Current Wish List

I have a pretty long wish list right now.  Of all expensive stuff.  Yeesh.

First up is my Charlotte Tilbury lemmings:

Filmstar Bronze & Glow Face Sculpt and Highlight -- This bronzer/contour and highlighter duo seems to be universally considered the best product in her line.  It looks like the bronzer/contour shade would be an excellent color for my skin tone, and the highlighter looks somewhat subtle, which would be good for me because I tend to go overboard with my highlighters.

My Favorite Tools

I felt like talking about my favorite makeup-applying tools today.   Let's get started!

Sonia Kashuk Brush Couture 5 Piece Brush Set Review

Have you seen Sonia Kashuk's summer collection?  There is an awesome set of brushes with colorful snakes that look kind of like mosaics on the handles.

Snakes!

Yeah, I had to have these.

The set comes with a powder/blush brush, foundation brush, all over eyeshadow brush, crease/blending eyeshadow brush, and a eyeliner brush.

The powder brush is not particularly large, and is just just the right size to use under the eyes to set concealer.  I also think it is a good size for contouring.  The foundation brush is a flat, non-fluffy, synthetic bristle brush.  I'm usually too lazy/impatient to use foundation brushes, so this brush has been getting the least amount of use.  I will say, it works nicely with concealer.  The all over eyeshadow brush is quite wide and very soft, and it's really great to use for a quick application of color on the entire lid.  The crease brush is somewhat small, narrow and slightly stiff (without being at all scratchy or prickly), and I like it for a good concentration of color in the crease, or for applying highlighter colors under the brow and in the inner corner by the tear duct.  The liner brush is nice and stiff, so it is excellent for use with a gel or cream eyeliner.  (My favorite gel eyeliner happens to be Sonia Kashuk's, actually.)

All of these brushes are wonderfully soft, do not shed, and, naturally, apply makeup beautifully.

Sonia Kashuk makes really great affordable brushes.  I have several eyeshadow brushes and a blush brush that I've owned for probably a decade, and they are some of my favorite brushes.  I would absolutely recommend them.

This set is $16.99 USD at Target.  There are also matching makeup/accessory bags of various sizes available with the same snake print.

Like this one:

Have you ever tried Sonia Kashuk's brushes?

Have a gorgeous day, friends!

Beauty Resolutions

Like just about everyone else, I have a few beauty resolutions to make.

Some of my favorite brushes

Wash my brushes more often -- It seems like this is a popular resolution.  Why does washing brushes feel like such a chore?  It doesn't take very long and I like the way clean brushes look and feel.  I spot clean with a spray cleaner between shadow and blush/bronzer colors, but I don't deep clean nearly often enough.

Don't buy so many cosmetics -- I really use and enjoy everything I own, but I still buy/own too much.  I find it hard to resist all the new collections (especially limited edition) and new products that promise so much.

Get rid of old cosmetics -- This is more of a goal and less of a resolution.  I have some very old items that I acquired when I was working in the cosmetics industry years ago.  I haven't used them up, and it's undoubtedly time for them to go.  Unfortunately this is hard for me because I have sort of a sentimental attachment to them.   Quite silly, really.

I'm not really one for making a whole lot of personal resolutions because I always feel crummy when I break them (I'm too hard on myself), but if I were to make some they would include: eat more fruits and veggies, exercise more (I need to take care of my heart), and be kinder to myself.

Have you resolved to do anything different this year, beauty-related or otherwise?