My Next CDJapan Brush Haul(s)… ft. Houkodou! Price Review, Thoughts & Research

I normally don’t do anticipatory posts, but shit am i excited. Side note, shame on me for getting crazy excited enough about these brushes to post this rather than any of the numerous actual brush reviews+comparisons in my insane backlog (120 and counting, thanks for asking).

Anyhow.  What is this prodigal daughter shopping for this time? Well, CDJapan recently added Houkodou brushes . Hou-what? Houkodou, another Kumano fude company. Their most famous/popular one is probably their BZ1 Dome Foundation Brush, a round kabuki looking thing that has been well received on SMUT and IG but I’m way more interested in the following brushes from the “Brilliant Gold” Series which i never knew about, but are now a new obsession:

• G-S1 Flat Eye Shadow Brush (large) – 3,500 yen – a slightly pointed flat paddle, rather large, looks similar to my beloved Hakuhodo B127BkSL that really really needs a break.
• G-S2 Flat Eyeshadow Brush – 3,000 yen  – the traditional flat blender + lay-down paddle shape like the Hakuhodo J5523 (goat) and Mac 217 (also goat). **Update!  (Review Here!)

G-S1 (Left & Top Center) + G-S2 (Right & Bottom Center)

I’m extra giddy about getting these for several reasons:

1. I’ve been obsessed with Canadian squirrel since getting my hands on the Hakuhodo B127BkSL eye brush. The hair is so soft and silky, yet snaps back into shape. These will *hopefully* whet my appetite a bit.
2. If i throw in the T-6 (3,500 yen), which i have had on my to-get list for forever now,  my order totals to EXACTLY 10,000 yen – the minimum for free shipping!!!!!! I feel like I’m way too excited for such a trivial detail… but seriously how often does that happen?
3.  That elegance! Perfection. They look really similar to the Hakuhodo S100BkSl series and the Tom Ford aesthetic: gold plated ferrules w/ glossy black handles.

I’m restricting myself to getting the two above eye brushes for now but my wish list is already making my wallet (and brush display shelf) nervous. I will definitely be picking up the G-S3 (3,000 yen) & G-S5 (2,500 yen) in the future because I’m a sucker for affordable kolinsky filbert brushes.

G-S3 (Left + Top Center) & G-S5 (Right and Top Center)

Like seriously, when am I going to hit the enough point? Never, which means these babies will be joining me sometime in the near future for sure. The G-S3 might dupe my Shu Uemura #10 (can never have enough dupes for this) while the G-S5 seems more like a large concealer/lip brush with the potential for detail eye work or smaller lids.

There’s also another big kolinky eye brush (W-S1 Flat Eyeshadow Brush for 3,500 yen) I’m being half tempted by, but it doesn’t have the pretty handle of the Gold Series. What it does have is a nicely tapered point that makes it look capable of being the only brush I’ll need for most eye looks.

Their face brushes are also tempting as hell and reasonably affordable. Their pure grey squirrel brushes face and cheek brushes are even cheaper than even Koyudo, and that’s my favorite *cheap* brand! Once upon a time, Koyudo was the King of Cheap, but then the Evil Price Increase of 2015 hit…..  Now there’s a new king, with better aesthetics. I much prefer the Houkoduo Gold Series’s looks to the Koyudo BP High Class Series which i have complained numerous times, do not look “high class”. They look like they were pulled out of those makeup/dress-up toy sets for little kids playing with makeup. Now that i have another affordable brand to choose from… well there’s no competition. The two brands’ ranges barely overlap in brush shape and material, but for the ones that do… Houkodou all the way.

Anyhow I’ve been seriously checking out their G-C6 Domed Cheek brush at 5,000 yen, around $42. I love domed brushes because they tend to be thicker, denser than their flat paddle counterparts, and excellent at blending stuff out w/ minimal strokes.

