Müüa e.l.f. Studio pintslikomplekt

This post is for fellow Estonians - about a large custom purchase e.l.f. Studio brush haul I ordered in June from the US e.l.f. store. Some ppl do not have credit cards and others can't afford the unbelievable 45 eur (!) price tag the Studio set carries in the UK e.l.f. store. Here's their chance :)

e.l.f. Studio brush set - klikka suuremaks!

Saabusid mu custom purchase (CP tähendab, et  keegi nt USAs ostab Sinu eest (nt kui pood väljapoole USAd ei saada) ja saadab Eestisse edasi) pintslikomplektid - ma ikka olin tubli ja arvestasin ka teistega, sest üks selline pintslikomplekt on UK e.l.f.'i poes ebanormaalsed 45 eurot! USAs on täishind 30 dollarit ja sooduka ajal saab veelgi odavamalt. Kahjuks pole aga paki Eestisse saatmine kuigi odav ja see ajab hinnad veidi üles, nagu ka pintslite pealt tollile makstav käibemaks 20% - ühe komplekti lõpphind tuli soolased 23,4 eurot. See teeb 1,95 per pintsel, juhul kui pintslikotti (mis muide on päris korralik) ka arvutuses arvestada.

Niisiis, kes soovib pintsleid? Selles komplektis on 3 suurepärast suurt näopintslit ja posu pisikesi.

Ainuke halb asi selle komplekti juures - stipple ja angled blending brush (vt pildil komplekti kõrval) pole seal sees - need tulid müüki peale seda, kui komplekt tootmisesse anti. Samas mahuksid need suurepäraselt sinna kotti. Võtsin neid kumbagi 2 tk lisaks - 4 eur tk, kui keegi soovib komplekti veelgi laiendada.

Hetkel on e.l.f. i UK poes uskumatu allahindlus - 50%. Sama komplekti saab sealt kätte 22,5 eur+shipping! Pakkumine lõpeb 30. juulil meie aja järgi kell 15.00!

Brushes from the e.l.f. Essential line

When thinking whether to get face brushes from Essential or Studio line - Studio is the way to go. Essential line face brushes are harsh on the skin (scratchy) and cannot be compared to the divine softness of a brush from either Studio or Mineral line. 

From left to right: Studio foundation brush, Essential foundation brush,
Studio blush brush, Essential blush brush,
Studio Complexion brush, Essential Total Face brush

e.l.f.'s quality control issues are well known but they most often occur in the Essential line. Eyeshadow brushes are badly formed, same type of brushes bought at the same time vary in size and shape, they shed or are broken the moment one takes them out of their packaging. There's a chance you'll get crap but there's also the chance of getting a decent eyeshadow brush for $1/£1,5. When brushes are this cheap one is tempted to play the lottery :)

e.l.f. Essentials total face brush:
please note the protruding hairs - this brush is out of shape

My suggestion - Essential line's foundation, concealer and eyeshadow brushes are worth a try but Total Face brush, Blushing, Bronzing and Blending brush and especially the ordinary (red) kabuki should be left at the store! Even 1 $/£ is too much for that horror, do not buy.

Essentiali pintslitest lähemalt. Essential on see, millega e.l.f. alustas - odav kraam odava hinnaga, kvaliteet muidugi vastav. Viimasel ajal on nad püüdnud sarja upitada kuid on kõrvale loonud ka kvaliteetsemad Studio ning Mineral sarjad. Essentiali sarja näopintslid on kriipivad, tüüpilised odavad naturaalkarvast pintslid mida tõesti kellelegi ei soovita. Arvamused on olnud kaunis kehvapoolsed: annavad pestes värvi, teinekord haisevad, poetavad karvu jne. Kaunis levinud on ka see, et ostes korraga 3 sama tüüpi pintslit on lõpuks peos 3 kaunis erineva suurusega ja kujuga asja.

Kui e.l.f'i e-poes pintsleid vaadata, siis tasub tähelepanu pöörata eelkõige Studio ja Mineral sarjade näopintslitele ja võibolla panna korvi ka mõni Essentiali lauvärvipintsel (naturaalne karv haarab  pulberpigmenti suurepäraselt, paremini kui Studio sünteetilised lauvärvipintslid, mis omakorda sobivad pigem vedelatele ja kreemjatele toodetele). Kindlasti tasub Total Face brush'i asemel võtta Studio Complexion brush ning Blushing-Bronzing-Blending õuduse asemele enam vähem sama kujuga Mineral seeria Blush brush. Iga hinna eest tuleb vältida punast tavasarja kabukit ja selle asemel võtta Studio Face Kabuki.

H&M makeup brushes

I read in an Estonian beauty forum about H&M cheap makeup brushes and after buying some I have to agree with people, who found the brushes to be surprisingly decent. They are usually £1.99 or 1,95 eur a piece. 

I really like the chisel brush, crease brush is so-so. Liner end is a bit bendy but able to make a thin line. They are both more travel sized, drowning amongst others in my brush holder, seem to be made well and are pleasant to the touch. 

Chisel is fluffy, does not shed or stink, it's bristles grab my loose pigments perfectly. This is something Ecotools brushes suck at - applying loose mineral pigments with Ecotools stiff synthetic eyeshadow brush is not very comfortable. I have not tried the special 5 piece eye makeup brush set to compare. 

Soovitan H&M silmapintsleid, eriti seda üheotsalist - selle raha eest hea kvaliteet. 

