a visit to the post office

I went to the Post Office today to pick up a package. Actually i'm only expecting one, but 'Kuya Rey' is such an angel he gave me the other two & we had to hide from the CO! weeehhhh!
^_^
*putting kuya rey on my christmas list*

Anyway, these are my packages...I was grinning like the cheshire cat when i went home~

What with my bag bulging like Santa's bag, who wouldn't be?!

One is from The Make-up Mix shop, then from Sarah & Vanessa.
I was waiting for like forever for these! Good thing that i already got them. Yipee!

Let's take a look at the contents...
First off, from Sarah... I won her giveaway & boy, i was in for a treat!

Look at the pink bag..it's so roomy & big..& so pink! i love pink! but most of all, i love the card that she sent me...messages always makes me happy!


These are what's inside:

• OPI Nail Lacquer in Mediterranean Moonlight
• Benefit Gilded highlighter
• Benefit B-Spot EDT mini size
• The Body Shop Black Velvet Apricot Lip Balm
• Frizz no frizz styling spray
• Clear gloss in watermelon
• Priori Eye Serum - sample
• Talika Lash Conditioning Cleanser - sample
  
• Philosophy The Present Clear Make-up - sample
  

It's my first OPI nail polish! I won't be using it yet, i'll just save it when i need a color like this. I love everything! I'm fascinated with the gloss because there's a cute pink flower-like things inside it! so cute!

Thanks so much, hun! I'm in high cotton!

Next is my Make-up Mix Shop haul. They were on sale & i just purchased a couple of things...

• ELF Eyebrow Kit in Dark
• ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
• ELF Nail Polish in Pearl Pink
• ELF Natural Radiance Blusher in Innocence
• Ecotools Retractable Brush
• LA Colors liquid liner in Black
  

ELF is beginning to be one of my favored brand. The Eyebrow Kit is sleek enough to be put on my cosmetic kit. I'll be comparing the ELF primer to UDPP since i heard that they are at par. *gasp*...do you think so? Just wait for my review,ok?

As for the retractable brush, since almost everybody who owns it says that it's good so i decided to give it a try. But i think there's nothing special about it. I guess i'll just have to thoroughly use it before saying anything,right?

Last one is the stuff that i bought from Vanessa's blog sale. She even put it on a box...

Love the cute lil' note! very girly ^_~

• Klean Color in 296 (pixie)
  
• Hard Candy (old version)
• Tarte in Samantha & Jake
• EDM lot: Beige Natural, Winged Butter, Medium Beige, Light Natural, Intensive light (c) light olive, pearl mint (c) & Neutrogena in Lightest to Natural
• Physicians Formula in Blushing Natural
• Revlon Merlot at Midnight
• Revlon Pinking of You
• Sally Hansen in Baby Doll
• She's such a darling for including Clinique Nail Enamel in Tutu Pink & Sunflowers Nail Color in Sun Gold as freebies!
  

Actually i can't remember what i bought from her at all, i was just surprised that i have a lot..hehe...goes to show how bad my memory is,huh? Too bad that the caps of the EDM lot was loose so it just spilled, but it's ok since she separated everything. ^_~

Well, i have a lot to review & swatch. i know i haven't been posting a lot lately. It's just because i am so caught up in my classes, plus the fact that it's december. Lot's of things to do before Christmas. I haven't even finish my shopping list!

I'll try to post every now & then. 3 down, 5 more to go! hope all my packages are safe & sound.. XD

Hope y'all have a great day,hunnies!
Jaa ne~!
^_~

Ecotools 6pc Brush Set Review

The last time i did a brush review it was the Ecotools foundation brush, now its gonna be the 6pc brush set. After a couple of weeks with me, i can give my opinion on this one already.

This had been a nice addition to my kikay kit. Instead of the eye makeup brushes inside the earphone holder (lol), this one had taken its place & i must say that i like it.

Let's get to it one by one:

1. Foundation brush - not included in the kit, but i just want to give an update on it.
-I was able to wash off the oily residue on the bristles & i think its almost back to its original state...though not that much.. there's still some left. Up to date, i have washed it 7 times (7 frickin times!) & its still a tad bit oily...I can use it now...though i just don't want to. I guess its really just with synthetic brushes that's like that, but if you're gonna ask me if im gonna buy it again...ill readily answer no...

I dont want to experience washing brushes over & over just to remove the oily residues..