Domed Blush Brush G-C6

Here are the G-C6 brush specs:

Hair 33mm / Hair thickness: approx. 20mm / Width of ferrule: 15mm

And some popular dome cheek brush cousins, all goat:

•  Hakuhodo J210 ($45) is made of saikoho goat, 30mm long hairs.
• Wayne Goss #13 ($53) is made of dyed goat, 30mm.
• Chikuhodo T-4 (5,000) is made of saikoho goat, 35mm. (review here)
• Chikuhodo Chikuhodo R-C2 (4,500) is made of squirrel, 33mm and less wide. It’s not as pretty as the G-C6 but it’s cheaper  by about $4 USD.

Houkodou’s Gold Series also has two face powder brushes for 9,500 yen each. WHAT ?!?! Ya, I had to double check the description make sure they were, indeed pure squirrel. The G-F2 Domed Face Brush  has the following specs:

Hair 50mm / Hair thickness: approx. 25mm / Width of ferrule: 17mm

My comparable large domed powder brushes:

• Koyudo BP006 (9,360) is made of saikoho, 55mm
• Koyudo BP009 (13,650) is made of squirrel, 50mm.
• a dozen more in goat and squirrel (or a mix), all more than 12,000 yen

I might or might not be more excited about the G-F3 Flat Face Brush:

Hair 50mm / Hair thickness: approx. 18mm / Width of ferrule: 23mm

because its a potential dupe for the Chikuhodo Z-9 (16,000) – which measures in just 2 mm larger in all dimensions – at a fraction of the cost.

Hair 52mm / Hair Thickness approx. 20mm / Ferrule Width approx. 25mm

G-F2 (Left + Top Center) & G-F3 (Right + Bottom Center)

The Houkodou face brushes are a damned good value. I’m not sure which one to prioritize but i have an inkling that the dome powder brush would have more resistance in the body.

If I’m happy with the G-F3 when i get it, i’ll just skip getting the Z-9, crossing it off my lemming list, because paying 6,500 yen extra for 8 cubic mm more fluff is not worth it to me. 6,500 yen is almost a whole other cheek brush i could get (see below).

Last but not least, there’s G-C2 Flat Blush Brush (7,000 yen) which is most similar to the Chikuhodo Z-8 , but not similar enough to be called a dupe in my book. The Z-8 is one of my favorites cheek brushes (review here) but also quite pricey.

Specs of G-C2 Flat Blush Brush @ 7,000 yen

Hair 45mm / Hair thickness: approx. 14mm / Width of ferrule: 20mm

Specs of Z-8 @ 10,000 yen (compared to the G-C2 shorter, thicker, wider = more stubby and most likely more dense)

Hair 40mm / Hair Thickness approx. 18mm / Ferrule Width approx. 23mm

It’s the closest one I can find, so the G-C2 might actually be a uniquely large blush brush that could double as a powder brush as the Hakuhodo B/K002 ($83) which is intended to be a face powder + cheek brush and measures in at 50mm. I don’t have, and can’t find, very many blush brushes (squirrel OR goat) with bristles longer than 40 mm, never mind the 45mm that the G-C2 features. Proceed carefully with this on if you like precision with your cheek product placement, but it seems like an excellent powder brush for smaller faces if the G-F3 Flat Face Brush seems to big. The G-F3 is just 5mm longer so if size doesn’t matter, get the G-C2 and save 2,500 yen. Addict that I am, I think I’m getting both eventually.

Flat Blush Brush G-C2

I’m not completely keen on having an affair with the BZ-1 (6,000) because it is made of sokoho and I already love my current chubby, dome kabukis: Koyudo Fuwafuwa (made of Saikoho) and Fupa 14 (goat + squirrel). I also love my Fu-pa 7 to bits (I know it’s a completely different shape, but it’s still for powder and cream foundation buffing). CDJapan is carrying 20 or so of the limited edition silver BZ-1’s.

Gold (left) & Silver LE (right)

However, I may get the BZ-2 (3,500) for detailed face work just because I think that the champagne handle and mauve-y ferrule are really nice. (Looks matter, yo!). But because it looks sorta, really small in comparison to the BZ-1 and its cousins, the BZ-2 is lower on my priority list.

