Getting To Know Your Brushes

Brushes are essential tools to help you apply makeup with ease.  Don’t traumatize your clients by using abrasive poor quality brushes. These tools need not be expensive or branded, either. You can find good brushes if you know where and what to look for.

Makeup Brushes are either made of:

1. Natural Bristles- animal hair. Usually goat, sable or squirrel hair.  The scales in the natural fibers allow efficient transfer of powder to the skin.
2. Synthetic Bristles- these are best for liquid or cream forms of makeup, for easy gliding of cosmetics to the skin.

This post will be all about face brushes. Those that you use to apply foundation, powder, highlighting, contouring and blushing.  There are more kinds of brushes in the market but these are the ones that I personally use. You don’t have to own all of them.

I. Natural Bristles

1- Large Powder Brush

• big fluffy brush used in applying loose powder for a smooth, sheer and even application
• the fuller the brush, the more powder will be spread out

2- Small Powder Brush

• a smaller version of the large powder brush. You can do away with it if you already have the large one. Sometimes I use this for applying powder to the neck area because I don’t want to put back on the face what I have used on the neck or body.

3- Powder/ Blush Brush

• For contouring/sculpting your cheekbones

4- Angled Blush Brush

• A blush brush that is tapered at the sides for controlled blending application

5- Fan Brush

• For sweeping off excess powder, applying sheer coverage, highlighting cheekbones and the list goes on. The use of this brush varies.

II. Combination of Natural and Synthetic Bristles

Stippling Brush-

The latest innovation for quicker and even application of liquid foundation. Make circular motion to distribute the fluid. This can also be used for applying powder forms for an air-brushed finish.

Made of a combination of natural and synthetic fibers, hence the term dual-fiber.

III. Synthetic Bristles

1-Foundation Brush-

To apply, distribute, and blend  liquid foundation into the face. Made of synthetic fiber.

2-Concealer Brush-

A smaller version of the foundation brush used to apply concealer on problem areas.

The eyeshadow brushes will be up in the next installment of this series on makeup brushes.

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Make Up Artist In Scrubs Gets A Clinic

This site which was previously billeted at http://vanityconsult.com has now moved to a new home here at http://vanityclinic.com. My blog fell into the Server 404 trap which pushed me to pack my bags and find my blog a new, more stable site where I have control of.

This is now powered by wordpress and hosted by hostmonster.com. I chose a new domain because I wasn’t sure if the previous one would work with this and besides, this domain comes free with the paid hosting. I redirected vanityconsult.com to this address so that previous readers will not be left clueless.

Starting all over again, losing readership and the previous ranking which was steadily moving up in the Alexa meter may be a downer but seeing the new look of my site thrills me now.

I have topics cooking up before my blog went offline so please do stay tuned for the latest updates. Stay beautiful, people!

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Aromaleigh Shopping

In one of my previous posts, I excitedly announced the international shipping that Aromaleigh was about to offer. Their lipglosses are among the most recommended by mineral makeup junkies. I have tried the samples myself, through my friend in the States, I loved the scent and the texture of the richly-colored lipglosses. They used to restrict shipping to the US only.

Today, upon reading the newsletter from aromaleigh with the go-signal for international shipping, I lost no time in hitting the shopping cart and purchased samples of their latest products. I orderedRocks! Sonic Lip Tint samples, all 8 colors for only $6.48. I included samples of their Lip Infusion Lip Gloss in Enamored because i haven’t included it in my order before. Taking the cue from Sophie, I decided to try out their Ultra Resolution finishing powder- their take on HD or High Definition makeup which is the buzz in the makeup industry today.

The good news is with all of those in my cart, the shipping was only $5.00. Well purchasing full sized products is a little pricey- $12. You can save by ordering more products in one shipping. Samples will do for now.

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Brush Anatomy

This is an introduction to a series of discussions on makeup brushes. Let us get to know the parts of a brush. They are divided into 3 components, namely:

1. Hair Bundle
- this can be made of natural hair, natural bristle or synthetic materials. It is further divided into the a.) flower tip and the b.)length-out. The former is the one coming in touch with the skin while the latter is the visible part between the flower tip and the ferrule. The bottom of the hair bundle is dipped into a glue and inserted to the ferrule.

2. Ferrule
- this is the metal tube securing the hair bundle to the handle. They should be double crimped and seamless to avoid unsteady handles. They are often made out of brass, copper or aluminum. Brass is the strongest one. Aluminum mixed with other metal can just be as strong. Brushes like those from Mac are nickel plated for corrosion resistance and aesthetic value.

3. Handle
- a good brush is securely placed in the handle socket and doesn’t shed. Handles can be made out of acrylics, woods or metals. Caution during washing your brushes with especially those with wooden handles: do not leave your brushes soaked up to the handle or the coating would come off. If you do have to have your brushes stand in water overnight (an old school method), make sure it is only until the level of the hair bundle and don’t leave it for too long or else some brushes’ color tend to bleed, contaminating brushes nearby.

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Pookie Makeup

No, I’m not trying to gross you out or speak profanity. This is a line of makeup that caught my attention while browsing cherryculture.com. To the makers of this brand, it is a term of endearment. “We thought it was the perfect name for the only product you practically kiss, ” the description read. In Filipino language, however, Pookie is a rather very intimate part of the female human anatomy. Uh.. ok, it refers to the genitalia. There.

The makeup brand is not at all applied to that area of the body nor is it owned by Filipina comedian Pokwang, but the products available at the site are all for the lips. As in the lips on your face. Not lips some place else. Here’s one I found amusing:

Pookie Be Mine- a honey-flavored lip balm best seller:

Very catchy. By the way, I was surfing cherryculture.com because of their end of summer sale. Avail of 20% discount until August 24, 2008 only. I have my sights on the Nyx goodies. Use this code in checking out: EOS20. Grab a Pookie along the way. Err.. that sounded awkward. Anyway, enjoy!

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