2. Blush Brush
-I freakin' love this brush! It's soft yet firm that makes the application of blush a breeze. May it be a loose blush powder or pressed powder, it gives me an even application. I have tried a couple of cheap brushes & i always end up looking like a drag. I love the fact that it got long handle which enables me to control the pressure that im gonna use. I can just make a light sweeping motion by holding it at the edge or a circular application on the apples of my cheeks when i hold it on the ferrule. This is the ultimate brush on this set... i love it!

Maybe ill just buy the individual brush if ever i need a blush brush.
If you don't have this yet....get the blush brush!

3. Eyeshadow Brush
-I think there's nothing special about it. It applies like the rest of ordinary eyeshadow brush. Ok, i make it sound like i hate it..not exactly. In fact what's good about it is that its thin enough to hold pigments & fluffy enough to hold pressed shadows... That's confusing,huh? thin but fluffy..lol

It's just that i was used to ELF Eyehadow brush & i prefer it in applying pressed shadows. I have less fallout (since its fluffy) compare to super thin nylon brushes. Whereas for the Ecotools eyeshadow brush, i can pick it up, but there's some fallout so that's why im not in awe of this. But then again...it serves 2 purpose.

4. Angled Brush
-I like this brush too!It's thin enough to use as a liner brush & eyebrow groomer. Though i think this is better suited for just setting the liner. I have tried using it on a gel liner...but since its synthetic, i find that its too soft to be able to give me a smooth thin line plus the gel just sorta go to waste when it clumps at the mid part whenever i try to. I prefer nylon bristles in using gel liners. But since i use this to set my line & to groom my brows so i like this one a lot!

5. Concealer Brush
-I think this is also a good brush. Again, same wit the eyeshadow brush, thick enough to apply loose concealers. I have tried to apply a cream concealer using this brush & its just ok. I actually prefer my ol' artist brush in applying cream concealer better for it holds it better. If i use my artist brush it bunches together making the application easier because there is no single bristle 'flying away' from the group & im able to save a lot of product by that.

Whereas for this, when i tried to apply cream ones, it will form little clusters of bristles. I feel like i am wasting a lot of product if im gonna use this to apply cream ones..But since i only carry mineral cosmetics with me so im happy with it...

6. Lash Comb
-Nothing special about this one...in fact i dont like it. I hate the bristles...it's too rough. I can't even use it to groom my brows because i feel like its gonna scratch my skin if i do so. The lash comb is ok though...works like normal lash combs out there...


As for the brush roll, i was able to get it to roll without the edges bunching up. I just toss it on the washer & iron it when its dry. I just hate it when it bunches up at the edge when i try to roll it.

I wash the brush roll everytime i wash the brushes too. I don't want the clean brushes lying inside a dirty case. So good thing that this is washable because i can just put it on the washer.

Overall, i like the set. For the price that i paid for, no major complaints.
I also like how handy it is, its small enough to bring it with you & its already complete...from eye to cheeks! Though i think this will be even better if it have a lip brush,ne?

^_^

Ecotools foundation brush review

I'll take a break from my contest entries & get on with a review...

As what i said before, im gonna be doing a review on the brushes that i got from Ecotools. I'll just leave the 6pc brush set for the meantime & focus on the foundation brush first.

Im having mixed feelings now...I was pretty excited when my packaged arrived from Makeup Mix Shop all because of this brush. I used it first without cleaning it so that i can see for myself how it actually feels (all brand new) & i freakin' love it! It's perfect!.....well,that is..until i cleaned it... *sigh*

This is how it looks like before:
happy & full of life...

with its shape all intact & no fly-aways

it gives a little fight back which i do like a lot.

That was the day where i thought that it would stay like that...

but now....sorry if its blurry..i took it in my room

look at its sorry state....its shapeless...oily...doesn't even have life...& is LIMP & FLIMSY....


It seems oily..on which made me think if its just what i used...

First time that i used it...i used the Wet n' Wild Ultimate Cover...maybe it got oils on them or something...so i cleaned it...& dried it...it was like that already...

Then i used it on my cooling tint (which i know is actually oily) before i clean it again...This time i cleaned it twice...first with a baby bath (details here) then with a regular dishwashing liquid (ha!talking about removing oil residues!)...but its still like that!!! arrrrggghhhh!!!

If you don't have an idea how 'oily' it is...look at this 'test' that i did:

i gave it a bit of a shove (the bristles....)...let it go...then..look at that...

it would not even return to its natural shape..which means that its stuck with something somehow... *sigh*

It kinda annoys me to see it like that...actually i have another brush like that that got the same problem...

its an eyeshadow brush..a round,slanted brush

look at that....annoying,isn't it?

i can understand if the foundation brush will be like this (because i guess some foundations can have mineral oils on them or something) but not an eyeshadow brush..

i brought this at Nu-yu for i think less than Php300 (i think its less that $6)...such a disappointment!

