The affordable makeup products Tag

Tags

affordable makeup, Bioderma, Bourjois, l'oreal, Maybelline, NYX, Revlon, Rimmel, tag

I was kindly invited to do this tag by the lovely Alessia waaaay too long ago. So I thought it would be nice to actually sit at my desk and write this post already!!!

I admit it! This article is a challenge for me to write because I am a makeup snob and I buy high end – and above – makeup products and there are only a few cheap makeup items in my collection that I barely use! Keep in mind that the cheap makeup brands were the ones I started with, feels like ages ago!, so I will only talk about products I used at a certain point in my life or that I currently have in my collection. So for all the products I will mention which I do not own anymore, I will insert pictures. 

Do not expect great things though!

This being said let’s start with the first question…

1. What is your favourite drugstore/cheap makeup brand overall?

– some of my favourite brushes

Definitely not the kind of answer you would expect but Real Thechniques. They have great brushes that cover all your needs and they are gloriously ( if that is even a word! ) affordable.

2. What are your favourite face, cheek and lips products?

Face the Real Technique brushes.

Cheek favourite: the NYX Taupe Blush. Amazing for contouring, which I am mostly useing it for but also for a touch of colour on the cheeks, especially on the colder months.

And lips the NYX Butter Glosses which in my opinion are a cheaper, decent alternative to the new mind blowing Dior Fluid Sticks 9 previously reviewed here ). Plus the Soft Mattes which are also amazing!

3. Least favourite product?

Bourjois eyeshadows. Great colours in the pan, not pigmented at all unfortunatelly, chalky – I tried them on once and I felt as if I had sand in my eyes, and the fall out is insane!

– Bourjois the pink one is called #05 and the purple one is #13. Great names, Bourjois!?!?!!! LOL And check out that fall out?!?!?!!??!!!!!

4. What is the best makeup bargain?

Those buy one get one free or buy one and another one half price Boots always comes up with. For the short time I lived in London, those used to rock my world all the time. I was particularly interested in mascaras: L’Oreal, Rimmel…

5. What is your favourite underdog product? ( Something you love but often gets overlooked )

It is actually an eyeshadow from an Avon eye palette which does wonders for my brows. So easy to use and colourwise it is a perfect match. I forgot about that one when I bought the brow kit from Guerlain, which btw it is absolutely fabulous! Now I finally got myself some Anastasia Beverly Hills brow stuff which I am beyond excited to try.

Would you like a post about how I groom my brows? Please tell me in the Comments section below!

6. A drugstore product that is overpriced!

I have no idea what to answer to this question since I have not tried that many lately! The one that popped into my head was Bioderma Sensibio Micellaire Water. But then again, it is not the cheapest… So, is that drugstore, high street or high end? Tell me what you think about both Bioderma and the product you think is overpriced in the comments below… I really need to be educated! LOL

7. Show your best drugstore dupes!

They would definitely have to be the L’Oreal Infaillibles eyeshadows, the ones that are always considered dupes for the Chanel Illusion d’Ombres or the Dior Backstage eyeshadows, or even for the amazing Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadows. They are not as good as the high end ones but pretty comparable. Great colours, great colour range, not that much fall out and easy to apply. My favourite has to be Bronzed Taupe ( which I did own at some point ); great dupe for Chanel’s Illusion d’Ombre in Mirage.

 – photo credits makeupbyjoyce88.blogspot.com

8. A drugstore product that is not worth the hype?

Definitely the Maybelline Baby Lips something, something… I really do not get all the fuss around this product! A chapstick with a bit of tint, not hydrating, not moisturizing at all, not good as a treatment sits on the lips without doing anything… Big fail for me!

I hope you enjoyed this post! My apologies to Alessia for doing it this late! Feel free to join the fun, beautiful, and do this tag yourself!

See you soon!

xx, Annie

 

Loving Nudes #1- Givenchy Le Rouge #102 Beige Plume and #103 Brun Createur

Tags

#102 Beige Plume, #103 Brun Createur, #loving nudes, Givenchy, Givenchy Le Rouge, nude lipstick, review, swatches

I absolutely ADORE my nudes! That is why I decided to write a mini series dedicated to all my favourites ( NOT all the nudes in my collection do not worry!), structured by my favourite brands.

