IMATS London - Shopping List

Hey Lovelies!

IMATS London is just a week away now, how exciting! I went a little bit mad last year and spent far, far too much money so this year I'm on a much stricter budget. Over the past few months I've been making a little list of the goodies i "need" to pick up while I'm there, I'm sure there will be many other things purchased but these are the bits and bobs I'm looking for. As much as i would love to splurge on Inglot i think i did a bit too much of that last year and I've yet to hit pan on even one shadow from them, so I'm trying to be a good girl this year. As you can see, my list is much more restrained!

NARS Laguna Bronzer
Its their first year at IMATS and I've recently hit pan on a couple of my products, so a repurchase of Laguna is definitely needed!

OCC Concealer 
I've been after this little beaut for a while now and everywhere i look R0 has been out of stock, so fingers crossed i can get my mitts on this.

MUFE Smoky Lash 
My all time favourite mascara. I purchased two last year which have completely ran out so more are needed ASAP!

Kett Hydro Airbrush Foundation 
Now I'm not totally set on which airbrush foundation i want yet, its a toss up between Kett and OCC so I'll guess we'll see on the day. I purchased a Dinair system before Christmas and its not seen a lot of love from me due to not liking the Dinair foundation formula so I'm eager to get a different brand and whack the airbrush out much more.

Glitter 
All of it.

Crown Blending Crease Brush 
You can never have enough blending brushes and this Crown brush has been one of my favourites so a backup or two is definitely needed. And knowing me there will be a few more cheeky crown brush purchases.

NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder
 Again, I've had my eye on this little beauty for some time now. Its seen pretty much rave reviews online and I'm actually running out of both my favourite setting powders.

Limecrime Red Velvet Velvetine 
Now Limecrime aren't exhibiting themselves but there are a few places that stock them so fingers crossed they bring this to the show. I've been really put off purchasing Limecrime products for obvious reasons but I'm a sucker for matte red lip products.

Are you going to IMATS this year?

Whats on your shopping list?

xox

Review: Crown Brush New Syntho Series *

Ello lovelies!

I have a very exciting review for you lovely lot today and just a little warning, its a long one! I've been testing out the new Crown Brush Syntho Series brushes for a couple of weeks now and thought it was about time i shared my thoughts on them. I'd just like to say although i was sent these for review, as always my opinion will be 100% honest any my own. I've picked up quite a few Crown Brushes over the last year or so and I've got a couple of reviews up on the brushes I've purchased, so if you'd like to check those out, click here or here. 

My first experience with Crown was nearly a year and a half ago at IMATS London 2012, i picked up quite a few brushes which have become staples in my daily routine since. Considering the switch up with IMATS dates this year i just got too impatient and couldn't wait any longer. I picked up a few more brushes including their HD Set, again you can check out the review of that here. 

Their Syntho range are 100% vegan, synthetic brushes and Crown have recently added some exciting new additions to the range and I'll be sharing some of these with you today. All of these are absolutely beautifully soft and I've not experienced shedding with any of them at all, which is great! They all feature matte black handles that do not absorb product or oils. I just wish they had the names of each brush printed on the handle, that really is my only real small problem with the range. But that really is a such a minor complaint.

Syntho Pointed Kabuki - £15.99

This was probably the brush i was most excited to try out as i own nothing like it in my collection. I own a few regular kabuki brushes but those are more suited to powder application and i always have my trusty one in my makeup bag for touches on the go. But this beauty is a little different and is designed for use with cream or liquid products. 

I've mentioned before that i have a love / hate relationship with my Nars Sheer Glow Foundation, well this brush has eliminated the hate part... I'd always had issues working out the best application method but this brush applies it like an absolute dream. The shape and the fact it is tapered makes application around the harder the reach areas of the face like around the nose just so simple. I use circular movements like suggested and it just blends and melts the foundation into the skin so effortlessly. I absolutely adore it! Needless to say, I've been wearing my Sheer Glow nearly every since day since. If you have application issues with any of your foundations i really suggest giving this brush a try, I can't wait to hook out some of my more problematic foundations.

