ECOTOOLS BAMBOO BRUSH SET

Yes, I know I just posted pictures of a new brush set I picked up. Yes, I picked up more brushes. Yes, I have have a problem....*lol*...let's get on with it!

These are the Ecotools Bamboo 6 piece brush set. It's made from cruelty free hair, natural & recycled materials, and comes with a reusable storage pouch! I haven't actually used this yet, but I was excited to show you pictures! These are SO soft! I can't imagine not liking them!

This is the blush brush. INCREDIBLY soft! This will be perfect to apply a nice soft wash of color to the cheeks!

This is the eye shading brush. This is a really nice, stiff brush to really pack color on the lids.

This is the concealer brush. Again, this is a nice, stiff brush with just a little bit of give to it.

This is the eye liner brush. You can also use this to fill in the eyebrows as well.

This is for your lashes and brows. I hate when they add these to brush kits. Feels like such a cheap filler. Arg. Oh well.

The brush roll is made from hemp and cotton--very natural. It only has room for the 5 brushes that come with this kit and here's the other reason I don't like the brush roll:

If I were to throw this in a travel bag or my purse, the bristles are exposed so anything could get on them!! Huge negative for me. Though, if you are just putting these in a dry drawer, with no chance of contamination with liquid or powder products, it's fine then. I personally keep my brushes on top of my vanity and rarely use a brush roll. When I do travel, I have a nice little set that is made for travel and keeps the brushes very clean!

Overall, I think these brushes are fantastic! They are pretty light weight because of the bamboo. The handles are fairly long, but not as long as my other brushes. These are SO soft, I really look forward to using them. Pretty good deal! I found these at Walgreens today for $12. I've seen them at Walmart for $14! Check your stores!! What do you think about Ecotools?

FTC Disclosure: I purchased these with my own money. I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this post. I have never been paid to write a review.

HD ULTIMATE FACE SET

I have seen these brushes sold individually at Walmart for forever now! I always felt the samples and thought they were pretty nice, especially for the price! I contemplated getting them every time I walked past them. Obviously I finally gave in and purchased these for about $14.

Here's a closer look at the synthetic brushes:

These are pretty basic face brushes that everyone should have when starting out with makeup. You've got your contoured check, foundation, deluxe concealer, and mini powder brush. Take a closer look at each one:

This brush is the perfect shape to apply blush or bronzer to the cheek bones. It is dense enough to apply a nice light to medium coverage of color. If it were any denser, I think it would apply too much product for my taste.

I love synthetic brushes for liquid foundations! It barely soaks up any product, so you don't end up wasting more product than you would if you were using natural bristles or a sponge. I really like how the tip goes into a point. This shape really gets in good around the nose area!



This deluxe concealer brush is great for creamy concealers, Benefit Erase Paste for example. Again, because it's a synthetic brush, it's not going to soak up your product! Yeah!

The small powder brush is great for applying powder to set small areas, like under the eyes, around the nose, and blemishes. It's super soft and feels great on my face!

They also come in a cute little mesh bag to store them in. I don't plan on keeping my brushes in this, but if these are your main brushes and you don't have a place to keep them in a container on your vanity/desk, it's a good option.

Pros:

Price is low

Synthetic bristles don't soak up/waste product & animal cruelty free

Extremely soft

No funny "new brush" scent

Cute bag to store in

Does a great job!

Cons:

Feel very light-weight in comparison to my other brushes (Sigma & Sedona Lace mostly)

Not labeled (not a huge con, just something I personally find annoying)

Shorter handles than my other brushes by about half an inch (not a big deal either)

So overall, I think these are worth the money! These are excellent back up brushes for me and would be great for people just getting into makeup! I do prefer the contoured cheek brush to my other ones for the fact that it is much more narrow and is better at contouring! I feel like my other ones are just too wide for me to really get under the cheek bone properly. My other ones are better suited to applying blush.

If you have been on the fence about these, or just need some inexpensive backups, def check these out!

FTC Disclosure: I purchased these with my own money. I am not affiliated with any companies mentioned in this post. I have never been paid to write a review. These are my honest thoughts!

ELF LE ENDLESS EYES EVERYDAY BASICS

I was pumped to find the ELF Limited Edition Endless Eyes Palette in the Everyday Basics. at my Target several months ago. I've barely picked it up at all! I've decided to try to really make an effort to not spend much on cosmetics at all. So I wanted to go ahead and swatch these to show you and myself!