And here's an EOTD with Coastal Sents's Paradise Rose Sky mica (sry about the lousy blending job, I also managed to get the eye liner all over the lower lids - it always smears so terribly - that's why I seldom use it):

This one is definitely for evening makeup, I was amazed how well red went with my blue eyes. Much better then pink that makes my eyes look terribly tired.

Damn! / Kurat küll!

 Behold my beautiful EDM long-handled kabuki, all mangled up, even the metal ferrule :S

 It was in the brush holder, on my makeup desk... the bitch must have climbed on my desk to get it :S - and I do not have a spare!

And here's the culprit - my new personal trainer (starting from 12.02.2011) Pipa who's causing havoc in my household. Stealing and demolishing our stuff and climbing all over the furniture.

Looking guilty now, huh?

Esimene kord kui mõni meie koertest nii halvasti käitub, et asju närib! Pipa on meie pere 4. koer (me võtame tänavalt-varjukast hüljatud täiskasvanud koeri). Mingi võtmehoidja pidin ka juba minema viskama, ajalehti ja pappkarpe topin talle lammutamiseks juba ise ette. On ikka tegelane...  Närimiseks on tal ju omad mänguasjad :S ja tundub, et ta üksi kodus olles armastab justnimelt minu asju maitsta.

Kaubamaja (mineraal)meigipintslid

This post is about our local department store's (mineral) makeup brush selection.

Kaubamajas on päris palju erinevaid pintsleid erinevatelt kaubamärkidelt. Esindatud nii kosmeetikakompaniide pintsliseeriad kui ka pintslitootjad Duroy ja Japonesque. Ilumaailmas ei kohanud ainsatki Cailap'pi, juhhei!

Peamiselt oli mõttes stipplerid/skungid/duo-fibre pintslid ära kaardistada aga neid oli kaunis vähe - siis vaatasin üle ka kabukid ja flat-topid. Vabandan pildimaterjali vähesuse pärast, ei julgenud kaupsis fotokaga eriti vehkida - üldjuhul mõjub see poodnikele väga ärritavalt.

Stipplerid: Duroy pakub kahte, tumeda pika varrega 28.70 eur ja valge lühema varrrega 25,50 eur. Samas on Art Deco valge-pruun stippler (Brush for Illuminating Powder Finish) 219 kr ehk 14 eur. Viimasel on pikimad harjased ning pruun karv tundus naturaalne. Mida pikem karv, seda väiksem kontroll nahale määritava toote üle. Hinnad on Duroy'l siiski liiga soolased, imho.

Nii, ja see oli siis see ainuke jubedas valguses
jubedal taustal tehtud jube pilt :D

Sealsamas on ka MakeuUpStore aga kuna konsultandid mu läheduses müstiliselt kaduma kippusid, ei saanud ma seal kelleltki pintslikarbi avamise osas abi küsida - seega saan vaid öelda, et MUS pintsel tundus silma järgi sama suur kui Duroy must ning maksis 23,58 eurot.

MACi stipplerid maksavad 52.- (MAC187) ja 41,90 (188SH) eurot. Suuruselt on e.l.f. lähem pigem 187-le, vabandan eelnevalt ebaõige informatsiooni postitamise eest. 188 on ikka tõeliselt pisike.

Kabukidega on olukord helgem: neid leidub igas hinnaskaalas. Chaneli oma on naturaalkarvadest, tihe ja imepehme iludus 40,9 eurot, MACi pehme ja kvaliteetne naturaalsetest karvadest kabuki on 55 eurot, Elizabeth Arden'i sünteetiline viltune kabuki (kaasa saab ka pisikese versiooni) on 22,31 eurot. Pigem kontuurimiseks,  päikesepuudri jaoks see viimane...

Couleur Caramel'i oma on mäger, näppimiseks välja pandud eksemplar ajas karva ning polnud pehmuselt Chaneli ja MACiga võrreldav. Kusagil 22,4 eurot.

Bella Pierre kabukid olid ennist naturaalsed, nüüd sünteetilised - väga pehmed ja maksavad 31,9 eurot. (e.l.f.'i Studio seeria kabuki sarnaneb sellele kui kaks tilka vett.)

Ma ei märganud ArtDecol seekord kabukit - küll aga oli neil üks tohutu suur, pehme ja kaunis tihke puudripintsel 17,83 euroga. Tundus päris hea aseaine. Isadoral oli suur roosa kehakabuki, mida kunagi proovisin (ajab karva) ja mis ei ole just ülipehme aga siiski täitsa talutav - 20,38 eurot. Boujoursi kaks kabukit olid naturaalsetest karvadest ning mitte väga pehmed: väiksem kitsekarvadest ja hõbedase pintslivarrega oli 8,9 eurot ning suurem pronksja varrega 9,52 eurot. (need sarnanevad pehmuselt pigem e.l.f.'i tavaseeria punastele kabukidele.)

Lisamärkustena peab mainima, et Japonesque'l nägin ainsana pisikest flat-toppi (veidi flimsy, tundus, et ei hoia end hästi vormis ja võib kriipima hakata); Lancome puudripintslid on ÕUDSAD tuustid; Clinique on parem kuid Shisheido pintslid näitavad juba suurepärast kvaliteeti. 

e.l.f. mineral brush series

Actually I do not understand, why e.l.f made this set and called it the mineral set - it has no kabuki on it's own. I would have thought they'd aim at something like the Ecotools bronzer brush (which I do not have).

I did not pick all the brushes for reviewing, left out the C-brush because on other ppl's pics it looked like the copy of the studio version. Overall: these brushes look and feel good, no shedding.