This post is dedicated to my amazing Givenchy Le Rouge‘s. I always bust them out during this period as they are the “darkest” nudes in my collection, and so close to the beautiful Autum colours.

There is no simple way to describe how gorgeous Givenchy Le Rouge lipsticks are! They are amazing starting with their leather case packaging, followed by how creamy and moisturizing their formula is and how long-lasting they are!

I fell in love with this lipstick! It is not drying, so opaque and you will get intensly pigmented colours on your lips with only one swipe! It also delivers a semimatte finish, all in one stroke. I never thought that I would ever say something like this about a makeup item, but Givenchy Le Rouge is my most sensual looking/feeling lipstick, and it is the only lipstick I own ( and know ) that comes in a genuine leather packaging.

Is the real leather unnecessary? Absolutely! But as the lipstick obsesed/hoarder/lover that I am, the effort Givenchy put into creating this lipstick is much appreciated! And, luckily, the formulation is one of the best I have ever tried!

I think that even if the formulation was not great, it would still had been a beautiful “collector item”, as it looks amazing on any vanity!

My first Givenchy Le Rouge nude I bought was #102 Beige Plume, a light-medium beige; more of a peachy-beige lipstick with warm coraly undertones which delivers a natural finish on my lips. It is so pigmented and the colour gives opaque coverage. There are no shimmers in this lipstick which makes it more wearable, in my opinion! The fact that it is so creamy makes it so easy to apply as the lipstick literally glides on your lips. An amazing experience, let me tell you!

My second choice was #103 Brun Createur. Brun Createur reminds me a lot of Burberry Lip Mist in #04 Rosewood, only that “mon” Givenchy Le Rouge is more matte. On my lips it shows up as a warm-tonned dusty rose, with the same luminous matte finish as Beige Plume.

It also applies flawlessly – opaque and with full on colour coverage, making the lips look smooth, full and plumped. 

  – swatch above #102 Beige Plume, swatch below #103 Brun Createur

Both lipsticks are creamy, moisturizing and last on my lips for over four hours. They do not cling or accentuate any dry patches, on the contrary! They moisturize my lips helping them recover faster. They fade evenly and also did not transfered on my teeth or gathered in my lip crevases. There is no need to previously line your lips as these lipsticks do not “bleed”! I could not recommend them enough!

I literally cannot wait to share my other nudes with you! Next post of the mini series will be up next month!

Have a warm and sunny Autumn, Beautiful!

See you soon!

xx, Annie

 

 

 

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My long-awaited DIOR Diorskin STAR Foundation review

Tags

010 Ivory, dior, Diorskin Star Foundation, review, swatches

This past couple of months were under the sign of amazing foundations launches: the new Chanel Vitalumière Loose Powder Foundation, the new YSL Fusion Ink Foundation, a new one from Estée Lauder… It’s been so much talking around this recently launched Dior Diorskin Star Studio Makeup Spectacular Brightening Weightless Perfection Foundation, used for the first time during the fashion shows in Spring and highly coveted on this Autum’s couture shows!

The post I wrote in May about Peter Philips announcing Star’s launch and vaguely presenting the product and its benefits ( link here ) is the most viewed post on my blog, so far!

The Diorskin Star is basically their new lightweight foundation meant to mimic on your skin the flawless base models on the runway have on during the fashion shows. The selling point behind this is that even if it is light, it still provides a full medium coverage leaving the skin bright, thanks to the the Light Pulsion Complex a new and Dior patented technology which contains Hollow Silica Beads, a new generation of silica beads that capture and diffuse light and recreates the luminous glow achieved with perfect lighting. Plus the Corrective Color Filters selectively capture and reflect the light while the Light Equalizers fight dullness and color deviations. To all that amazing technology add the skin care benefits, like for instance Licorice Extract which helps correct dark spots and hyper pigmentation, Immortelle Extract to help smoothing imperfections and reduce shadow zones and Paquerette Extract to reduce pigment spots.

