beginner's guide to make up brushes

Every artist needs the right tools to work with. Consider your face your canvas and so far you have drawn on it with your fingers or whatever came in your powder container. It might be time for an upgrade!

Before I go into detail: This is a guide not a shopping list. You don’t need the exact brushes I am using. But there may be one or two handy tips in here for you to consider if you are thinking about buying a brush in the future.

review: brow pomades Anastasia vs. NYX

Two products of my desire and neither are available in Austria. Lucky me!

I already mentioned the Anastasia Beverly Hillf brow pomade (taupe) in my US make up haul. The NXY tame & frame tinted brow pomade (blonde) was ordered from feelunique.

Ever since I purchased the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow pomade I was scared I would run out of it although it will probably last for ages anyway. Well my troubled mind made me buy the NYX brow pomade just in case I needed a cheaper alternative. You might ask why find an alternative if I haven’t even come close to running out of my expensive one? Well a) because now I can compare the products side by side without one being old and dried out and more importantly b) I can justify my purchases by blogging about them.

US make up haul

Being a European I have to admit I slightly lost it when I first walked into Sephora. It was like heaven's doors opened and gave me access to everything I can never have. It was quite the effort to limit myself to what I really “needed” instead of buying everything I wanted. I did make a list of the absolute necessary in advance so I wouldn’t black out and spend all my traveling budget in one store.

2014 beauty favorites

I have never done a favorites post so when I started this I got a little overwhelmed by all the things I wanted to mention. 2014 was a year of trying lots and lots of new products. And today I want to share the ones I loved with you.

I will split my posts up into categories so I will be able to keep it short. This post will be all about the beauty products I loved in 2014. 

1. Labello Lip Butter – blueberry blush
I admit it, I am a chapstick kind of girl.. When I came across the Labello lip butter I was very skeptical because I hate to dip my finger into a lip product, apply it and then being left with the access product with nowhere to put it. Gross and annoying! But magically I love this product so much that I manage to deal with the "inconvenience" that comes with it.

2. Clarins, Ever Matte Foundation, 108 sand
In 2014 I disvovered Clarins. Not that I didn't know it existed, I just never cared. After trying their skincare, I took a look at their make up products and fell in love with this foundation. It is semi mattifying and matches my skintone perfectly. The only weird thing was that 108 sand was lighter than 107 light... Or maybe it is more yellow toned what suits me better.. It is light to medium coverage, looks beautyful on the skind and doesn't go anywhere during the day. I do get a little oily at the end of the day but that is due to my oily skin. I haven't found a foundation that kept me matt all day long yet.

3. MAC eye shadow – blanc type
This is the most used and loved basic color I own. I've had it for years now but in 2014 I started using blanc type not only as an eye shadow base but also as a sort of highlighter/concealer. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t set a sparkly or even shiny highlight, but it is the perfect shade for highlighting and concealing darker areas around my eyes. I put it in the inner corner, all over my lid, up to my brow bone, under my lower lash line and especially on the dark spots underneath my eyes that other people highlight with concealer. The difference is that it never ever creases. WIN!

4. Diorshow Maximizer, lash plumping Serum
I got this as a very fancy birthday gift in April and really liked it ever since. It makes my lashes thicker, seperates them perfectly and they ready for mascara. I don’t let it dry too long because than it’s very hard to apply mascara on top. Also it probably doesn’t need to be Dior. ;) But I have to say the quality of the product is amazing! It works just as it did when I got it and didn’t go dry or clumpy or anything at all.

5. Max Factor Master Piece, High Definition Mascara – rich black
After doing a post on disappointing mascaras I found one that I love. At the moment I even like it better than The Rocket from Maybelline because the brush is smaller and reaches every little lash. It also is the only mascara I repurchased this year, I believe. 

6. So Susan, universal blush
When I first got this blush in my Glossybox I didn’t like it at all. Well, I did like the beautyful rosy color but the slight sheen it gives made me very uncomfortable putting it on my cheeks. I am all about a matt finish, so I was scared that it would look weird on me, make my pores look huge and my face look oily. After not touching it for weeks, I finally did end up trying it as an eye shadow and started to like it more. Than I got over myself and tried it as a blush and I have to admit now I really really like it. It is a gorgeous color and gives me a slight and subtle glow which now I love.

This were all my favorite beauty products for 2014. What were yours? Let me know and maybe you'll lead me to my favorite beauty product of 2015.

Disappointing Mascara

I want to talk about 6 mascaras that I wish I wouldn’t have bought. I wanted to take a picture wearing the mascara to prove my point but I failed miserably. It was impossible to take even one decent picture of my eye. So I will do my best to describe what I don’t like about each mascara.