Lets start from left:

Blending eye brush - it's somewhat shorter and smaller then the rest, round tipped and fluffy, bristles are set in a round ferrule and have plenty of space for moving. Mine has become slightly flat in transit. It's weird that so far e.l.f. has still not come out with a fluffy yet pointed tipped blender/crease brush - they're all round.

Complexion brush is pretty much just another color version of the Studio complexion brush, slightly more compact and dense. Bristles are shorter and ferrule narrower.

Powder brush - is floppy, airy - all good qualities if one wants only a slight layer of powder on the skin. It's not suitable for mineral powder application, only if one wishes a feather-light application but most of us aim for full coverage anyway. This one shed a couple of bristles. Heavenly softness though...

Contour brush - is a stiff pencil brush, has a domed tip. This one is suitable for applying color in the crease but blending should be left to the blending brush. I think for a contour brush the tip is rather big, people with small eyes like me will have difficulties using it for this purpose. BUT it can also be used as a concealer brush to hide pimples :). Not for the under eye concealer, cause the brush seems rather stiff.

Blush brush - has a small condensed head. At first I thought it to be useless but then - it's just the right size for contouring and apples of the cheeks. Beautifully tapered, no rogue hairs peaking out at weird angles.

Here's the blush brush with it's brethren: left is Studio blush brush, which for me is useless but other ppl love and on the right a random angled blush brush from syntho brushes series The Conservatorie offers. All three have luxuriously soft bristles but different shapes.

Tiny mineral set mimics Ecotools. Brushes are pretty much the same and it looks fine for a travel set. I do not use travel sets, I travel with my full sized brushes. Both mini kabukis seem too small for me, perfect for kids though - in a play makeup set or something. Or maybe in someone's clutch bag but even then I'd choose a loaded retractable kabuki.

Here they are compared to Ecotools: 

The pouches look similar too, e.l.f. pouch being more practical, cause it's a tiny bit bigger. Ecotools' powder brush does not fit in the Ecotools bag, it's squashed there because of the bag being too small. Eyeshadow brush is slightly narrower but not as narrow as it looks on the pic - it has just slided to an unphotographable angle.

Mineral seeria pintslid tunduvad enam vähem samad mis tavaseeria omad - vaid värvivahe. Kõik on ülipehmed ning vaid suur puudripintsel viskas paar karva. Samas on mul raskusi mõistmisega - miks neid pintsleid mineraalmeigi sarja all müüakse? Selles komplektis ei ole ju ühtki bufferit ega kabukit?
Suur puudripintsel on pehme ja hõre, st et annab ülikerge katvuse. Sobib pealispuudritele, meigi kinnitamiseks jne. Tõenäoliselt hea ka väga õhukese päikesepuudrikihi pealekandmiseks.
Complexion brush on nagu tavaline chisel põsepunapintsel, veidi väiksem  ning kompaktsem kui Studio seeria oma. Põsepunapintsel on pisi-pisikese otsaga - olin päris üllatunud. Aga see ots on tihe ning pintsel ise kvaliteetselt tehtud, sobib põsepuna kandmiseks põsesarnadele ning kontuurimiseks.
Hajutuspintsel (blending brush) on kogult väiksem kui teised, lühema varrega. St et vajub teiste kõrval kusagile topsisügavustesse. Ots on ümar, pehme ja piisavalt pisike, et ka minu silmavakku mahtuda. 
Kontuurimispintsel (contour brush) ei tundu mulle ülesannete kõrgusel olema, liiga suure otsaga ja jäik. Kujutan ette, et sobiks paremini peitepuudreid/kreeme peale kandma. 
Pisike travel set on Ecotools'i koopia, nii suuruselt kui funktsioonilt. 

A largeish mainly brush haul from e.l.f

Most of the stuff is the same as I already have: Studio brushes (I've ended up supplying all my friends with those), but I took some blushes and the golden bronzer for them too. Rest I put up for sale our local beauty forum Buduaar.

The blushes surprised me - I did not know that blush is half the size of bronzer. I have very small hands and even in my palm the blush seemed smallish to me. Colors are good, Pink Passion is excellent for fair skinned ladies who aim for the fresh "just came in from outdoors"-look and Candid Coral is perfect for the more neutral look. I cannot imagine how darker-skinned ladies can pull Candid Coral off - it's slightly golden beige on me but on tanned skin it's only showing up as golden glow (or so I presume).
Texture of the blushes seemed rather loose and creamy to me, I could not detect chalkiness. Color pay-off is good and I hope people who got them now, are happy with them.

I did not swatch the Golden Bronzer but the overall feel I've got of it was good - I could use it as a bronzer were I a person who uses bronzers :). packaging of the Studio blushes and bronzers feels nice to the touch and looks good as well. Could also be used as a light metallic neutral eyeshadow quad.

Eye brushes from the Essential line

I also took a bundle of the cheapo eyeshadow brushes, first time for me to see the slanted Defining Eye Brush - overall impression, it looks good for this price and works. Bristles are not as soft as studio lines' but it'll do the job. Eye Crease Brush was sold out and did not make it to my parcel.

The thing to remember when shopping for the Essential line brushes - you might get lucky and get a brush that's fit to serve you for years to come but you might also get such crap you'll refuce to use anywhere near your eyes. It's like a lottery.

Studio brushes still look good and have retained their superior quality, studio kabukis are sold out yet again, they really are very popular.

face brushes from the Studio line

Studio ja Essential sarjade kvaliteedivahe on tohutu. Essentiali asju ostes on tegu loteriiga - kas joppab või mitte. Võib saada kohutava kvaliteediga asju aga samas võib vaat et meigikotis asendamatuks jubinaks osutuda. Enne ostmist tuleks e.l.f'i kodulehel reviewdega tutvuda. Essentiali üks parimaid asju on 1$ ripsmekoolutaja, aastaga pole mul ikka veel kumm läbi kulunud.