I have waited to review this foundation a good couple of weeks, just to thoroughly test it and to be able to give an accurate opinion on it. I used it on its own, over a primer, applied with my fingers, with a sponge/beauty blender ( other than the black one Dior launched with the foundation ), with my foundation brushes…

The result was amazing every time! Even if it is lightweight ( it is not as runny as the Chanel Perfection Lumière foundation ), it is a good medium coverage foundation that “melts” into your skin in a matter of seconds. Easily buildable, it leaves your skin glowing not greasy, covers imperfections and the finish is natural. Just like a second skin, but 100 times better! It also claims that it is long lasting and I have to admit that it definitely is! It lasted on me a whole 8 hours work day and by the end of it, the only downside was a bit of oiliness in my T-zone, as per usual. It also has an amazing SPF of 30 – PA ++ which makes it the foundation that delivers the highest protection in my collection.

The packaging is elegant and functional: the pump distributes the exact amount of product I need to cover my entire face! One pump is usually enough for me, but for more coverage I use another one. My favourite way to apply it is with a damp beauty blender.

– please excuse my bare face in the left picture and take a moment to observe the magic of this foundation on the right picture.

You can easily see the imperfections on my face ( redness, pores, dark circles ) in the left picture. In the photo on the right my complexion looks bright, healthy and my imperfections are hidden.

Side note: I am not using concealer, powder or highlighter, just added some brows, a layer of mascara and Dior Lip Maximizer!

Another amazing thing is that it is available in a wide range of shades, 14 to be precise, from the palest skins to chocolate-hued complexions. My shade is #010 Ivory.

I had high expectations from this foundation and I was not disappointed at all! I love it more than any of the new foundations recently launched that I had the chance to try. It is definitely better than the Chanel Vitalumière Loose Powder Foundation and the YSL one which tend to cling to any dry patches on my skin accentuating them, if I don’t moisturize my skin enough. The Diorskin Star does not do that, so I guess the skin care ingredients in it are actually working!

What do you think about this one, beautiful? Have you tried it yet? Do you like it?

See you soon!

xx, Annie

 

 

 

 

INTERESTING FACTS:

– the shades that end in 0 are the neutral ones ( my foundation is 010 Ivory, a tad too fair for me now since I caught a bit of tan, but with a bit of bronzer is amazing and it will be great for winter ), the ones that end in 1 are for skins with yellow undertones and those that end in 2 are for skins with pink undertones. So keep that in mind when you pick yours!

 – here you have a more self explanatory picture, the author of which is unfortunately unknown to me!

 

BURBERRY Light Glow in #02 Cameo and #06 Tangerine, two beautiful blushes for autumn

Tags

#02 Cameo, #06 Tangerine, Burberry, Burberry Light Glow Blush, review, swatches

Yesterday I posted this picture on my Instagram account with the caption: ” You stack your jewellery, I stack my… Burberry 😀 😛 ” and many of you seemed to like it = me happy! Haha!

I have always loved Burberry ( can you tell?! ) but everything went down the hill this Monday, when during London Fashion Week Burberry presented the latest Prorsum Womenswear S/S 2015 Collection, called The Birds and the Bees. I am so obsessed with this collection and the makeup Wendy Rowe created that I will write a post dedicated to this event soon!

That aside, since it is Autumn already, I thought it would be the right time to give you two Burberry blush ideas to wear this season.

The Burberry Light Glow Blush is a lightweight blush which is meant to give your skin a healthy fresh glow without making it look shiny or glittery. It manages to do this thanks to the silicone particles in its formula which provide an effortless and even application, plus the wild rose extract and its moisturizing benefits. The result is a complexion that glows with natural looking radiance.

Here I have the #02 Cameo and #06 Tangerine.

I can describe #02 Cameo as a medium dusty-rose colour with very subtle plummy undertones which were soooo difficult to to catch on camera; hopefully you can sense them too! Looking at it in direct sunlight you can detect small particles of shimmer which will not translate when applied on the cheeks whatsoever. On the cheeks it appears matte but somehow manages to give a discreet satin finish that lends a luminous sheen to your skin.