BZ-2 (Left + Top Center) & BZ-1 (Right + Bottom Center)

Sadly the exchange rate from yen to USD is unfavorable compared to last year (about 5% higher than last year’s high) but 1000 yen is still less than $10 USD. The yen is slowly, but steadily getting stronger so I’m trying to get all the brushes i want before the exchange advantage for the USD is minimized further. But there’s free shipping on CDJapan for orders over 10,000 yen  (more details here) and that a free bit of money you can spend somewhere else.

 

Koyudo Brushes 20% off Sale and Recommendations

Some of my favorite things are on sale… makeup brushes. Actually it looks like ALL the Koyudo brushes are on sale until Dec 16th, including the super expensive saibikoho set (120,000 –> 96,000) yen. Here’s the announcement.

In a nutshell almost anything Koyudo that’s listed and not out of print is 20% off from now until Dec. 16th.  Sadly the red squirrel cheek brushes are not included in the sale. The free shipping over 10,000 promotion only runs until Nov 24th though, so you could save a few more bucks if you order soon  lel they extended it until Dec 24th so it ends 8 days after the koyudo sale ends.  Koyudo ‘s brushes are already pretty affordable (for a Japanese brush brand) and the 20% off sale makes them even more reasonable to someone not wanting to splurge on Chikuhodo or Hakuhodo.

Get a Japanese hand-made face brush for 30 bucks?! HELL YEAHHHH. Some/most mid range brand brushes cost more!

Here are some of my recommendations and stuff I’m giving serious eye to. I like them enough to know the brushes by number code, and i SUCK at remembering numbers. Also, for those of you who haven’t ordered from CDJapan before – and want to – but have reservations, here’s a quick little guide.

Foundation
Fupa 07 ~ 5,760 –>4608 yen: this is one of my favorites for liquid, cream and other wet type foundation. It’s a dense long rectangular brush that makes an excellent buffer as the finishing step to polish out texture or streaks that sometimes form when I’m using Kevyn Aucoin’s SSE (which is super thick). If i have no time to make sure my foundation is even, i swipe product onto my face and swipe this brush all over my face to distribute. As long as i cover every square inch with at least one back and forth sweep, there is no problem with the finish/coverage being uneven. The hairs are quite soft, the body is dense but the hairs move so coverage is on the lighter side to medium-heavy depending on the foundation you use. I considered getting another one for a hot moment but i have waaaay too many foundation brushes to rotate through already.

Fupa 13 (white bristles) ~ 5,040 –> 4,032 yen: This is one that comes highly recommended so i finally took the chance to order it. It’s the smaller of the two angled fupas (the Fupa 12 is 6,240 yen –> 4992 yen) and is more for smaller faces or detail work and shading (for all the sculptists out there). No i’m not racist, i just prefer this version over the dyed one because A) I’m compelled to wash it more often and not feel gross and B) it’s cheaper by 1,000 yen!

Macaroon Kabuki ~ 4,800 –> 3,840: Comes in a medium pink, violet, and orange. This sale is a good time to take advantage of to get some “fun” brushes (like the macaroon) that are non-essentials but nice/fun to own. This is basically a super dense powder round like the Tarte Airbuki but more rounded in the head, dyed in pretty colors, and made from goat hair rather than synthetic bristles. It’s incredibly dense and a great value for the amount of hair that is packed into the brush. This should be a powder brush but I get more use out of it for powder foundation because of the coverage achievable. It also works well with thicker liquid/cream foundations because it buffs and blends almost like a sponge.

 

Face Brushes
Fuwafuwa Powder Brush ~ 120,000 –> 9,600 yen: A round, flattened dome type powder brush. I’ve already posted a rave and review on this brush (here). If you like functional, beautiful, soft, fluffy things, you need this. It’s pretty good for powder foundation if you’ve got good skin and not alot to hide. That’s not be though so I mostly use it as a finishing brush. Most days I’ll just wear sun screen and set it with this brush swirled  in a colored finishing powder that has a bit of color to even things out. It’s extremely fast and efficient with powder product application but will provide too heavy of a coverage in regards to actual setting powder (hello MUFE Micro HD ghost face).