Lähemalt nendest konkreetsetest pintslitest: Essential line pintslid on naturaalsest karvast st et ülipehmed nad pole. Samas haarab naturaalne karv pulberpigmenti paremini kui Studio eyeshadow C-brushi taklonkarvad. Nood sobivad jälle paremini kreemjate lauvärvide ja pigmentide niiske pealekandmise jaoks. Minu Essentiali pintslid ajavad vähemalt alguses kohutavalt karva ning enen kasutamist peab neid tingimata pesema.

Studio pintslid on tuntud oma headuses: nahal pehmed ning üldjuhul karva ei aja. Häda on puidust pintslivartega, mis kipuvad loksuma (pestes saab pintsel vett ja vars paisub, kuivades tõmbub kokku) - siin aitab suts liimi.

Ülemisel pildil vasakpoolseim on e.l.f. Studio Complexion brush mis on sisuliselt suur õhuline puudripintsel, jumestuskreemile meiki kinnitava puudri pealekandmiseks, särapuudri õrnaks levitamiseks või kasvõi päikesepuudri/põsepuna jaoks, kui pole vaja väga täpselt peale kanda.

Keskmine pintsel on e.l.f'i Studio seeria Powder brush, mis oli e.l.f.'i Studio seeria parim toode aastal 2010. See on lameda otsaga tihe flat-top pintsel, millega saab peale kanda mineraalpuudrit ja jumestuskreemi (tugev katvus). Osad kasutavad põsesarnade kontuurimisel. Mu parim ost aastal 2010.

Parempoolseim on uusim lisandus e.l.f'i Studio sarja: stippler ehk skunk ehk duo-fiber pintsel. Suuruselt vastab MAC 188le ehk sellele väiksemale kuid on painduvam (see pole skungi puhul just parim omadus). Stipplerid on jumestuskreemi pealekandmiseks ideaalsed (õhem katvus, pintsel võtab vähem toodet sisse), tulemus jääb suurepärane - ei mingeid triipe ega ebaühtlusi, jumestuskreem tuleb sellega nahale tupsutada. See konkreetne pintsel on väikese pindalaga, terve näo ülekäimine võtab igaviku niiet soovitaksin seda pigem (kreemjate/pressitud/puuderjate) põsepunade ja highlighterite jaoks. Need on nüüd otsas... :S

Studio line face kabuki

Studio kabuki on ülipehme, sobib suurepäraselt tundliku nahaga inimeste meigikotti. Saab kasutada mineraalpuudri jaoks või ka tavalise tolmpuudri pealekandmiseks. Suurepärane ka põsepuna hajutamiseks, kui kogemata liiga palju peale kantud sai. Pintsel on väga pehme ja temaga ei saa hästi mineraalpuudrit naha sisse "buffida" nagu paljud mineraalmeigitootjad soovitavad - see pintsel on sobilikum kerge katvuse saavutamiseks. Tugeva katvuse jaoks on targem võtta Studio Powder brush (ülemisel pildil keskmine).

Favorite brushes 2010

These here are the most used brushes of 2010.

Most used eye makeup brush is the 4th one (from top to bottom) on the pic: The Makeup Brush Company's small tapered chisel eyeshadow brush. Best I've seen, nobody else seems to carry a brush like this one. It is beautifully made and works like a dream.

favorite eye-shadow brushes

EDM's eye kabuki - for under-eye concealer, I pat/stipple EDM's Pearl Sunlight Concealer under my eyes with it;
EDM's smudge brush - smudging the liner and for applying strong colors in tiny amounts in the crease (in circular movements), also used to conceal an occasional pimple, it's stiff and has a nice small brush-head;
TMUBC's large eyeshadow brush - for patting on the shadow in large amounts, good for pressed shadows, it's basically an ordinary C-brush;
TMUBC's small eyeshadow brush - my HG eyeshadow brush, small enough for my small eyes, grabs and disperses the pigment  perfectly, wonderfully tapered on one side; I do not use the other end, the slant eyeliner's bristles are weakish and bendy;
EDM's angled blending brush - wonderful soft and fluffy brush for blending small areas under the browbone, allows detailed work too;
The Conservatorie's  syntho eyeshadow brush - the bristles are excellent for loose pigments, grabs those perfectly, does not shed but is a bit too big and therefore looses to the wonderfully tapered TMUBC's small eyeshadow brush;
e.l.f's new angled blending brush from the Studio series - it's quite big and I use it for applying skin-colored pigment on the brow-bone (first step in my makeup application after applying primer), it gives a good thick application and creates a nice base for blending;
TMUBC's blending brush - I use this when I use all sorts of shimmery duochrome stuff to blend from the crease towards the  brow-bone, gives a very subtle result;
Ecotools blending brush from the mineral collection sits in my travel kit - I use it to blend from crease towards the browbone;
e.l.f studio series angled eyeliner brush - it's small, thin and not flimsy - I use it with cream liners and to smudge the eyeliner more forcefully.

Most used face brushes:

favorite face brushes

e.l.f studio complexion brush - for light application of powder or mineral veil or silica microspheres;
e.l.f studio stipple brush - for blush and highlighter (it's also usable with liquid foundations but I'm mostly into MMU, it's abit small so applying liquid foundation all over face will take some time - but the result is excellent);
e.l.f studio powder brush - a cheap versatile flat-top brush, that one can use for powder or liquid products, a lot of people use it for stippling liquid foundation. I use it to apply MMU, once I've become accustomed to use flat-top brushes, there's no way back - the coverage it gives is just amazing on the bad skin days;
EDM's smudge brush for pimple-action:
EDM's eye kabuki for highlighting cheekbones, nose and lips-chin;
for some reason EDM's long handled kabuki is not on the pic - I use this when I need only light coverage of MMU.