The same finish you can detect on #06 Tangerine. As the name suggests, Tangerine is more of an orange coloured blush but that is not the only colour that comes in my mind when I am looking at it. It is close to tangerine in colour but it is muted down by the soft pink undertones which make it so wearable for both cooler or warmer skin tones.

Next you have the two blushes swatched on my arm and on my cheeks. Please notice the pigmentation and the amazing colours. A swipe is enough for a natural look but is so easily buildable to a more daring look.

 – Burberry Light Glow #02 Cameo ( left ) and #06 Tangerine ( right )

 – Burberry Light Glow #02 Cameo

 – Burberry Light Glow #06 Tangerine

The texture of these blushes is buttery soft which allows such an easy blending – no need to worry you will be left with a harsh line on your face because they “strech” and blend in with a seamless result. And it is impossible to overdo your blush with them!

The packaging is gorgeous! So eye-catching, sleek and elegant, that well-known and appreciated sober British elegance…

As you can see in the pictures above, the Burberry checked signature print is on the packaging and on the powder as well.

As for the signature powdery-rose Burberry makeup scent, which many are bothered by, I personally like it! It wears off in a matter of minutes where the blush lasts on your skin for over 7 hours.

Have you tried these blushes yet?

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

 

 

BREAKING NEWS! The HOURGLASS AMBIENT LIGHTING BLUSH PALETTE available for purchase in TWO days!

Tags

9/19, breaking news, Hourglass, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette, Hourglass release, Incandescent Electra, news, September

My dearest Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder and blushes lovers! BIG new for us!

FINALLY! The Limited Edition Ambient Lighting Blush Palette I previously announced in this post along with a small review, WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE as an early access for Sephora VIB Rouge members ONLY starting 9/19, while stock last! So remember to stalk your Sephora website.

It will also be available for purchase on Hourglass’ website, starting 1/10.

Here you have the official announcement, as seen on Hourglass’ Facebook page:

Your favorite Ambient Lighting Blush shades are now packaged together in a sleek compact as a limited edition palette for Holiday 2014. Early access is available on 9/19 on Sephora.com for VIB Rouge members, while stocks last, and will be available on hourglasscosmetics.com on 10/1.

Shop early access: http://bit.ly/1BKjbQq

The link above will redirect you to the Sephora website where you can order it before anyone else… if you are a Sephora VIB Rouge that is!

Happy shopping, beautiful!

See you soon!

xx, Annie

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: all the photographic material is property of Hourglass Cosmetics!

L’OCCITANE – 2014 Bag Essentials

Tags

face mist, Frisson de Verveine, hand cream, hand sanitizer, L'Occitane, perfume, refreshing, review, Verveine

The things a woman carry in her bag!?…

It is a mystery even for herself how the smallest bag can carry so many things… And let us clarify one thing: everything in there is necessary ( yeah, sure!!!). No wonder a woman can not find a thing in her bag when she needs it the most!!!

And being the woman that I am, my bag is a mess too – to use an elegant term!

So the seasons changed – we are half way through September, already?! I felt like I needed a change. So, since the classic haircut was not enough this year, I felt it would be the right time to change my bag!

While going through the stuff in my “summer bag”, I came up with the idea of this post. Why not to let you guys know which were my absolute essentials for the hot, summer days… Between me and you, it seems like summer was not enough this year!

At a closer look, the products I found inside my bag are most of them from the L’Occitane Verveine Collection. Étrange coïncidence!

I absolutely love the Verveine range from L’Occitane. So refreshing! And the scent is so zesty, and citrusy even though the verveine is not part of the citrus family. And before I forget, this scent complimented so well my favourite summer perfume – the Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien. If you do not know what I am talking about, here is the link to the review of this amazing, gorgeous, unique perfume! 

In the picture above you can see the actual products that “lived” in my bag this summer.

From left to right I had:

– a mini roll-on perfume to apply whenever I needed to freshen up a little… and did not managed to “locate” my Travalo with my Annick Goutal fragrance – two perfumes = double the chance to find my refreshing scent in that hot mess

– a hand sanitizer – not much to say about it. A hand sanitizer is… a hand sanitizer!

