August Favorites

Can you guys believe August is over already?  It seems like it came and went way too fast!
I stopped doing my Wednesday Weekly Favorites awhile ago because I wasn't buying new makeup as often, so this month I feel like I actually have something worth sharing.  I've talked about most of these products at some point before, but now I've gotten a chance to really use them on a regular basis.

1.  Maybelline Mineral Power powder foundation in Light #2- I think I've declared my love for this foundation before on this blog, but I've fallen head over heels for it all over again!  It's a perfect match for my skin (The closest I've found in my foundation experiences, anyway), and it's super quick to apply.  You just swirl your brush in it, tap it off, and buff it into your skin.  No effort required.

2.  MAC Retrospeck eyeshadow- This is a really pretty, really sparkly light nude-gold eyeshadow.  MAC describes it as "bleached blonde" which is a great description IMO.  I love this as an all-over wash of color on the lid.  

3.  Wet 'n' Wild new Color Icon eyeliners in Amethyst, Purple, and Olive- I didn't like these at first- they smudged and disappeared when I tested them just by themselves on my eyes.  I guess I needed to try them with a full eye look, because when I use them now they're really nice.  The colors are stunning, and the formula is creamy and just overall so much better than the old one.

4.  ELF Eye Definer brush- I've been using eyeshadow as eyeliner a lot lately, and I love using this for it.  It makes a nice thicker line, and it's easy to blend the eyeshadow up into the outer corner.

5.  EcoTools Bamboo Bronzer brush- I raved about this in my review of my other EcoTools brushes, and I still love it just as much!  I sometimes end up using this for all my face makeup- my Maybelline powder foundation, my blush, and bronzer.  It leaves a really light finish, and the bristles are buttery smooth.

(Top- MAC Retrospeck; Bottom- Wet 'n' Wild eyeliners, Amethyst, Purple, Olive)

Do you guys have any of these?  Have you had a different experience?  Let me know!

EOTD: How-To Using EcoTools 6 Piece Eye Brush Set

This is going to be my first "tutorial" EOTD.  I usually explain the basics of how I do them, but I think this step-by-step version will be a little easier to understand.  I wanted to do an EOTD showing how I use each of the brushes that come with the EcoTools 6 piece eye brush set, so this is a really easy, neutral look using purple to add a bit of color.  You'll see that I show the brush in the picture to demonstrate how and where to place the eyeshadow.  I hope you like this and I hope I did an ok job at my first step-by-step tutorial!  Like always, I'd love to hear any feedback you have.  

Products I used:

- EcoTools 6 piece eye brush set (All of them!)

- VS eyeshadow primer

- ELF eyeshadow quad in Nouveau Neutrals (All but the olive color)

- Revlon Perle eyeshadow in Violet Starlet

- Mary Kay eyeliner in Amethyst

- L'Oreal Bare Naturale mascara in Black

(I meant for these to be larger, but they didn't fit in the post very well.  Click to enlarge any of them)

1.  Apply a light shimmery neutral eyeshadow all over your eye area, using the Large Eyeshadow brush.

2.  Apply a light brown eyeshadow on your lid area and blend it up just below the crease, using the Angled Crease brush.

3.  Apply a medium purple eyeshadow into your crease, using the angled side of the Angled Crease brush, blending down into the outer half of your lid.

4.  Blend them all together using the Highlight brush.

5.  Apply a light highlight color to your inner corner using the Petite Eye Shading brush.

6.  Apply the same highlight color to your brow bone using the Highlight brush.

7.  Apply eyeliner along your upper lash line and inner half of lower lash line, and smudge using the Smudge brush (LOL, really?).

8.  (Before I did this step I re-applied any of the colors to make sure I didn't blend them all away)  Curl your eyelashes and apply your favorite mascara!

I'm still just loving this set of brushes.  I know when I first reviewed them I said they would make a great travel set, but I'm getting use out of them at home, too.  Totally worth the money.

Hope you all have a nice day- Happy Friday! :)

My First EcoTools Brushes (I might have a new obsession)!

So, yesterday I drove to the other side of town where my big Target and Walmart are located.  I was hoping to check out their selection of brushes (The Target and Walmart that are on my side of town are a little smaller, and I've noticed they sometimes have more/less product).  I mainly wanted to see if they had any other interesting brushes (The unknown brand-named ones from Walmart, and Studio Tools from Target) that I "needed"!
On my way, I passed by a ShopKo.  The only reason I really go to ShopKo is because they sometimes have one or two different LE displays than I usually see.  This time I didn't see any cool displays, but I did see the EcoTools brushes!  And I finally found the bamboo bronzer brush in person!  (I really didn't want to have to buy it online)  They had the largest selection of EcoTools I've seen- my Walgreens and Target only have a couple of those travel sets.  They had two eyeshadow brushes, an eyeliner brush, several face brushes, the sets I've seen around, and even that Alicia Silverstone set that I've read reviews for.  I was excited!  So I purchased the bamboo bronzer brush and the eyeliner brush.
Then this morning I had to go to Walgreens to get notebooks for school (They have them all BOGO free!), so I of course wandered over to where the EcoTools are.  I picked up the 6 piece eye brush set- they just looked too cute and cozy sitting in their case (Besides, this set looks perfect for travel, and I currently don't have any travel brushes).

They are so soft!  I know almost every single review of these boasts about their softness, but it's like a luxury putting on your makeup with them.  And I only tried them out just now.  I'm not hesitating to wait until I've washed them, because they just feel and look so sturdy/high-quality.  

Bamboo Bronzer:

I hope you can see how soft this is.  I used this to apply my powder and bronzer this morning, and it is wonderful.  I haven't had a chance to wash it yet, but from the reviews I've read and my first impressions they seem to be sturdy and durable.  

This was $8.99 at ShopKo.

Eyeliner brush:

I didn't have an angled eyeliner brush before, so this was much-needed.  It makes applying eyeshadow as liner (something I do often) so easy and creates a precise line.  You can see how thin it is!

This was $3.99 at ShopKo.

6 Piece Eye Brush Set:

This set comes with 5 travel-sized eye brushes.  From left to right, a large eye brush, an angled crease brush, a highlighting brush, an eye shading brush, and a smudge brush.

This set was $7.99 at Walgreens.

(Large eye brush, Angled crease brush)

(Highlighting brush, Eye shading brush, Smudge brush)

The large eye brush is supposed to be used for applying and blending eyeshadow.  This is an oddly-shaped brush, but I'm curious to see how I like it.  The angled crease brush is quite a bit larger than the other angled eyeshadow brush I have (ELF $1 eye definer), so this will also be interesting to try out.  I think the highlighting brush will be the one I use least out of all of these, mostly because I don't like that style brush for highlighting and I already have good blending brushes.  The eye shading one will be good for the inner-corner or other precise areas, and I'm happy to finally have a smudge brush that isn't a sponge!  

Each of the brushes in this set has the name on the handle, which is convenient.  You'll always know how to use each one.  ;)

Do you like and use EcoTools?  Do you own any of these brushes I mentioned?  I'd love to hear your thoughts, like always!  Thanks for reading.  

(I'm so happy to have more makeup brushes, finally :)