My 'Must Have' make-up brushes! and HAPPY Valentines day!x!

Please Note: Unfortunately this post was one of the blogs (pre.28th of July 2014) that suffered a 'Blogger' crash.. which saw all images vanishing! I have tried to replace the images from the crash as best as I can. However images of me with products etc.. may be lost as a result and therefore the images you see may not match the text(which is original and was not effected by the crash). My blog has therefore had to start fresh and all blogs starting from July 29th 2014 are correct with the appropriate, original and correct images but unfortunately the same can not be said for images lost in posts before this date. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. Shahira xo

Hey Blog Readers! 

Valentines day is not important to me - at the end of the day it is a manufactured, commercial, holiday designed to make people spend money and to boost sales on all the things that we associate with the day itself such as cards, flowers, chocolates etc! -I get that! and of course, as a secret romantic, it is lovely to experience Vday in all it's glory but I do believe that there shouldn't be too much pressure around the occasion-if you have the means to do something great-then fab but if not something simple can be just as romantic <3 

Whether you're in the mood for love this weekend or happily single - the goal is to be HAPPY and show love -that doesn't have to be to a boyfriend/girlfriend/love interest ;) It can simply be being kind to someone and showing them that you care-even if this is just a family member or a friend. Life is too short to be anything but Happy, as they say, but it's so easy to get caught-up in the craziness of day-to-day stresses and life itself! sometimes we need something to make us stop and really just appreciate life, the people who are important to us, and reflect that it is indeed the simple things that are the most important!x! For me holidays are often a time for this reflection and with Vday being a holiday based on Love -why not embrace that idea :) 

So what ever you're doing this Valentines day weekend I wish you happiness and hope that you are in love... with life! that is ;) 

Moving on from Valentines and on to my 'Must have' make-up brushes!

I love make-up but I am not obsessed with expense when it comes to it: I definitely don't think because a product is more expensive it is therefore going to be better and I certainly think this stands when it comes to make-up brushes. I have used a whole range of brushes from high-end to low-end brands and while, don't get me wrong, there are some high end brands that live up to their expectations, it is not always the case! and sometimes you can get just as good, if not better, brushes at a fraction of the price! 

Before I start: firstly let me say-I do love Real Techniques, which is a brush range by YouTube guru Samantha Chapman(pixywoo), but I don't intend for this to be a real techniques advertisement. I don't love all of their brushes (for e.g. I'm not a fan of their flat foundation brush or eyeliner brush) but I will tell you which ones I do like! In general the real techniques range is really great-especially for the price tag! They offer high-end quality at affordable pricing! You can pick up a set of brushes together for aprox €30 in boots or buy them sperate for around €15! All of the brushes have really soft, synthetic taklon bristles. The ferrule of the brush is a colored aluminum and is longer than most other brushes. The larger brushes, that you can buy singularly, can stand on their own, which is a unique feature and makes for ease of storage on your vanity

My favourite foundation brush! 

For me this is the most important brush of a make-up lovers kit! I have tried it all- flat brush, kabuki brush, stippling brush, sponge, beauty blender etc... My my favourite at the moment is the 

REAL TECHNIQUES EXPERT FACE BRUSH! 

 

I can see why they call this brush an 'expert' in the title because it is seriously SHA-MAZE! I use this brush with liquid foundation and it feels so soft and fab on the skin! The bristles are tightly-packed together giving a buildable coverage and flawless finish-it's almost "airbrush-like" in it's application! It's slightly rounded at the top and tapered at the sides which makes for a smooth even application to all areas of the face. I am addicted!
It can also be used with creams and powders and works great as a buffing brush!

Next Concealer! 
Here I use two products!
1) The deluxe crease brush! (by real techniques)

This is actually an eyeshadow brush (it comes in the starter kit)and is intended for the crease of your eye but in my opinion it is too large for a crease brush an I much prefer it to buff in concealer- I think it's the perfect concealer brush! it's almost like a teeny-tiny expert face brush of sorts! lol 

The only problem with this brush is that I don't believe you can buy it on it's own -which may prove a problem if you want to re-purchase it without re-purchasing the whole kit! 

2) Again real techniques (cough) the beauty blender! 

A lot of people use this for their entire foundation routine and I have tried it.. but for some reason I prefer a brush over a sponge (even a beauty blender) so instead I use the B.Blender to seal concealer and blend contouring. It is a great blender as it has a curved side, angles, a flat side and a small point which can get into all the nucks and crannys such as around the eye  and nose area. You wet this sponge before use and it finishes your foundation/concealer look off perfectly and makes your skin look airy and fresh!

Contouring
Again two favs here - the angled contour brush from the Core collection of real techniques! It is egg-shaped and super tapered! It's a go-to brush for me!

If I have more time I will use a flat edged brush for sharp contouring! I love Hoola bronzer by benefit and the brush that comes with it is a favourite of mine for sharp precise contouring! 

Powder Brush

I tend to go for powder puff rather than a brush here but if I can't find my powder puff I will use the Buffing Brush (again r.techniques). This isn't much larger than the expert face brush, but the bristles are slightly longer and not as tightly packed which makes it a bit more flexible. It is also flat rather than tapered. I'm not a huge fan of this brush for foundation as I prefer when the bristles are more tightly packed for foundation but it is good for powder of for buffing in contour lines. 

I use any cheap small angled blusher brush - It doesn't matter to me what brand and I have no particular favourite!

In terms of eye shadow brushes I always go for cheap here and I don't think you need a lot (as long as you clean them).
All you need for any eye-look is...
A flat brush with a thin tip; such as the brush that comes with the naked1 palette by urban decay

A fluffy brush

Blender/crease brush

Eyeliner brush and thin angled brush (eyebrows)

And that's it! If you have those in your kit you are sorted! :) 

Any more make up questions?? post them below or email me info@shahirabarry.com :) 

Lots of Love, 

Shahira Xo

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