Fupa 14 ~ 9,000 –> 7 200 yen (black handle or white handle):  In the same vein as the Fuwafuwa, this is a flattened dome powder round that can be used for applying powder OR foundation. Here is a direct comparison of the two. This is one of my few brushes that does not kick up a bunch of powdery bullshit when i swirl it in the Hourglass ambient lighting powders pans. It’s a squirrel-goat mix with a very low ratio of squirrel. When compared against a pure grey squirrel brush you’ll definitely be able to tell that the body has more resistance, but the brush head’s feeling itself is still uber soft and plush.

I do like the Fuwafuwa more because it is pure goat (more resilient) and because the wooden handle is so perfect. I think the black handle fupa 14 looks classier/better but that may just be me (or not because the black  handle perpetually has a lower stock count).

 

Cheek
BP 016 ~ 5,040 –> 4,032: a very versatile fanned out paddle brush that feels like a silk pad on the cheeks. The hair are ultra fine and straight so there’s very little friction. It’s almost like a small fan brush in shape. The wide face is good for blush, bronzer and target powdering while the skinny side tapers to a rounded point that can highlight and contour. Color application is light and build-able to heavy unless your cheek color is utter crap in the pigmentation department.  Full review here.

**So the BP 016 is not only out of stock, but it seems to be out of print as well. The difference between the latter and the former is that with an ‘out of stock’ item, you can still order it, but it’ll take 2-4 weeks to be ready. Out of print means that CDJapan don’t know if they will restock. Because the BP016 is part of Koyudo’s permanent line, i imagine it will be restocked eventually but not before the sale is over.

If you want a suitable replacement, check out the BP 015 ~ 4,440 –> 3,552 which has the same head (size/shape/measurements) as the 016 but is composed of dyed black sokoho goat bristles instead of undyed saikoho. (Sokoho is just one grade below saikoho. It is better at grabbing color product from the pan at the cost of being marginally less silky) Some people prefer the black bristles because they don’t appear “dirty” as quickly,  and it’s also a bit cheaper.

If you want a softer option, check out the BP 018 ~ 8,250 –> 6,600. Again, the same head but made of of gray squirrel rather than goat so its several degrees softer than the 016 or 015. It takes more to build up color intensity as with all gray squirrel brushes. It’s slightly denser, wider at the ferrule, and fuller/more plush than my Chikuhodo Z-4.

Gray Squirrel Blush Brush ~ 8,250 –> 6,600: If you’re looking for a good dupe for the Chikuhodo Z-8 cheek brush try this one. It’s slightly smaller than the Z-8 (the bristles are barely longer than the Z-4). Body wise, it is thicker than the Z-4 and more dense. It is slightly flatter from the side  than the Z-8, but just as soft. the price is also lower, making it a good deal. Color application starts off sheer and builds. It can also be used as a powder brush of course. I don’t know why this is the same price as the 018 because i think this one is superior (has more hair for the money).

 

Eye
BP 036 ~ 2,160 –> 1,728 yen: I took advantage of this sale to buy a spare and give my poor current 036 a rest once in a while.  It’s a tapered round blender that’s ideal for smaller creases and precise v-work. The hairs can handle concealer or creamy/wet formulations. It’s stronger at blending  than most fluffy tapered blending brushes due to the more resilient nature of the hairs, but the tips are soft and never scratchy. They move color well, so if you tend to use a lot of sheerer powdery shadows, this might not be the best. If you like cream shadows or pigmented pots of unicorn poop, this is a great brush to diffuse product and mush it into other colors to create a well blended eye look. Don’t be scared by that point, it turns into a gentle dome after you wash and dry it.

C011 ~ 1,560 –> 1,248: an indispensable pencil brush, plus it’s almost dirt cheap. Super soft, non-prickly and keeps its point well. Stick it in your outer corner, stick it in the inner corner, stick up your nose (jk don’t do that). Point is (haha, geddit? its a pointy pencil brush?) it’ll always be soft and gentle on delicate skin. Some people with larger hands might find the handle to be too short and uncomfortable to hold though…

Gray Squirrel Pointed Eyeshadow Brush ~ 2,850 –> 2,280: is an interesting shape I’ve been meaning to try for a while. It is found in Surrat’s and Chicca’s lines and was one of the shapes in the Chikuhodo x Beautylish Sakura set. The Surrat ones are waaaay expensive, Chicca’s are reported to be scratchy and the Sakura is no longer available, leaving me with this one. I hope it retains that sharply tapered point.

