very pale with a slightly warm undertone. I also have very dark circles (from genetics and asthma) so I need a corrector plus a concealer. This brush does not serve you well if you are layering concealers and correctors or you favor very creamy concealers (like Nars) as it made things cakey. I find that I still need to blend out the edges after using this brush so why bother?

I hate two-sided brushes. Like most people I know, I store my brushes in glasses. However, I really only use the larger side. I really like the larger side for powder/mineral foundation and finishing powder.

I prefer to generally apply concealer with my fingers but I actually don't mind this little concealer side for cream eyeshadow.

Worth the cost

This is an sort of expensive brush considering that it's synthetic. But I do love it. I have very dehydrated skin so I only use a little setting powder, so for setting, I use a smaller brush. But I always use this gigantic brush afterwards to kick off any excess powder. I also LOVE this brush for finishing powder.

Perfection

This is a great brush for a light wash of color. It's amazing how well this brush works with more pigmented colors. It's perfect for layering two different blush colors for the Charlotte Tilbury swish-and-pop look.

If I do manage to overdo it with one of the Ben Nye blushes or something super pigmented like that, I use the It Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Wand Ball Powder #8 to blend it out.

Best Cream Highlighter

I am a very pale person with very dehydrated skin. I tend to use dewy foundations to combat dryness and I don't want a blingy highlighter. Enter this highlighter with the absurdly long name. I love it. It gives a soft, subtle glow. I tend to just highlight at the tops of my cheekbone area, cupid's bow, and inner corner--this is perfect for that.

For reference, I'm over 30 with very dry, very sensitive, and very pale (with a slightly warm undertone) skin.