Most Used Eye Brushes | Real Techniques, ELF and eBay sets!

As promised I said i'd follow up my previous post on my most used face brushes, but before I go into that I thought i'd let you know that I've done a guest post over on Erin's blog, here. Erin has recently just started blogging again and decided to add a new feature to a blog where every now and then people she know's from online or through blogging write something, whatever they'd like. I wrote 5 Things Things That Make Me Happy, so please go check that out and the rest of Erin's blog!

Anyway, here I am again talking about my most used eye brushes, although I have a lot more eye brushes than face brushes there are a select few I reach for every time I do my eye makeup. 

1. Lydia Professional Pink Flat Brush.

As you can see this is a small flat brush and I use this to pack on the base of my eye shadow. This holds the eye shadow well and i'm able to apply it with no fall out, however that could just be down to the eye shadow i'm using- who knows! I picked this brush up in a set from Amazon, here and they're so pretty- I've not had any problems with them so far, plus they come with a pink case that is very handy for travelling!

2. Large Pencil Brush.

Again, this was part of a set of 4 from eBay, here. I cant fault the brushes that came in this set, despite them being a little bigger than I thought they're such great quality and the bristles are so soft. It's perfect for applying eye shadow in the crease as it fits in nicely and if you keep working at the eye shadow it blends in nicely.

3. ELF Blending Brush.

I had heard good things about the ELF brushes and I really needed a blending brush so I picked up this to try. At first I was a bit disappointed with the quality, the bristles fell out easily and especially when washed. I stopped using it for a while and decided to try it again and I've not had that problem, perhaps there were a few odd bristles that just wasn't glued in properly? It's holding up well now and blends my eye shadow well, it's also really soft so it's perfect for blending! If this one isn't clean, i'll use one of the blending brushes from the eBay set I mentioned previously- although it's a bit big, it does the job!

4. Real Techniques Detailer Brush.

I've just realised that the majority of these brushes are from a set, however most of the sets are so affordable from eBay or Amazon. This brush is from the Real Techniques Core Collection and I use it for applying eye shadow to the lower lash line as it's so small and fits perfectly under the lashes!

5. Spooley Brush.

This isn't really a brush, well it sort of is as it has tiny bristles. This again was part of a set from eBay, here. The quality of this brush isn't that great but the rest of the brushes are so I can't fault them, plus I use this every day so it's had quite a lot of use, therefore it was worth it! I comb through my eyebrows with this before and after applying my brow pencil, it tidies them up when I've just rolled out of bed and after applying brow product to ensure it's spread evenly. 

And there you have it,  a quick run through of my favourite eye brushes. Each of these brushes/sets are great however if you're on a tighter budget then i'm sure you can find similar with all of these types of brushes in.


What are your favourite makeup brushes?
Please let me know in the comments!

♥   ♥   ♥

W7 In the Buff Eye Shadow Palette | Urban Decay Naked Dupe!

A little while ago I started to really get into wearing eye shadow and knew I wanted to try one of the Urban Decay Naked palettes, however they weren't really in my budget at the time and I wasn't prepared to splash out £40 on eye shadows. I decided to look for a more affordable alternative and heard that W7 do great dupes of high end products so I picked up the In the Buff palette which is supposed to be a fantastic dupe of the Naked 2 palette. I picked up this one from Argos but I know Amazon sell them and I believe Asda too.

The eye shadows are packed in a metal tin that seems some what sturdy so I know this will protect the eye shadows, especially when travelling. However, the packaging is slightly on the larger side and I feel it could be smaller. The palette contains 12 neutral shades in matte and shimmers, though there are a lot more shimmers and comes with a double ended applicator, one end sponge which I don't tend to use and the other end a flat brush which can be used to pack on a base.

Now onto the shadows themselves, there are three mattes:

• A yellow toned nude that I use as a base or could be used to highlight under the brow bone and in the inner corner
• A medium brown that is perfect through the crease or on the outer corner
• And finally a black that is amazingly pigmented, just as the others are and can be used to create a more smokey look.

The shimmers, some more subtle but some obvious shimmers:

• A range of browns, champagnes, an almost khaki shade and some coppery brown shades which can all be seen in the swatches below.

L-R: Buff(matte), Camel, Sand, Dust, Chocolate(matte), Topaz, Earth, Storm, Silk, Wave, Thunder, Onyx(matte)

Pigmentation

I'm amazed at the pigmentation of these eye shadows, admittedly a few aren't so great but the majority are brilliant and I've read they're on par with the UD Naked eye shadows but as I've said unfortunately I haven't tried them yet.

Longevity

I've used these with and without eye shadow primer and I've not had any problems with them wearing off or creasing so it's a win, win!

Price

The W7 palettes retail at around £5-10 but if you look around you may find them cheaper, I believe eBay sell them for less than £5 so they're a complete bargain. These are great if you're starting out or experimenting with makeup or haven't got the budget to splurge on an Urban Decay palette.

Would I buy another?

Yes! There are a few more palettes from W7 that i'd like to try and I've got my eye on the Naked 1 and 3 dupes called Lightly Toasted and In the Nude.

Have you tried anything from the brand W7?

Would you recommend I try anything else from them?

Let me know!

♥   ♥   ♥