Anyways, im not stopping there...if dishwashing soap didn't work....ill try laundry soap! lol

But one thing that i can say about it is that it disn't shed..not even one hair..not even when i used the dishwashing liquid & washed it hard...plus the ferrule would not even budge..which is an indication of a good brush...it's just the bristles...

If its still like this..then maybe ill just grab The Face Shop's foundation brush...hope it will not be like this too...Then also a brush cleaner just to be on the safe side...

One of my wishlist would be to be able to have the beauty blender...if i have that, i dont think ill need to use a foundation brush anymore.

Has this happened to any of your brushes before? What did you do? Do you think its just because of what i used?

2nd Make up Mix Shop haul - Ecotools

Its Package day for me today...its the one i ordered from Makeup Mix Shop...i highly recommend that shop..

Moving on...here it is: ...fresh from the package....

And of course, we wanna see what's inside...
Mostly Ecotools... The moment that i read Nikki's blog about it, i knew that i have to have it...so i put on my order because im afraid ill ran out of it..lol..

All in all, i got the:
-Ecotools 5 piece brush set
-Ecotools 6 piece brush set
-Ecotools foundation brush (this is what im looking forward to the most)
-Avon Shimmering Powder (i believe we dont have it here)
-plus some freebies too! Miss Toma sure is very generous!

Since the total amount of my order is above $30 so i was able to have another NYX Megashine Lip Gloss in Nude...then i used the code PRETTY NIKKI (im sure Nikki will have a kick out of this one...but im serious!!! XD), i was able to get the sample jar of Tanushree eyeshadow...then she included a sample bag of the Aishwarya blush plus i also got a coupon!...wow..isn't that such a great giveaway...?
That's why you have to shop there...!!!

Ok, on with the brushes...first one on the row is the 6pc brush set, then the foundation brush & the 5 pc set...

I like how earth-themed the package is...considering that it really is an earth-friendly product...so yay for that!

Nikki already gave an in-depth review of the 5pc brush set...click here to read it. So, ill skip that one...

As what i said, the foundation brush is what im looking forward to the most... mainly because of all the brushes that they have this is said to be really good..though i think all the brushes are good, but the foundation brush got the most positive remarks...Upon opening it, I saw a coupon inside...though i dont think i will be able to use it... It says "Save 50cents on ANY Ecotools product"...

I haven't used the brush of course, but i like how soft but firm it is.
I like brushes that are firm (but still soft) because i am able to control it unlike with super soft brushes..I think this is a very promising brush...though i dont use liquid foundations that much, but if i do, i guess that this will be perfect for the job.Look at how it forms in a perfect curve...it means that its resilient so applying foundation will be easy since you have the total control of it...I'll just have to test it first to see if my impressions stand true...

Then on with the 6pc piece brush set:
I got another coupon again....I need to test all of it first to know if its good or not... Especially on the shedding part...I'll get back to it as soon as i have tested everything out.

Although if you're going to ask my initial opinion, i think its a great set...except for the Lash & Brow Groomer...It's just that for the groomer, the brow bristles seems a little too rough to the touch..

I got one question though... Why are the brush pockets outside?I mean look at it.... Aren't cosmetic brush rolls supposed to protect the brushes inside them from dirt & whatever?...So, how the heck will this do its job?See the inside of the brush roll?...its empty...no pockets whatsoever...i can't just put the brushes inside without anything holding it because it will just eventually fall off.I can't just roll it the other way around because the crease of the roll points that it should be like how it was. If i do, then it would just form a budge & ill end up ruining the form.. *sigh*

Then on with the pigment samples...

The last time i did a swatch of it on my skin, i end up ruining the color of the red pigment...so to avoid it, i just put it on a piece of white paper...so that you'll get to see it.

Tanushree is a baby pink eyeshadow sheen that is so pretty...i think it can even be used as a blush & even on the lips...how cool is that?...i love this one...
Aishwarya is more of like a taupe-y brown blush...on which i guess its more of a bronzer...

Well, that's all there is....

Hope you'll all have a great day,lovelies!
^_^

PS:
if you notice my nails, i dont have anything on right now because i wanted my nails to take some time off from too much nail polish...
I just brought 2 artist brushes that i think i could use for nail arts...but i have to experiment first...
I'll put an update if im able to use them for my nails...
^_~