– a lightweight hand cream – this one is simply amazing! No greasy residue, no tacky hands, no weird after scent, no feeling like I-need-to-wash-my-hands after the application, it absorbs in a matter of seconds. It instantly became my go-to/ holy grail hand cream for summer

– a face mist – not going to talk much about this one since I have a full post dedicated to it and the other face mists I used this summer, read it here. And believe me, from all the face mists you will see in that post, I have so little left in that L’Occitane can and in my Caudalie Beauty Elixir spray bottle

– and the last item, missing from the picture though, was a pack of wet wipes from the same Verveine Collection. Those were the first to go, but I always make sure I have a new pack with me when the weather is hot.

I also carried with me a travel size of the L’Occitane Frisson de Verveine Shower Gel instead of a hand soap, and from the same line the Refreshing Gel for tired feet. Ladies, you are wearing heels too! You know what tired feet mean, right?!

Which were your bag essentials this summer, beautiful? Please share!

See you soon!

xx, Annie

 

 

Daniel Wellington Watches – So that you can never loose track of time!

Tags

anniesbeauty 15% discount code, blue white pink Nato strap, Classic Southampton Lady model, Daniel Wellington, review

Classic! Timeless! Vintage!

Daniel Wellington loves classic… and timeless… and vintage! The eggshell-white clock face and those minimalist bars, its feminine pink-gold or elegant and sober silver dial, the straps that come in a variety of models from the extremely classy and sophisticate leather to more colorful and playful ones ( the NATO straps ), with a logo embossed buckle… This is the accurate description of a vintage watch, but modern at the same time! The modern accent, is given by the particularity of its dial size: 36/40 mm in diameter! Another modern feature, and a more practical one, is its great finesse in height. This watch has a thickness of only 6 mm, a real innovation for a watch with a case this wide!  

Inspired by Daniel Wellington, the British gentleman with an incredible sense of fashion, when he put the bases of his first collection, the founder Filip Tysander wanted to come out on the market with a product that reflects symmetry and that has a thinner casing, that it could bring the watch closer to the wrist! A thin, refined and perfectly round watch, on the same Nato strap his inspiring friend loved to wear his watches on. Minimalistic, without many details he gave his watches the same ability of being gentlemanly but still relaxed and unpretentious! 

My choice: the 40 mm Classic Southampton Lady watch in rose-gold, with blue, pink and white Nato strap, eggshell-white face and Quartz Japan Citizen 1L22 movement is the right piece for me! My style is casual-elegant and this piece is classic, yet modern but definitely an elegant touch to all my outfits! I can wear it at the office, for a meeting or while wearing jeans on a dinner with friends.

Remember that only until the 30th of September you can buy your own Daniel Wellington watch using the 15% discount code anniesbeauty, at check out!

Have a lovely weekend, beautiful! See you soon!

xx, Annie

 

 

 

INTERESTING FACT:

– Sean Connery, another big fan of the Nato strap, wore one in the James Bond movie “Goldfinger”.

 

Charlotte Tilbury’s The Sophisticate – Sophisticate enough to wear it every day…

Tags

Charlotte Tilbury, makeup, review, swatches, The Sophisticate

The Charlotte Tilbury Beauty line is not new to me. When it first launched at Selfridges in London, I had a friend kind enough to pick up this palette for me… along with a few more items.

Charlotte Tilbury is the makeup artist of oh, so many! celebrities and the one behind the glamorous red lip and black liner iconic Kate Moss look. She is the feline flick – cat eye – ’70s Brigitte Bardot inspired sultry makeup look queen. She is a beautiful woman with an amazing personality! And her calling everyone “darling” with that gorgeous British accent… Ah! Just makes me love her even more!

Her makeup and skincare range of products is getting wider and wider, and with her #MakeupRevolution finally crossing the ocean on the 2nd of September ( you, lucky beautiful ones! ), I thought that it would have been just about the right time to review one of my favourite makeup items I got this year.

This is Charlotte Tilbury‘s The Sophisticate Luxury Palette Colour-Coded Eye Shadows!