C006 Eye Shadow M ~ 2,880 –> 2,304 yen or BP 034 ~ 3,600 –> 2,880 yen: Both of these are flat, compact paddle brushes of medium size and good for a variety of eye shapes and sizes. The hairs are the same length. but the BP 034 is slightly squared off while the c006 is completely round. Both provide strong coloring if you like to pat product on, rather than swipe it on. The hairs are quite soft (tip wise) and never scratchy, though the body is less flexible than goat or squirrel eye brushes. Pretty good if you only want to use one brush for a whole eye look.

BP 033 ~ 3,510 –> 2,808 yen: A squirrel version of the above brushes, with 2 mm longer hairs. Thicker, fluffier and softer. Pretty dense for an squirrel eye brush. Larger than the Chikuhodo Z-5 and denser too. It takes more building to achieve desired color intensity than its above siblings but the hair feels like silky heaven on the lids. It’s excellent for providing a shiny wash when used with metallic eyeshadows and does great at glitter and fall out control on more shimmer packed/glitter chunky shadows. Pictures at the end of this post. It’s the one with the white handle.

 

 

Koyudo Brushes Part IX – Guest Post by Of Toys &Tokyo

Preface
I’m happy to present to you a guest post by D. of the blog Of Toys & Tokyo. The special feature of this post: fan brushes! She probably has a biggest Koyudo brush collection (besides Sonia of Sweet Makeup Temptations) and that collection has recently been expanded. This is part 9. To see her previous hauls and Koyudo posts, click on any of the links below. I highly recommend checking them out because there is something for everyone. I’m not responsible if you get the urge to go shopping though…

• Koyudo Brushes Part 1
• Koyudo Brushes Part II
• Koyudo Brushes Part III
• Koyudo Brushes Part IV
• Koyudo Brushes Part V
• My Koyudo Favorites
• Koyudo Brushes Part VI
• Koyudo Brushes Part VII
• Koyudo Brushes Part VIII

As always, click on the pictures to zoom. Thank you D. for your time and all the pictures.

Part IX
Here it is, folks, the last of my Koyudo brushes. Going forward, unless Koyudo releases new and exciting things (like the Fuwafuwa) I think I will stop growing my collection.

I’ve been eyeing the fan brushes for a long time. When CDJapan had a double points promotion, decided I should own a couple, just to learn how to use them. There are really only 2 choices, the H012 and H013, so I bought both.

And while at it, I also bought the limited editions Powder and Medium Eye brushes, yes, those that were on super sale for a crazy price. Normally, I’m with the school of thoughts that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. However, Koyudo is the exception, and I will tell you now I do not regret my purchase. On the contrary, I regret not buying multiples of the Medium Eye when it was still available!

Brushes in this batch: H012 (top), H013 (bottom), Powder (black handle), and Medium Eye (purple handle).

 

Top 5 Brushes Over Time – Installment 1

First Installment – June 2015 – This Is going to be a running series that i will update periodically. It’ll be interesting to see which brushes can withstand the expansion of my collection and remain in favor as i amass and learn more. Each category names 5 brushes, gives information like notes + material, and the reason that brush deserves its spot. Think of it as a mini review that doesn’t take price into consideration. If i have written a full blown review on a brush, it will be linked in the brush name. Brushes are listed in no particular order for each category and may appear more than once (re-apperances alone might tell you how much i adore a certain brush). This post is littered with fragments to cut down on length so it’s a less than ideal read for Grammar Nazis.

Grab the coffee. Grab the munchies. Here we go.

