Different Brushes and How To Use Them!

This entry will talk about the different brushes that I currently own, and how I use them. Keep in mind that I am not a professional, so my wording may not be accurate! LOL. But I have included the best pics that I could take so you would at least be able to see the type of brush that I am talking about. Also, a few of my brushes are double-ended, but the pics that I’ve taken will not illustrate that. I don’t know if it matters, but if you are trying to look for the same exact brushes that I have, it might. I will try to provide the most information that I know about each brush. Also wanted to point out that I do know that the brushes are dirty. It’s about that time to wash them again! ANYWAY, I hope that some of you will find this post helpful!!!

Mini Eyeshadow Brush (MAC 213 SE) - This brush actually came with the MAC Intriguing Warm Eyes 6 Color Palette. I think it's very cute, but I don't really use it because it is so short! I guess my hands are too big for it. LOL. Maybe I will try to use it more in the future.

Small Concealer Brush (MAC 194) - I don’t really use this brush anymore, because it is too small for the way I use my concealer. I guess it would be good to use if you had to apply concealer to a small area or a place that isn’t usually covered well with a larger brush.

Kabuki brush – This brush works great with applying powder all over your face. I have seem some people use this brush to also apply blush or bronzer.

Mascara brush (Revlon Professional) – I use this brush to groom my eyelashes or remove excess mascara from my eyelashes after application. It can also be used to apply mascara to your lashes, but I never use it for that, since the mascaras that I buy come with a wand.

Smudge brush – this is the brush that I use to smudge eyeliner along my upper and lower lash lines, as well as to apply concentrated color to my crease. I will generally use this brush before using a fluffy eyeshadow brush to blend the color.

Small eyeliner brush (Mark) – This brush is marketed as an eyeliner brush, and that is mainly how I use it, particularly when I want to apply colored eyeshadow as an eyeliner. I have also used it to apply color to my crease before blending with a fluffy eyeshadow brush.

Small eyeshadow brush (Sonia Kashuk) – This is the brush that I use to apply eyeshadow or pigment on my eyelid. It’s a great brush to use because it allows you to pack color onto your lid. This is usually the first brush that I use when I start applying eyeshadow, because I generally start by applying color to my lid first.

Mini angle brush (Revlon Professional) – I use this brush to apply powder to my eyebrows. It can also be used to apply a highlight color under your eyebrows, as well as applying powder to line your lash line.

Angled eyeliner brush (essence of beauty) – I use this brush to apply eyeliner on my top and bottom lids. It works great with powder eyeshadow.

Concealer Brush (essence of beauty) - This is the brush that I use to apply my concealer. Self-explanatory, I guess. LOL. It's great for use under your eyes.

Foundation Brush (essence of beauty) - I LOVE this brush! It's one of my favorites. Before I found out about this brush I was using a sponge to apply my creamy/liquid foundations. Using this brush not only gives you a better make-up application, but it also saves you product in the long-run. The sponges that come with most foundations tend to soak up a lot of the product and cause you to run out faster. I would definitely recommend using some type of foundation brush to apply your foundations.

Large fluffy eyeshadow brush – I also will use this brush to blend eyeshadow in my crease. It is usually the last step in blending and kind of finishes the look. I also use this brush to apply glitter to my eyelid or crease.

Small fluffy eyeshadow brush – this is the brush that I use to blend eyeshadow in my crease area. I will often apply some color with the smudge brush or eyeliner brush directly to my crease and will then follow with the small fluffy eyeshadow brush in order to blend the color out. I also use this brush to blend color into the crease without using the smudge brush. It’s also great to apply color to my brow bone.

Blush brush (essence of beauty) – This is the more traditional blush brush. I use this brush for applying blush to my cheeks (in the way described below). I also use this brush to apply bronzer to brighten my face.

Contour brush (essence of beauty) – I use this brush to contour below my cheeks. I also use it to apply blush at an angle. Since I have round cheeks I do not tend to focus the blush on the apples of my cheeks, which would cause my cheeks to look bigger than they are, and make my face look rounder. So, I tend to use the contour brush to apply blush from the apples of my cheeks up my cheek bone. I hope that makes sense!









That is all for my current brush collection. I hope that you found this post to be helpful! Please post if you have any other questions regarding make-up brushes. You can see that I don't have that many brushes. I don't think that you need 100 make-up brushes to apply make-up well.

Also, I wanted to add that I am on the market for a digital camera so that I can do LIVE make-up tutorials!! The picture tutorials weren’t working for me. LOL. So, just keep on the lookout! I am so excited! When I start doing live tutorials you will be able to see exactly how I use these brushes, and it will all make even more sense!