It comes with four neutral matte shades centered around earthy tones of chocolate, taupe and tan, with a cream-in-powder texture that is enriched with natural oils and silicon-treated pearls. Each colour blends effortless and seamlessly, giving away the most amazing pigmentation and a true-to-colour application on the eye lid, which will make you look naturally polished and effortlessly chic, and glamorous at the same time.

The harmonious mix of colours offer a complete “desk to disco eye colour wardrobe” which makes it so easy to use. You can go for a day time, soft neutral look, very much work appropriate which I did when I was in Milan, but you can also put a bit more effort into it and create a gorgeous eye makeup for a night out drinking an “apperitivo”!

Inside the palette you will find a very nice light cream, a flesh-tone option to use as an all-over the lid base ( I love this one, I wish it had been a bit more pigmented though! ), a soft neutral tan brown which makes a good transitional colour as well as an all-over the lid base, a darker chocolate brown with slight red undertones, and the last one is a smokey-grey, with brown undertones – a beautiful taupe colour great for a smokey eye.

The packaging gives away a retro vibe ( I totally adore that, especially on her lipsticks! ) and I absolutely love the reddish-brown and the rose-gold details together. Sleek and dainty, it closes with that satisfactory high end makeup clasp! You know what I am saying, right?!

The philosophy behind the Charlotte Tilbury brand can be easily resumed to this simple declaration: “It is my artistry made effortless!” And yes, you are sophisticate enough to wear Charlotte Tilbury’s makeup effortlessly, just the way she stated even if you are not a makeup artist!

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

Diptyque Infused Facial Water for the Face – a very late review

Tags

cleanser, Diptyque, Infused Facial Water, Nasturitium insfusion, review, Rosa Damascena Hydrosol, skincare, toner

It has been quite a while since I posted something skincare-related!

But my skin care routine is different during the hotter months of the year. I use less harsh, more lightweight products!  Plus I had some amazing skincare to try ( *hint hint: Omorovicza* ), then kind of forgot about this one. But now with the seasons changing and this transitional weather, my skin gives me signs it needs a change too! So it is time to take out the big guns!

This is the Diptyque Infused Facial Water for the Face! It is part of the L’Art du Soin skincare system Diptyque came out with this early Spring. I bought the Infused Water when I bought the Diptyque Nourishing Cleansing Balm for the Face and the Diptyque Radiance Boosting Powder for the Face, both previously reviewed ( click the links ).

The Diptyque Facial Water is just my kind of face water! Since I gave up on using tap water to wash my face, morning and evening, I have noticed a big improvement in the texture and appearance of my skin. What I do is to soak a cotton pad with this water and apply it on my face using gentle, circular motions. It takes off all the dead cells, grease or impurities. I also have noticed that my pores are less visible too!

This product counts double in the economy of my skincare routine: as a cleanser and as a toner.

The Diptique Infused Facial Water is, in fact, an infused water to use on your face. Its particularity is that it is enriched  with Rosa Damascena hydrosol* and infused with Nasturitium, plus a blend of nine traditional plants and flower extracts. It acts like a treatment to bring back radiance to your complexion, it revitalizes and energizes the skin, getting it ready for the next step in your skincare routine.

What about you? Do you have problems with your skin in this transitional weather? If so, what are your recommendations in terms of products?

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

INTERSTING FACTS:

*hydrosol = aqueous products of distillation

*Rosa Damascena hydrosol = rose water, the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. It is used to flavour food, as a component in some cosmetic and medical preparations, and for religious purposes throughout Europe and Asia. Rose syrup is made from rose water, with sugar added.

 

TOM FORD – My most luxurious makeup brushes

Tags

brushes, review, Tom Ford, Tom Ford 02 Cream Foundation Brush, Tom Ford 03 Shadow/Concealer Brush, Tom Ford 05 Bronzer Brush, Tom Ford 14 Smokey Eye Brush, Tom Ford 15 Eyeliner and Definer Brush

A good brush will last you a very long time and it is worth the money you pay for it! This is the little philosophy of a brush addict! But when it comes to amazing brushes, Tom Ford is the best and if anyone should invest in premium brushes, I would definitely recommend the Tom Ford Brushes.