 

How to Choose the Best Makeup for You – Shade, Product Selection, and Application Guide (Parody)

What This Is About
Making up is an excellent way to enhance your beauty but the cosmetics world is a very chaotic – and expensive – rabbit hole to fall into. There’s an overwhelming number of products to trial. If you’re confused about how to pick the best colors and shades for your skintone, you’re not alone. Not anymore. This guide will be your best friend through your makeup shopping journey. It will simplify and streamline the process so you don’t waste wads of hard earned money trying out  more colors than a LCD screen can display.

 

COSTCO, LET ME LOVE YOU MORE – Beauty for Cheap(er)

My fellow savvy shoppers out there know the pain of looking for better deals or waiting for sales. Ebay, Amazon and other online retailers are kind of sketch and require tons of research and review reading. Then there’s online Costco with random little treasures.

Me when i found Costco carried the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in my shade

The local drug dealer in all things food. And soon to be all things beauty? You’re probably used to thinking of Costco as your source for cheap nutella, toilet paper and kb socks but they now pack some pretty impressive (and prestigious) beauty items. Forget the 20% Sephora Sale for your staples, check out Costco first. I’ll just let the comparison screenshots speak for themselves. Retail Left, Costco Right. As always, click on the pictures to enlarge them.

But seriously, Costco. Add more stuff ples. Let me love you more and throw money your way instead of at Sephora or department stores. These were just the things that caught my eye. The beauty section also includes Chanel, Jane Iredale, more sisley stuff, more  brand name products and stuff for hair. But I don’t know anything about hair products so I dind’t bother doing price comparisons. Head and Shoulder for days. These are products that i’ve had my eye on or ones i know to be “cult” products that many people are still interested in and/or repurchase upon finishing.

One of the main drawbacks is that they have a high turnover rate. Once something goes out of stock, it may or may not be restocked.

First Up: Make Up

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer (the box says it contains 0.63 oz. i don’t know where the 0.28 oz. came from)

• $48 for 0.63 oz. = $76.19/oz.
• $33 for 0.63 oz. = $52.38/oz.
  • only shades available are SX03, SX05, SX06, and SX11
• 31% savings

Clinique Long Last Lipstick Trio

• One tube (0.14 oz.) for $16 = $114.29/oz
• Three tubes for (0.42 oz.) for $30 = $71.43/oz
  • only available in a multi-pack with Sugared Maple + Blushing Nude + All Heart
• 38% savings

Clinique Chubby Stick

• One stick (0.1 oz.) for $17 = $170/oz.
• Three sticks (0.3 oz.) for $35 = 116.67/oz.
  • only available in a multi-pack with Two Ton Tomato + Super Strawberry + Mighty Mimosa
• 33% savings (basically buy two get one free)

Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Quad

• $61 for 0.16 oz. = $381.25/oz.
• $40 for 0.16 oz. = $250/oz.
  • Only options available are Smokey, Femme Fatale, and Desert
• 34% savings

 Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner

• 1 pot (0.1 oz) any color for $25 = $250/oz.
• 2 pots (0.2 oz total) for $37 = $185/oz
  • only available in a multi-pack with Black Ink + Sepia Ink + mini liner brush
• 26% savings