EDM is Everyday Minerals, the company has screwed it's loyal customers over for couple of times in the last few years and is therefore not with a very good renomeé. Their brushes are good though.

e.l.f is a cosmetics company well known for their affordable price range, has eStores in US and Europe, available in some shops in US too; offers wonderful sales in the US web stores, sales in UK's store are not as good and price level is a lot higher.

TMUBC is The Makeup Brush Company, located in the UK and specialized in producing and selling high quality professional makeup-brushes. If you can afford, I warmly recommend.

Everyday Minerals brushes / EDMi pintslid

This collection has somewhat diminished: domed blush brush and flat-top kabuki have left me for a nicer home.

suurendamiseks vajuta pildile

Overall: excellent quality. Not one brush has shed or broken on me during the last two years. The material of the bristles has stood up to the harshest of treatments and has remained in splendid condition (I clean my syntho brushes by rubbing them in a towel). 

The only totally useless brush is the domed blending brush - the bristles wash your lids clean, guaranteed. Rest of them - I'd buy again. 

I especially recommend LHK (though some ppl say it's too soft and they cannot buff the foundation in properly - and that it can be made stiffer by wrapping a hair-band around the bristles near the ferrule), eye buki (no longer sold as I've just checked, maybe sold out), eye blending brush and smudge brush.

Everyday Minerals'il on suurepärased pintslid. Sünteetilised karvad on ülipehmed ja kvaliteetsed ning varred püsivad kindlalt küljes. Kabuki tõenäoliselt viskab esialgu paar karva kuid peale esimest pesu enam mitte. Ainuke tõeliselt mõttetu pintsel on see pikkade karvadega domed blending brush (pildil kõige ülemine) - see ei hajuta vaid pigem eemaldab laugudelt värvi. Blogis on olemas pilte ka teistest EDMi pintslitest, mida mul enam ei ole - neid leiab kõige kergemini kui kasutada label'it Everyday Minerals.

Samas firma ise on kehva renomeega (mitte et tooted oleks kehvad) - nad on nimelt väga lugupidamatult suhtunud oma pikaajalistesse klientidesse (loonud foorumi - kaotanud foorumi, muutnud etteteatamata toodete koostisosi ja müünud seda uut koostist vanade tootesiltidega, muutnud oma hindu ja pakette, kaotanud soodustusi). 

EDM oli pikka aega odav mineraalmeigitootja kuid nüüd püüavad nad jõuda pigem sinna eksklusiivsete toodete hulka a la Micabella ja Bella Pierre (Iredale'i ei tahaks samas reas mainida, sest tegu vana ja austusväärse looduskoseetikatootjaga). Isegi celebrity-promoter on leitud, keegi Taylor. Ahjaa - kodulehte on EDM muutnud viimase 2 a jooksul vist 3 korda - ja aina segasemaks. Ei ole tore koht :S

PS! Eestis müüb neid nüüd Naturaalkosmeetika e-pood.

Miscellaneous brush sets

The Makeup Brush Company

Let us start with the elite, pink set from The Makeup Brush Company. These are high quality natural hair brushes (except the foundation, concealer and lip brushes which are synthetic) and also quite expensive. These are the only high-end brushes I have. Blush brush (5th) is soft only when freshly washed - so I do not use it often. It's very fluffy and allows even the most pigmented blush to be applied without looking like a clown. Eyeliner brush (4th) has a very nice precise tip but I prefer e.l.f's studio angled liner for lining - easier. This one would be good for detailed work. 

The Makeup Brush Company: (top to bottom):  Large Concealer, 
Foundation, Retractable Lip-brush, Eye-Liner, Powder/Blusher,
Brow Comb/Lash Spoolie, Socket Shader,
Pencil Softener/Blender, Chisel/Shadow

Brushes I actually use every day are the last 3: I've never met a better shaped eyeshadow brush then the small tapered one, last on the pic. It grabs pigments so well and the size is just perfect! e.l.f.'s studio C-brush is almost three times it's width. Next to it lies "eye pencil softener/smudger" that I use for packing color on the lid. It's a tad narrower then e.l.f's studio C-brush. 3rd from the bottom is the "blender/socket shader" - it has long bristles and therefore I only use it if I want a very slight sweep of color on the brow-bone. Most of my blending is done with EDM's smudge brush.

Ecotools (ParisPresents/Looduskosmeetika)

Ecotools' set has fallen from grace, especially after the arrival of the e.l.f set. I still use the concealer brush for swatching pigments, the angled brush for eyebrows (when I actually remember to do my eyebrows) and the thick blush brush for blending out blush when applied too much. The only HG brush amongst these is the mineral series small blending brush, last one on the picture.

The reason I do not use Ecotools eyeshadow brush is that the bristles are a bit too stiff and they do not grab dry pigment too well. I rarely use my pigments foiled. Recently I've heard and read a lot of good about the bronzer brush  (looks like a kabuki on a stick) and the big powder brush. Kabuki from Ecotool's mineral series is much too small and flimsy.

The Conservatorie

This is the Synthetic series, Coastal Scents carries them too. They look nice, although I'd prefer black ferrules - metallic ones get scratched too easily. These brushes have excellent bristle-material - soft and grabs loose pigments well.