Of course I love neutrals! The packaging is cute, but I find that it is a bit hard to open. I do like how you can see some of the colors while it's closed.

Look at this loveliness! I was excited to open this and see all the choices of neutrals. You've got taupe's (my favorites!), browns, grays, blues, purples, and oranges. What more could a girl want? Now, how to the swatch?

I used primer for these and had to swatch them many times for them to show up! That was pretty disappointing. These were mostly the lighter colors. Some of the shadows were very soft and creamy. So this palette is pretty hit or miss for me. Do you have this? Which colors are your favorites?

Have you checked out my new youtube channel?

FTC Disclosure: I purchase this with my own money. I am not affiliated with this company. I have never been paid to write a review.



FREE BEAUTY EVENTS MAY

I am super excited to tell you about the give-a-way from Free Beauty Events this month! Who doesn't love Cover Girl? Check it out:

This month CVS is hosting a nationwide event where there will be L’Oreal coupons and a gift bag raffle, and beauty consultants will show the latest in Youth Code skincare. This information is available for free on their website where spas and retailers can promote their events. 

 On their site you can enter your zip code to find out what makeover, gift with purchase, spa open houses and sampling events are happening near your home. Readers can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.   In addition to listing in-store makeovers, Freebeautyevents.com also features a blog on product reviews  and a monthly contest. They also do a contest each week with a smaller prize on their blog.

For the month of May 2011, they will be giving away 10 prizes. Each prize will consist of CoverGirl Natureluxe Silk Foundation, Natureluxe Gloss Balm, and CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipstick. The Contest runs from 5/1/2011 to 5/31/2011, winners will be chosen on 6/5/2011 and notified by 6/15/2011.



WET & WILD SINGLE SHADOWS

I finally saw these in my area!! I had been looking for these for a hot minute! I really wanted Nutty, the brown color, for a while. Brulee is a new color. Check 'em out:

I love the raised pattern on the shadows! Very pretty! Now here are the swatches:

As you can see Nutty is a metallic color. I probably have a dupe for this in my 88 metal palette; but this is so much more purse friendly! Brulee is a matte color that is pretty much the color of my skin! I've been counting on MAC's vanilla for a matte highlight and now I'm glad to have something that's even closer to my skin tone! This will be perfect for under the brow bone and also to blend out the top of the crease!

I wore Nutty yesterday, took pics, but accidentally erased them! I'll do a picture on my Daily Booth soon wearing it! Also, please check out my youtube channel and subscribe!

Wet & Wild has other colors in their single line, but none of which really appealed to me. If you like really bright colors or blues, check it out.

FTC Disclosure: I purchased these with my own money. I am not affiliated with any companies mentioned. I have never been paid to write a review.

RAISIN THE BAR

This is Raisin the Bar from Sally Hansen. I picked this up the yesterday at the grocery store! It's similar to my Essie Buy Me A Cameo, but much pinker. I LOVE it! I'm just a fan of shades like this. I think they are flattering on my paler skin and would still look amazing if I was able to get a tan!! I was surprised at the application brush, check this out:

Wild huh? I don't know about you, but this is the first time I've ever seen something flat like this. I thought I was going to hate it. But it turns out that I LOVE it! It made applying the polish so much easier! I could apply a little pressure and basically coat my entire nail! It worked great on my little pinky nails too! So in love with this!

I also love the bottle:

I think the formula is pretty great too. You get a nice even application with just one coat, but I chose to do two coats, plus a top coat. It dries pretty quickly and I love the metallic finish! I will certainly not quib about spending another $7 for another one of these!!

Have you tried these? What are your favorite colors?

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this with my own money. I am not affiliated with this company. I have never accepted money to review an item.

GLAMOUR DOLL EYES

I ordered a few more samples of Glamour Doll Eyes a few days ago and I got them in the mail today! I love these cute little jars!! You know I love neutrals, so here we go!

As you can see, these particular ones I got are all vegan and lip safe. Not that I'd want to wear any of these on my lips!

Katie's Storm is a light to medium gray with a bit of sparkle.

Graves in May is a grey with pink undertones and multi colored shimmer.

Incognito is a dark gray.

Cloud Coverage is a matte white.

I am so excited to try all of these colors!!!! Which is your favorite?

FTC Disclosure: I purchased these with my own money. I am not affliliated with any companies mentioned in this post. I have never been paid to write a review.