Syntho Deluxe Fan - £13.99

Another brush i own absolutely nothing like in my collection! This is probably one of the largest, softest Fan brushes I've ever seen. I suffer with quite dry skin and have a tendency to over powder so I've now switched up my regular powder brush for this little gem. Crown suggest using this brush to sweet over set makeup and remove any excess powder, but I've been using it apply a light dusting of powder to set my makeup! I find that it applies just enough and removes any chance of my over powdering my face to death. I've also been doubling up its uses to apply a light dusting of highlighter too, such a handy brush!

Syntho Precision Powder - £11.99

A true multitasker. Tapered brushes are my absolutely favourite for applying contour or blush and this gem works fabulously for both. This might be larger than your average contour brush for some people, but its no secret i prefer a bigger brush for that purpose. Its tapered shape makes blending colour a breeze and ass the brush is so soft its very hard to pick up too much product which is great if you're heavy handed like me.

Syntho Angled Shader - £4.99

I've been using this primarily to set my under eye concealer as it just blends to beautifully but I've also been doubling it up to apply a quick wash of colour on the lids on my lazy days. Crown suggest using this for both cream or liquid products and is a great shape and size for contouring the nose which is something I'm eager to try out.

Syntho DLX Blending Crease - £4.99

I picked up a couple of their C441 Pro Blending Crease brushes in my last Crown haul and this to me, is the Syntho equivalent. Its slightly softer than the Pro brush and is slightly more pinched at the ferrule, but both are corkers for blending. I've been using my Naked Basics to do a more subtle, matte, neutral eye and this brush is absolutely perfect for it!

Syntho Blending Fluff - £4.99

An absolute gem of a blending brush. I'm really regretting my pricey 217 purchase from a few months back now as there are really some extremely comparable brushes available fro brands including Crown and this one is one of my favourites. Its wonderful for blending shadow and I will 100% be picking up a back up or two of this at IMATS next month.

Syntho Angled Fluff - £3.49

My go-to for applying and blending highlight to the brow bone, or if I'm feeling really lazy even a quick sweep in the inner corner too.

Syntho Mini Concealer - £3.49

Ignoring the name, this is a great simple lay down brush and is fab for applying paint pots or cream shadows. Like with any brush, you can use it for absolutely anything you want and I do love playing around with brushes for different purposes.

Syntho Chisel Shader - £4.49

I've been making a conscious effort to get out of using plain black liquid liner with every look. I've been trying to use pencil / gel liners a lot more frequently and this brush is absolutely perfect for smudging, setting and blending them out for me.

Syntho Brow Duo - £3.99

I'm going to say something a little controversial here, but i don't actually own a spoolie... How did i go so long without one?! This brush is a fab brow combo and I've been using this without fail every day. If I'm leaving the house without a full face of makeup i will generally slap on some mascara and make sure my brows are done. The angled side is sense but not too stiff which makes it my favourite type of brow brush as I prefer softer lines.

This has been a bit of a rave review hasn't it? If i wasn't a Crown convert before, i really am now. I picked up a few pricier brushes from MAC a while ago which i haven't featured on the blog because i just really wasn't that overwhelmed by them. But for great quality at a fraction of the price i will definitely be picking up more Crown brushes in the future. I'm sure a few of these will pop up in my next favourites video too.

You can check out the Crown Brush Syntho Series here.

Have you tried any Crown brushes? Which are your favourites?

Let me know!

xox

Crown Brush - HD Brush Set

Ello lovelies!

I recently posted a cheeky Crown Brush UK haul and have been giving the brushes a good ol' test since. My first experience with Crown Brush was at last years London IMATS and some of the brushes I purchased have turned into my daily essentials, so being the impatient girl i am, i decided to couldn't wait for June and picked up a few more!

The biggest splurge of the order was this set, the 7 Piece HD Brush Set which includes six brushes, a mixing palette, spatula and a handy travel case. Not being an MUA means i don't really "need" the palette or spatula but i thought it'd come in handy for mixing OCC Lip Tars and similar products, no more stained hands! Priced at £29.99 i think this little set is a steal considering the prices of other well known brush brands, you could pay nearly or more that amount of money for just one face brush!