Synthetic oval smudger brush, synthetic angled blush brush,
synthetic oval shadow brush (2 of them, first one is a bit mangled up),
synthetic crease brush,synthetic oval taklon lip brush

The first one on the pic was a disppointment - it's ferrule scratches the lid. Size-wise it would have been perfect. I do not use this at all, it's utter crap.
Blush brush is good: soft, does not shed and is light and fluffy - unfortunately I have the e.l.f. stippler now so this one just sits there. I use it occasionally for contouring. 

Next two are rather good eyeshadow brushes of the same design - bristles are softer and thinner then Ecotools eyeshadow brushes' bristles and grab powdered pigment better. It's rather amazing, but the defective brush is actually better for patting the eyeshadows on. 

Crease brush reminds me of EDM's smudger but the latter one is more stiff, allowing more precise application. I use it to blend when I have put too much color in the crease - it tends to remove some of it while blending.

Everyday Minerals brushes are coming up next. Got plenty of brushes from there and I must say - quality of bristles is a lot better then Ecotool's brushes and the design superior to the Synthetic series.

Rewiew on brushes: Kabuki brushes / kabukipintslid

Thought of doing a series on my brushes - I made last such review at least a year ago, a new review is in order, new lemmings have emerged and old faves have fallen from grace.

click me, I'll grow

Here are my kabukis, all on one pic. I gave away my EDM flat-top so that one is no longer with me. Not because I hated it - just that a friend of mine loved it more then I did. I was and still am infatuated with the long-handled kabuki.

On this pic  EDM's LHK still enjoys the top spot in the lovability order, closely second is the e.l.f. Studio kabuki, far behind is Ecotools small kabuki from the mineral brush collection (too small) and in the farthest corner, most despised is the utterly scratchy and disgusting e.l.f. kabuki from the ordinary series (sheds, bleeds and scratches - do not buy!)

Ülalpool toodud fotol on ära toodud kõik mu kabukipintslid. Everyday Minerals'i lamedat mul enam pole, selle andsin sõbrantsile. EDM ja e.l.f'i Studio seeria sünteetilised kabukid on need, mis rohkem kasutust leiavad: imepehmed ning ei pudista karva. Ecotoolsi oma on lihtsalt väga väike, sellega näo tegemine võtab kohutavalt aega. Jubedaim neist on e.l.f'i tavaseeria naturaalkarvadest pintsel: kriibib, annab värvi ja ajab kohutavalt karva. 
Kabukipintsel peab olema tihke ja tihe ning ülipehme, et nahk kannataks mineraalpuudri igapäevast nahalekandmist. On olemas imehäid ja pehmeid naturaalkarvadest kabukisid kuid need on reeglina väga kallid. Odavam on valida hea sünteetiline kabuki. Neid leidub teinekord isegi tavapoodides nagu Kaubamaja või I.L.U, oluline on pintslit nahal proovida enne kui ostad. Kui pole pehme, jäta poodi.

e.l.f glitter Studio brush collection...

...is being sold by the e.l.f US store at 2/3 the usual price until January 3rd. Do not jump for this offer - first of all it's the same as the ordinary Studio set, only the handles are a bit glittery and secondly,  if you do crave it,  it would be wiser to wait for another -50% all Studio event. That'll come for sure (for theUS folks, US store).

Funny thing is - the powder brush in my glitter set has no glitter at all :D, it's totally ordinary. All the rest have glittery handles.

Here's my ordinary set with some extras:

click me to biggify

NOTE: skunk brush aka stippler (6th from above) and the large angled blender (7th from above) are brushes you must buy separately, those are not in the kit although they are presented here on the photo. Skunk brush should be bigger and denser, right now it's more suitable fro blush and highlighter then liquid foundi application. You can apply foundation with it but it will take a lot of time.

Studio brushes are wonderful for beginners and makeup-enthusiasts like me. Even professionals get a kick out of them. Brushes in this set are either adored or hated and you can see glowing and devastating reviews on the same brush: i.e. blush brush (3rd from above) - "too small and flimsy" vs "HG contouring brush" - go figure. I do not exactly love this one, I use skunk brush (6th from above) for blush. 

IMHO the pointless ones are fan brush (no 1, too soft to wipe the fall-out) and the praised eyeshadow C-brush (9th, too bloody big! I use concealer brush (8th) on my lids instead). 

I do not use the foundation brush (2nd from above) cause I'm into powder foundation and it's useless for me but others get spare ones cause it's supposedly "fantastic for foundation" and contouring too (nose contouring especially). The only universally loved brush in this set is the powder brush (5th from above). The point is - you wont know which brushes you'll love until you get the set. 

PROS: it's cheap if you get it on sale, brushes are soft and do not shed; it's also virtually impossible to vuck them up when cleaning (important for beginners), expensive natural fibre brushes are much more vulnerable to abuse.

