Madison Brush Set Review

Creator of Madison Makeup and owner of the Cosmetic Outlet Paul, had been telling me about this fab brush set he was bringing out for a while so I was delighted when I finally got my hands on a set just before Christmas.  I tested them out all over the festive season and was impressed with the quality I have to say.

There are 7 brushes, made with natural & synthetic hair, which come in a handy leather case so they are easy to store and carry with you for travelling.

The brushes included are:

1. Large Powder Brush – This is my fave brush, it’s so soft and applies powder perfectly to set your makeup without irritating your skin.

2. Flat Foundation Brush – This one applies foundation  well and gives a nice even coverage.

3. Duo Fiber Buffing Brush – This brush is comparable to the MAC 188 brush as it is made of natural and synthetic fiber which helps to really buff foundation into the skin and give an airbrushed finish.  I also love this for applying cream or powder blush.  You can even use it to set your makeup with powder.  I love this fantastic multi-functional brush and think it’s an absolute must-have.

4. Large Eye Shader Brush – This applies a wash of powder shadow all over the lid and is an essential brush for applying eye makeup.

5. Small Eye Shader Brush – This one gives a more precise application of shadow and helps concentrate and build up the colour on one part of the eyelid.

6. Angle Eyeshadow Brush – This brush is used for applying colour in the outer part of the eye and into the crease.  It does a good job of placing the colour but since it’s angled, it can’t really blend it too much, you would need a more rounded fluffy brush but it’s still a good one to have.

7. Lip Brush – This is a nice firm brush that applies lipstick or lipgloss well.

Overall Verdict:

I really like this brush set and think it would be great for someone starting out using makeup.  The price of this set is a very reasonable €29.99 which is well worth it for a 7 piece brush set.  I would definitely add some of these brushes to my own kit and I really like how slick they look with the plain black colour 🙂

Also, if you’re stuck for a gift idea, these would make a great present.

You can buy the Madison Brush Set at The Cosmetic Outlet in Dublin (check out their Facebook Page here for details)

Will you be picking up a set?

Royal & Langnickel Travel Brush set

I recently picked up this Royal & Langnickel Travel brush set when I was looking for a mini brush set to keep in my handbag for touch ups during the day.  It’s just perfect for that, so I couldn’t pass it.

It comes with each of the following:

• Foundation brush
• Blush/powder brush
• Double ended eye shader/lip brush
• Double ended slanted eye blender/pencil brush
• Double ended smudger/angled brush

So, there’s almost everything you need to do your whole makeup all in one little compact leather pouch!

I was blown away by the quality of these little brushes.  I’ve seen similar sets and the quality has been really bad in comparison with full sized brushes but that’s not the case here, they may be small, but they are perfectly formed!  They’re made with natural hair and I have to say, really do a great job.

I love the fact that the brushes are all of the ones that you should actually have, but in miniture!

To celebrate reaching 1000 followers on my blog (& almost the same on my Facebook page!) I am going to be giving one of these sets away as well as a goodie pack of cosmetics to the value of €100 so go to my Facebook page www.facebook.com/kandiglossMU  for details! 🙂

NIMA Brush – Review

This fab brush set comes from Irish company NIMA Brush which was set up by Makeup Artist Niamh Martin.  Niamh used her expertise in makeup artistry thorough years of teaching and doing makeup to bring out these amazing sets which come in a brilliant little leather cylinder and can be compared to the hugely popular Sigma brush sets, but at a much better price, as well as quality!

I recently picked up this stunning Elite Eye Detail brush set at the Pro Beauty show.  You can also get this on the website as well as other collections such as the Kabuki set or the Duo Fibre set.  All sets come with the cool little leather holder which separates to hold your brushes as you work.  You can add in your other brushes also and carry them easily when travelling.  If you’re a makeup artist, this is a godsend and saves space on your work area, plus, you’ll be more organised as, if you’re anything like me, you won’t suddenly have heart failure when you can’t find the brush you just put down 2 seconds ago among the piles of makeup in front of you!

Now, down to the brushes themselves.  In this set you get 5 brushes:

• A bent liner brush (Synthetic Fibre)
• An Angled Brow Brush (Synthetic Fibre)
• A large shader brush (Sable Hair)
• A crease smudge Brush (Pony Hair)
• A Pencil Brush (Synthetic fibre)

These brushes are all the ones that I would actually use and I found them to be really easy to use and excellent quality.  Plus they look really slick and professional with their white wooden handles and rose gold ferules so would be perfect for professional use.  The bent eyeliner brush is one of the best I’ve used for applying Gel liner!  They cost €45 on the website and come with the leather holder which comes in a range of bright colours from baby pink to Teal.

These would make great presents for any makeup lover and with Christmas coming up I know I’ll be stocking up on a few of them for friends and family!

The website is www.nimabrush.com

What do you think of these?  Are they on your Christmas Wishlist? 🙂

How to Clean your Makeup Brushes!

Deep cleaning your foundation brushes

Hands up if you’re guilty of leaving your foundation brushes a few weeks before cleaning them??!  Tut tut…. 😉 we’ve all done it but it’s just not worth it in the long run and using a dirty brush can cause continuous spot breakouts as well as the fact that your foundation will not apply the same way if the brush is not clean.

Because a lot of foundations are oil based, the product can really stay in your synthetic foundation brush, making it hard to remove no matter how much you wash it. A top Makeup Artist’s tip is to get some olive oil and pour a couple of drops on a some folded sheets of kitchen towel and work the bristles of your brush gently into it to loosen the product, you should see a lot of foundation on the paper towel!

You should then wash with lukewarm water and Fairy Liquid to really clean off all residue.  Fairy liquid is great to use on foundation brushes.  It cuts right through the grease and removes all oil and other residue, and if you can use an anti-bacterial one, even better.  When I’m washing my brushes, what I do is, squirt a small amount into the palm of my hand and gently swirl the brush into my palm working up a lather. Then I rinse thoroughly in the water taking care to only wet the brisles and not the wooden part of the handle as this will loosen the glue holding your brush together and make it fall apart, not a good idea if you’ve forked out for a good MAC brush!  When you’re done, dry the brush off on a tea towel before reshaping and laying your brushes flat off the edge of a window sill to dry overnight.

I am meticulous when it comes to washing my brushes after every makeup job I do, just to ensure they are always clean.  The skin can harbour some nasty bacteria and it’s not something you want to be contaminating other people with!  I also spray with a gentle disinfectant especially for brushes which makes them smell gorgeous 🙂  As for my personal brushes I wash my foundation and other brushes once a week and spot clean with anti-bac spray if they just need a light going over or to remove light eyeshadow residue.  MAC do a great brush cleaner that dries instantly or some of the spray ones you get at beauty supply shops are good too.

Non synthetic brushes (for eyeshadows etc.) should be washed gently with baby shampoo – they are real animal hair after all! 🙂 Look after your brushes and you’ll notice a big difference in your makeup applications – you simply can’t apply good makeup if your brushes are dirty!  If you follow the steps above, your makeup brushes will last you a lifetime!