So, I buy brushes A LOT! But to actually come to love them, they have to correspond to some criteria:

– good quality: how well they are made

– performance: how they apply the makeup

– cleaning: how well they clean and how they look after that

– how well they wear: if they shed, or if the bristles stain with product that will not come off, while washing, or if they change their shape…

My little Tom Ford “samurai army” of brushes managed to check all those points and have a special place in my collector heart! So here they are!

My first two Tom Ford brushes, I bought a few years ago, in Milan. I was lured by the beautiful mahogany, gold and white details without knowing that they will give me a flawless makeup.

The first one I bought was the #02 Cream Foundation Brush. It is a natural hair brush designed to flawlessly blend cream and liquid textured bases by picking up the right amount of product and placing it where needed. It is soft, but firm at the same time, that is why it does such a great job at buffing in the foundation. What I discovered is that it works wonders with cream foundations ( I also red somewhere that it was designed to be used specifically with the Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick ), but with liquid foundations tends to soak more product than my other foundation brushes or my Beauty Blender.

How I use it: I put a bit of product on the back of my hand, take it on the brush, and working in small, circular motions I buff it in, starting from the center of my face, where – in fact – I need most coverage.

This next brush I bought on a whim, in that same trip. It is the #03 Eyeshadow and Concealer Brush. Ment to apply concealer and eye colour based products on the mobile lid, it is made with synthetic hair which makes the application flawless and easy. It is also amazing to apply very glittery eyeshadows.

This is my absolute favourite Tom Ford brush and, I dare to say, that it is my favourite brush I own. And that is a huge statement coming from me! It is the #05 Bronzer Brush. Designed to pick up the optimal amount of product to achieve  a gorgeous healthy, radiant, bronzed godess look. It is a dense brush, with luxuriously soft bristles, but still somewhat firm for a more precise application. It is amazing for buffing that bronzer onto your face base, for that flawless look.

All the Tom Ford brushes were specially designed to be used with their correspondent makeup products. And if you take a look at this brush and the bronzer it is ment to be used with, you will see that this makes sense. That bronzer is huge and it is only logic that the brush for it had to be also huge. But I am not complaining, because with my pea-sized head, it literally takes seconds to apply my bronzer.

I only have two eye brushes and that is because nothing can beat my Hakuhodo eye brushes army when it comes to applying eyeshadows! These were more recent buys and I am also very pleased with them!

The #14 Smokey Eye Brush designed to achieve a gorgeous, dramatic smokey eye without putting too much effort into it, this is a must in your collection. It is soft, precise and I also use it to smuge the harsh line of my makeup, for a more soft and natural look.

My last Tom Ford Brush is the #15 Eyeliner and Definer Brush. The natural hair, the precisely cut bristles are great for lining with both gel and powder liner. Also great for smudging, but I also use it to apply my favourite higlight shade in the key points of my eye: brow bone, inner tear duct.

My Tom Ford brushes did not shed! Not even once! I wash them every week with my The Body Shop Camolile Oil cleanser and the Dr. Bronner shampoo. They tend to change their shape a bit but I put them in their plastic guards ( yes, I still have those white, plastic-y thingies! Yay Me! ), after a while they dry completely and they get back to their initial shape. The embossed Tom Ford writing on them did not wore off, they are not scratched, the gold details are still shiny… They are handmade in Japan, with amazing care for details and quality,  supposedly by the same factory that does other amazing brushes for Hakuhodo ( see a review on some of the Hakuhodo brushes I own here ), Chikuhodo…

Yes! A good brush WILL last you a very long time! Tom Ford brushes are well know for how expensive they are, though! Can you justify such a purchase? Anytime, anywhere! Can you get similar brushes for less? Absolutely. But you will definitely justify their prices when you will start using them and notice how addicted you are to them!

They look expensive, they perform like an expensive product, they confirm all the claims about them… They are the epitome of luxury in terms of blushes!

Have you tried them, beautiful?

See you soon!

xx, Annie