CONS: the ferrules tend to loosen - these are wooden handles! wooden handles swell when wet and shrink when drying - they will start to come loose in time. A bit of glue will take care of it.

e.l.f'i sünteetliste meigipintslite komplekt on algaja ja asjaarmastaja jaoks kui loodud - sünteetilised pintslikarvad taluvad nii mõndagi, mille peale looduslik kiud juba ammu vildiks ketruks (nagu näiteks niiskesse froteerätikusse puhtaksnühkimine, mea maxima culpa). 
Selle komplekti kohta on väga vastukäivad arvustused, ainuke kõigi poolt armastatud pintsel tundub olema powder brush ehk siis lame puudripintsel (ja sellele on leitud ikka seinast seina kasutust: põsepuna, kontuurimine, mineraalpuudri ja jumestuskreemi pealekandmine), üldiselt heaks kiidetakse ka complexion brush ehk jumepintsel (selle ülesandeks on tavaliselt pealispuudri õrn pealekandmine). 
Veel kiidetakse suurt C-kujulist lauvärvipintslit kuid mina ei kujuta ette nii suuri silmi, see pintsel katab vabalt poole mu laust. Seevastu põsepuna ja jumestuskreemipintslite arvustused lähevad juba kardinaalselt lahku. 
Sünteetilised pintslikarvad on pehmed, ei pudene ning ei aja värvi. Ainuke häda studio pintslite juures on varte ärakukkumine: puust varred niiskuvad ja pärast kuivavad ning tõmbuvad kokku, hakkavad loksuma. Surts liimi parandab selle vea.

Second biggest makeup brush I've ever seen?

This was part of the last e.l.f. haul: I wanted to see one of the mineral brushes up close and had the Powder Brush from e.l.f.'s mineral series delivered. It's big, soft and well made. No shedding whatsoever. When compared to the Ecotools powder brush I must say -  while the e.l.f one is fluffy like a cloud, Ecotools looks and feels much more heavy. 

I already have the Studio complexion brush (it has a slimmer brush head then the mineral powder brush has) and I don't think I'll be needing this one... I'll sell this forward, methinks. Soon I should be getting some other brushes from the mineral set and then I'll be able to review them properly. 

Mineral series is the priciest brush line e.l.f. carries and I advise US folks to take advantage of frequent sales the US e.l.f. store has when purchasing these.

e.l.f. mineral powder brush is big but looses out when compared with  EDM's large mineral brush. Review here: Biggest makeup brush I've ever seen.

Good reviews on the mineral line are made by Productrater, Gothique and Beauty and the Brown Girl blogs.

Peatselt on tulemas e.l.f.i mineral seeria pintslid - võtsin mõned prooviks. Esimesena saabus Powder Brush, mis on heakvaliteediline pehme, karvu mittepudistav ja kohev puudripintsel. Kui ma poleks näinud EDMi suurt puudripintslit, oleksin ma tõenäoliselt arvanud, et sellest suuremat enam olla ei saa aga näe, saab küll. Teen põhjalikuma arvustuse kui teised ka kohale jõuavad :).

e.l.f. stipple brush

Lovely. 

Well done again, e.l.f.

Compared with e.l.f. studio series' powder brush

This is the latest addition to the Studio series' brush family, stippler itself is a bit on the small side but it works just fine. It's small size is actually a good thing when working in areas near mouth and nose. What amazed me most was that it does not hold on to liquid foundation but applies it all on the skin - I was expecting the brush to be half covered in foundation but after I had finished applying it to my face, the brush looked only slightly more beige then before and the bristles felt clean to the touch. If I were a liquid foundy girl, this would be a priceless brush indeed.

Comparison with e.l.f. studio powder brush and The Conservatorie's brandless angled blush brush

Other reviews have accused it to be too flimsy but I cannot agree - unlike buffing, stippling is done with a light hand and minimum amount of product. The brush is sturdy enough for stippling. Lost a hair though, a dark one, otherwise - no shedding. Application takes a lot of time though - diameter of the brush head is still a bit on the small side (like MAC 188, which is approximately  half the size of MAC 187).

Left to right: e.l.f. Stippler, The Makeup Brush Company's blush brush, Ecotools' blush brush, e.l.f. Studio blush brush (pretty useless compared to the others, if you ask me) and the Conservatorie's brandless angled blush brush

It also does a marvelous job applying blush - you really  cannot loose when getting this brush. Just like all the other e.l.f. Studio brushes this one feels nice and soft on the skin.

I do NOT recommend this for dry mineral powder though, one might end up sitting in a cloud of dust. I will try it for wet application, I see great possibilities there.

The brush costs $3 on e.l.f.'s US homepage and all the Studio range is 50% off until 24.11.2010 if purchase more then 20 $ worth (code: HOLSTU). A complete bargain! The EU folks can just watch and turn green in envy.

 Lumene Natural Code foundation in Vanilla

TKB's Gemini as blush

TKB's Travel to Venus all over lid

Olen oma uude pintslisse lausa armunud - väga head tööd teeb. Kvaliteet nagu ikka: väga hea, karvad pehmed, vars ei loksu, kaotas pesemisel vaid paar lahtist karva. See on midagi neile, kes jumestuskreemi kasutavad ning eriti õhulist ja märkamatut meiki teha armastavad. Pintsel ise on veidi pisike (katab suhteliselt väikese ala) kuid seda paremini sobib nina ja suu ümbruses tegutsemiseks. Tervele näole meigi tegemine võtab sellega ikka kõvasti aega, powder brush'iga saaks kiiremini aga samas "joob" too ka rohkem kreemi. Arvustustes on peamise veana välja toodud lühikeste tumedate karvade vähemapoolne jäikus: kuna see mu esimene stippler, ei oska eriti kommenteerida. Kasutamisel ma seda kuigi tugevasti näkku ei surunud vaid tupsutasin neid valgeid otsi nahal õrnalt ringiratast. Minu meelest sai tulemus ikka vägagi bro. (ArtDecol on suur (laiema pindalaga) stippler parasjagu Kaupsis ca 200ga müügis , seda tahaks ka kunagi proovida...)