Today's Make-Up Look

Hello, fabulous people! HAPPY FRIDAY! I decided to copy one of QueenOfBlendingMUA's Youtube looks today, and I think it turned out looking FABULOUS!!! I would definitely recommend you trying it out! Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gun-9pj8HG4 She did the look using the MAC Intriguing Scarlet 6 Warm Eyes Palette. I absolutely LOVE that palette and am so glad I bought it!!!! Check her video out and see how my look compares to hers! :o) I don't have the antique gold pigment/glitter, so I didn't do that step (which is optional). On my lips I used NYX Natural lip gloss (which I absolutely ADORE).

Also wanted to share my latest nail polish look. I also love nail polish and experimenting with my nails. I did an orange-tip french manicure with a funky twist!

Black Radiance Cosmetics Haul!!

I just wanted to share my newest make-up purchases with you guys!!! I went to Wal-Mart today in search of a new blush, and ended up buying a bronzer and lipstick as well. I had been hearing great things about the Black Radiance cosmetic brand, so I decided to check them out. I am definitely pleased with what I bought today! AND best of all, all products came to a total of about $10!!!

The lipstick was my MOST favorite purchase out of the bunch. I think the name of it is Purple Passion (will edit if this is the wrong name). It is a beautiful bright pinkish color! It is definitely something that is out of the norm, and would require a lot of guts to pull it off! I was definitely nervous about wearing it out of the house, but liked it so much that I just had to wear it. I would recommend wearing a more neutral eye with this look - somewhat like a revamped pin-up girl look. This is the look I wore today:

The pictures don't really do this lipstick justice to me. It's much more vibrant in person. I'm also VERY impressed with the quality of the lipstick. It did a good job of staying put on my lips. I have been wearing it for almost 3 hours now, and it's still very pretty!

I'm also wearing the blush and bronzer in the pics. The blush is a nice pink color. It is VERY vibrant and pigmented. I actually added too much at first and had to dust a LOT of it off. A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY. The bronzer adds nice highlights wherever you dust it on your face. You may be able to notice it in the pic, where the flash caught it.

I ended up doing some research on how else I could wear this lipstick and found this pic. The lip color is similar to the lipstick that I just bought. I may try this look someday.

SO, let me know what you think! I definitely recommend that you check out what Black Radiance Cosmetics has to offer. They also sell eyeshadows, eye pencils, false lashes, foundation, pressed powder, etc.

Make-Up Organization!!

I know I said I was going to do a blog about brushes next. But I decided to do a post about my new make-up organization, because I am so excited!!! (Sorry, Ebonie!) :o) I have finally found a way to organize my make-up that I am happy with!! I wanted to share with you all. I bought a sterilite 5-drawer plastic container at Target. It was $16.99 plus tax.

The first drawer holds all of my eyeshadows, including pigments and any palettes I may have:

The second drawer holds my facial products (i.e., foundations, blushes, powders, etc.) and my lip products (glosses and lipsticks):

The third drawer has all of my other eye products, such as mascara, eyeliners, and false lashes:

The fourth drawer currently is just holding my make-up brushes. I plan on adding to my collection soon. :o)

The last and biggest drawer holds all of my nail products, including my many nail polishes:

Hopefully my pictures will help you come up with some ideas for organizing your own make-up! I got some of my inspiration from You tube and doing a search on Yahoo. I also recycled my old make-up organization case along with my new organization idea.

I also want to point out that I don't think I have a lot of make-up. I am a firm believer that you don't need to buy a lot of products to look good. :o)

Have a good night!

Sorry I've Been M.I.A....

Hey, everyone. I am SO sorry for leaving you hanging for a while! I have been going through a lot in my personal life. :o/ I just started back with school. My internet has also been acting funny, so I haven't been able to upload many pictures. Anyway, I FINALLY learned how to upload videos on youtube! So, I added my first video! It is just a collection of some make-up looks I've done over the past few months. The pictures do repeat once the video gets to about the two minute mark, because I accidentally fit it to the song. I wanted to have them all in one place for people to see. I plan on uploading another tutorial soon! I will either continue to do them in picture format, or just upload the videos on my blog!

I also wanted to respond to my first official blog comment (from the make-up brush entry)! I am SO glad that I could help you decide on what brushes to get! :o) I would definitely recommend getting most of your brushes from Wal-Mart, or even Target. I LOVE the Sonia Kashuk brushes. I actually plan on getting some more in a few weeks. I have been eyeing the blusher brush... Don't get me wrong. MAC brushes are great, but they are a LOT of money. :o/ If I could afford it I would probably buy more MAC brushes, but the ones from Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, etc. do work just fine. You can definitely have a great makeup application with a "cheap" brush.

Anyway, thanks to those that have let me know that they are enjoying my blog. I definitely plan on being more active on here, so don't give up on me!! Hope you enjoy the video! PLEASE feel free to leave comments and pass it on!