 

·  Serious Skin Care - THE Mascara € 16,04

 

Thankfully I didn’t actually spend money on this one because it is by far the worst mascara I have ever tried! I received it in my Glossybox and was very excited. Who doesn’t love to try new mascara?

What it claims to do:

“formulated to lengthen, thicken, curl and define for maximum lash fullness”

What I think:

All it did for me was lots of fiber in my eye and not a lot of fiber or mascara on my lashes. I couldn’t even begin to really play around with it because there was so much fiber in my eye that I got really irritated. I had to take the mascara off and rinse my eye because it was itching and burning like hell. That killed it for me. I never tried it ever again.

 

·  Maybelline – Illegal Length, Waterproof € 10,99

 

This mascara is not awful but we are not becoming great friends any time soon. I bought it on a youtuber’s recommendation.

What it claims to do:

“Build 4mm of measurable extensions! Fiber-fix brush has 6 different contact points with each lash for optimal fiber placement.”

What I think:

First of all “4mm of measurable extensions” is a ridiculous promise. For me it didn’t extend my lashes at all. The brush and the color payoff is ok but nothing more. It makes your lashes look thin and lightly coded with mascara. Like I said fine but not what I look for in mascara.

·  Astor – Big & Beautiful Boom! Volume Mascara € 9,49

 

What it claims to do:

“Its exclusive over-sized One Coat Brush, instantly volumizes and plumps lashes without clumps!” “One coat. Ultra thick lashes.”

What I think:

First try – nothing happens. The mascara stays on the brush and my lashes stay untouched. On my second try I wiggle the brush and press it on my lashes. The tiniest bit of mascara actually gets on my lashes. I repeat wiggling and pressing and manage to get the thinnest coat of mascara on my lashes I have ever seen. Not matter how many layers I try to put on, that was the best it got.

 

·  Look by Bipa – Special Eyes Long & Define mascara € 2,99

What it claims to do:

“Ultra long and well-defined lashes.”

What I think:

The brush has thick and hard plastic bristles with lots of space between the rows of bristles. That is probably the reason why you get an uncontrollable ton of mascara on your lashes at the first stroke. It feels and looks like your lashes are drowning. Every stroke makes it worse and glues your lashes together. I ended up with the thickest spider legs ever. Wow.

You can save your lashes by using a mascara wand you like to get all the excess mascara off and then it works fine. I sometimes use it if I want extra thick lashes AFTER I put on mascara I like and that one is dry.

 

·  Sleek – Lash Out mascara € 8,49

What it claims to do:

“Lengthening and volumizing. Spiral nylon brush captures every lash for maximum coverage. No clumping formulation”

What I think:

I bought this one when I was in London because I saw some nice reviews online. First of all the mascara wand looks like its bristles caught on fire and melted to pretty much nothing. It does separate your lashes though I don’t know how and it does give ok volume. I don’t hate it, but I used it only a couple of times and then gave up. Now a year later I is completely dried out without being used.

 

·  Essence – Get BIG Lashes, volume boost mascara € 2,65

What it claims to do:

“For maximum volume and especially thick lashes.”

What I think:

It reminded me a lot of the Astor Big & Beautiful mascara. Its packaging is huge and it has a large and puffy wand, if that makes any sense. You don’t have to work as hard as with the Astor mascara to get some color on your lashes but there is absolute no volume and no length. You get slightly coated, very natural looking lashes. Not what I want. But if anyone is just starting with mascara and wants to try something very simple and cheap, than you could go for this one.

 

I hope this was a lttle helpful if you were eyeing one of These Mascaras. Let me know your opinion on my selection and bad Mascaras in General. Help to save me from a bad buy. :)

 

Lips by Kate

This fall and winter I want to get more into wearing lipstick. I really like buying them but I have to admit I don’t have the best hand in choosing which color suits me. I do plan on wearing a lipstick often and than don't go through with it because I feel like it is inappropriate in one way or the other. I am never short of an excuse.

 

Anyway, I want to share with you the last three lipsticks I bought. I got them online because they are not sold where I live right now. I don’t know if they ever were.

 

 

I think the rose one suits me the least. Or maybe I just haven’t found a way to make it work yet. It looks nice on the picture but on my lips it looks a little dull because it has a semi-matte finish. The swatch looks a lot shinier than it is on my lips. Maybe I can make it work with a little gloss on top. The thing is though that I don’t like extra glossy lips..

 

The second color is really fall-y to me. It is also a rose color with a Brown undertone if that makes any sense. You can definetly wear it during the day with out being to bold and out there. As a matter of fact, I already did. *yay*

 

The red lipstick is my favorite. It is on the darker side but not too dark. Definetly not an everyday color. But if you feel like wearing statement lips, this is the one. Unfortunately I haven't found the right day/occation to wear it yet.