Kasutasin seda Lumene NC Vanilla testriga (NB! nõrk katvus), kuiva mineraalpuudriga ei hakanud testimagi - kardan, et enamus lendab minema. Põsepuna sai sellega väga mugavalt peale kantud. Mõni teine päev proovin sellega mineraalmeigi niisket pealekandmist ka. 
MACiga võrreldes pole see mustade karvadega alumine osa nii tihe ning ka pintslikarvad ise tunduvad pikemad. Suuruse poolest MACi 188'ga võrreldav.

Biggest makeup-brush I've ever held

 I had a hugeish EDM haul arriving  just the other day. You may congratulate me, the only think that was "mine" was the free foundation sample kit. But there was something new and unseen in this haul: EDM's Large Mineral brush. That MoFo is HUGE! Quality was superb as always, no hairs sticking out or falling off. The smaller brushes on the pic are EDM's Long Handled Kabuki and Dome Blush brush (sry, it's a bit dirty).

Here I've also taken out my currently biggest brush - e.l.f. Studio series' Complexion brush (black) and it pales in comparison. It would be nice to have one giant like this in the collection just for it's extraordinariness but I cannot really see a practical use for it unless it's some all-over-face product, that needs light application. Since EDM is now very expensive for us internationals after the 45% discount disappeared, I  will not be buying it for myself (it's $14).

I also had the opportunity to practice e-Customs. It's not very hard, I'll do it myself again and skip the handling fee of Eesti Post in the future. The speed of the procedure was astonishing! Once I had filled the form and paid the money, my parcel was released from customs in 15 minutes! All I had to do was to tell the curier to drop it off.

Deklari täitmine on täiesti tehtav kui abitelefonilt veidi konsultatsiooni paluda. Ülikiire paki kättesaamine. Järgmisel korral saab sama deklari järgi täita ka uue tellimuse deklaratsiooni, kui saatjamaa ja kaubagrupp sama. Eesti Post, eat my shorts!

EOTD Neutral with Conservatorie pigments

I must say I do find Pink (green) interference mica (on the browbone) quite lovely: it's sheen is understated and to me it does not look not so much pink as beige. Luster Brown (all over lid) is a nice bland neutral color, more yellowish brown then Moonstone and has very nice texture.

Foundation used was Conservatorie's Bare Foundation in Barely Beige. It's light enough to be worn during winter. Coverage seems to be medium and it lasted quite well. Since I only use jojoba oil as moisturizer and no foundation primer, half a day on my olily skin is a good accomplishment. Eyeshadow pigments did not crease on the primer.

Brushes were quite nice as well although I must say I like the blush brush the most. It's far better then EDM's dome shaped blusher - the latter one is much too dense and too round

The blush brush does not stink or shed but had some rogue hairs sticking out - those could be clipped away easily. Pics of the eyeshadow brushes turned out terribly blurry, they'll have to wait for the next photoshoot.

Everyday Minerals haul from June (been lazy recently)

Since now we cannot make big EDM hauls anymore (due to customs, VAT etc) one has to order when some other one happens to visit US. This haul contained mostly brushes and only two items were actually mine :D (time to learn some restraint). Used the opportunity to get the free EDM foundation sample set in Light too (they should rename it - foundation set "yellow" would be more appropriate).

Colors in this kit were:
Buff Light Neutral matte
Golden Light semi-matte
Golden Winged Butter o-glo and
Cool Fair Medium intensive.

I also added swatches of two lightest Lily Lolo (UK MMU brand) testers: Blondie and Warm Peach. Franky - I preferred the slightly orange looking Warm Peach on my face, Blondie seemed to yellow. I liked the texture, it seems creamy and the powder tries to gather in tiny balls, more condensed, heavier consistency, not fluffy at all. Gives a nice matte finish, offers medium coverage.

On this pic I added all my full size EDM foundations, just for comparison (small testers from left to right in the same order as listed above):

Here's an overview of brushes - tried out the new dome shaped blusher (fourth from the left) and I'm still in between, it seems too dense and I am very likely to apply colors much too heavily. Needs a very light hand. I also added the long-handled kabuki I bought two years ago to this photoshoot (second from left, pale handle), freshly washed it looks just like it's brand new sister.

From left to right: flat top kabuki, old long handled kabuki, new long handled kabuki, blush brush, eyeshadow brush, concealer brush, smudge brush, foundation brush, angled liner brush, angled blending brush, eye kabuki, domed blending brush, baby eye kabuki.

Definite must haves from this lot are the LHK, FTK, angled blending brush, eyeshadow-concealer brush and smudge brush. Small eye buki is also worth having, big eye buki is good for under the eyes. Whatever you do, do not get the dome blending brush - it's absolutely worthless. Since the big foundation brush nor the angled liner brush were for me and I did not test them- can't comment those.

See EDMi tellimus tuli Eestisse juuni lõpus koos Ameerikamaale reisinud sõbraga, tegime koos suure tellimuse ja saime 45% alla (kui on üle 12 nimetuse, annab EDM ostukorvist 45% alet, toll aga võtab pärast 20% käibemaksu). Peamiselt võtsime seekord pintsleid ning mina sain endale Olive Fair o-glo täissuuruse, suure põsepunapintsli ning EDMi Light founditestrite komplekti. Pintslid on EDMist tellides hea hinna-kvaliteedi suhtega ja soovitan soojalt. Ideaalne oleks suured pintslid ELFi Studio seeriast (odavam kui EDM) ning väiksemad silmapintslid EDMilt. EDMi pintslid tunduvad mulle ELFi omadest siiski kvaliteetsemad, nonde plussiks jällegi on hind ja mugav pikk käepide, ei upu pintslitopsi ära.

The free items were a Happyness bronzer and a Weeping Willow eyeliner - neither of them something I liked and both found better, caring homes.