Onto the review...

I'm a big fan of the casing, as much as its a fingerprint magnet and a pain in the bum the photograph. But, i think it looks quite classy and has enough room to fit quite a few more brushes in it, which is great for travel since I'd need another blending brush or two! I'm not going to be reviewing the palette or spatula, because frankly i wouldn't know where to start, but I'm looking forward to using them.

Powder brush

First things first, these brushes are ridiculously soft and have stayed that way even after a good few washes. And virtually no shedding, so they get a huge thumbs up from me. Its not the biggest powder brush, but i'm really enjoying using this for all over powder, or on the odd occasion blush (when I'm being extremely lazy) as the plus side of it being a smaller powder brush is it can multitask! My only little complaint is that it could be a little denser.

Blush Brush

Another multitasker! For me, this brush is the perfect size for a more precise contour and has been getting a lot of use in my collection. I prefer slightly larger blush brushes, but it works well again for precise blush application, then i'd use the powder brush the blend it out. Like the powder brush (and all of the brushes in this set) it is super soft and so far, has not shed one single hair! 

Foundation Brush
As you can probably tell so far, I don't really use brushes for their named purpose, as i feel you can use them for whatever you feel works! As a foundation brush this is far, far too small. But for blending or setting concealer, its perfect! I'm a big fan of using more fluffier brushes than the traditional flat brushes for concealer so this has come in super handy! Its dense enough to blend concealer perfectly but fluffy enough to be able to be used for setting powder.

Blending Crease Brush

Perfect transition colour brush for smaller eyes! I've been cursed with tiny eyes so my crease brushes have to be small otherwise my shadow ends up looking like a hot mess. But i love this for general blending or applying a transition colour without it packing too much of a punch.

Oval Shadow Brush
My basic shadow brushes are looking a bit battered so I've been reaching for this little beauty quite often. Its great for a quick wash of colour on the lid or using as a general lay down brush, but the end is fluffy enough to double up as a blender for more simple looks.

Pointed Liner

I'm a liquid liner girl, so this is the only brush i haven't used so can't really comment!

With the addition of a couple of blending brushes, an angled brow brush (Crowns C160 is one of my favouites!) or two and possibly a foundation brush this could be made into my perfect travel set!

Overall, I'm really pleased with my purchases from Crown! I can see me getting a lot of use out of the brushes and more than likely purchasing quite a few more at this years IMATS...

You can find this set on the Crown Brush UK website here.

Whats your favourite Crown Brush?

xox

The Week of Hauls... #2 Crown Brush UK

Heya lovelies!

So i got some more goodies through the post today i thought I'd share with you. I'm planning to do a full review with actual photographs (rather than this slightly shoddy Instaspam one) of all the brushes seen here, so don't you worry!

10 Slot Leatherine Case - £6.57
I've needed a travel case for quite some time, as much as i love my Sigma Make Me Up holder, its bulky and doesn't actually hold a lot of brushes. So this little, inexpensive case seemed to be the perfect buy!

Pink Zebra Tweezer - £6.99
My Mum is sick of me using hers to put it bluntly and i can't apply false lashes for shit without them. Ha.

7pc HD Set - £29.99
Impulse buy! This beauty comes with 7 brushes, a pretty swish case, a mixing palette and a spatula! First impressions, OH MY these are soft brushes! And no longer will i have to mix my OCC Lip Tars on the back on my hand! Full review coming soon.

C160 Angle Liner - £2.29
This is a repurchase as i love mine and would like to keep one specifically for brows as i tend to reach for this for lining my bottom lash line.

C433 Pro Blending Fluff - £6.09
My go-to eyeshadow brush. I am one of those lazy people who could basically do an entire smokey eye (bar botton lash line) just with this brush. I'm a big fan of these and they are such an affordable alternative to the MAC 217.

C323 Lip Brush - £2.19
Another repurchase, you just can't have enough lip brushes!  

You can check out all of these on the Crown Brush UK website here.
Just one more haul left this week... And its a MAC whopper!

Who makes your favourite brushes?

xox