Skin Care

Eve Lom Cleanser Balm

• $135 for 6.8 oz = $19.85/oz
• $100 for 6.8 oz = $14.71/oz
• 26% savings

Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask

• $162 for 2.1 oz = $77.14/oz
• 100 for 2.1 oz = $47.62/oz
• 38% savings

Philosophy Hope in a Jar Moisturizer

• $44 for 2 oz = $22/oz.
• $25 for 2 oz = $12.50/oz.
• 43% savings

Clinique Moisture Surge Intense Hydrator

• $38.50 for 1.7 oz = $22.65/oz.
• $30 for 1.7 oz = $17.65/oz
• 22% savings

Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

• $76 for 1.7 oz = $44.71/oz
• $60 for 1.7 oz = $35.29/oz
• 21% savings

Tools

Kevyn Aucoin Concelaer Brush: $21.99 vs $32 = 31% savings

Kevyn Aucoin Soft Buff Powder Brush: $38.99 vs $60 = 35% savings

Clarisonic Mia 3 (Aria) Cleansing System: 149.99 vs 199 = 25% savings

Qualifier: Costco is by no stretch of the imagination a makeup maven’s playground because fancy asses like me  lust for bright colors and wacky hues, but it’s got the basics. Part of the trade off with whole sale places is lack of selection. You sacrifice choice for lower prices. Different people prioritize one over the other.  Think of the Costco beauty section as a luxe studio apartment: the essential are present and there are some very nice basics. *cough cough eve lom cleanser* The stuff the carry are popular ones that cater to the majority, so my apologies if you are super pale or super dark and i got you excited about the KA Skin Enhancer but they don’t carry your shade. Also, the selection of goods that different, physical Costco locations carry will vary. The one i frequent carries covergirl, loreal mascaras and bourghese beauty in store. If i want to restock on bareminerals powder foundation i have to drive alll the way to another location… which is only 20 minutes away or so.

Yes, the multipacks are a pain sometimes. You might run through several packs for the Super Strawberries and end up with a couple Tons of Tomatoes. It kind of sucks if you’re a repurchaser but you can always gift the other colors or do stuff with them. I remember hating the Wild Cherry that came in the Capri Sun juice multi-packs…. so i would trade at lunchtime with a friend for delicious inarizushi.

Do note: Costco stuff is for members only but there are ways around that :3

 

Quick Chinese (Lunar) New Years Makeup Look: Triple Red

Today is an excuse to pile as much red on my face as possible.  I thought I’d share the resulting look. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Chinese culture, more red = more luck/prosperity/health/higherGPA (wait… what!?)

I started with my eyes, primer first as always (Smashbox 24 Hour Photo  Finish). You can’t see it on my weird half mono lids but I put down a layer of The  Body Shop’s color surge eyeshadow in Golden Cinnamon up to my crease. I followed with a few stokes of Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream in shade 8, painting a thick-ish cat eye on my upper lash line (with an arced liner brush).

The only product on my lips is OCC’ s Colour Cosmetic Pencil in NSFW.  It’s so nice in every way, I hope to get the review of NSFW and its siblings done soon. I have 6 colors to test.  Blegh.

Occ pencil in NSFW

After my lips were done, I cleaned up edges with some makeup remover, sharpened the edges with concealer, and followed with my foundation routine.

I have no idea why my nose looks red, Stupid camera

Lastly I used Make Up For Ever’s Artist Shadow in ME-744 Poppy (review here) as blush. Poppy is an intense, vibrant orange-based red straight or of the pan. As you can tell (hopefully), I applied it quite sparingly.  My skin is already yellow-toned.  Had I not diffused Poppy out, I could probably pass for Pikachu.

Anyhow, Happy Sheepy Year!

 

Tarte Airbuki Blahblah Brush Review + Usage Tips

Preface
The full name of this brush is the Airbuki Bamboo Powder Foundation Brush. If you can’t tell by my shortcut title, I am of the opinion that this brush has waaay too long of a name. Tarte products in general have names that are too damn long and descriptive to the point of being flawed. The brush’s short stature makes the superfluously long name all the more ironically humorous. The Airbuki (et al.) reminds me of the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa – which is Hawaiian for “triggerfish with a snout like a pig” (and colloquially known as “that Hawaiian fish with the really long name”) – where the name is almost longer than the actual thing. Oh wait, never mind.

Hahahaha

All joking about the name aside, I am quite fond of this little brush, though that may be because it’s the first and only kabuki in my brush arsenal.  **Edit: 4/21/15 As I’ve used it more and more, I’ve discovered that i abso-freaking-lutely love this brush. Spoiler aside…. I’ve been eyeing this brush for a quite a while already. It’s been tossed-in and removed from my Sephora cart multiple times in the past year plus. Recently, while browsing through The Non-Blonde’s blog, I came across her compaison/review of the Airbuki which (unfortunately?) convinced me to bite the bullet and finally get it. I mean come on, the Airbuki is being favorably compared to a Hakuhodo! If that’s not good enough, I don”t know what is. Here’s a humu-humu fish in case you were curious. It’s quite pretty.

From: WakikiAquarium.Org

First Look
The first thing you’ll notice is how adorable it is.

 

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in #8 (Red) Review and Rambles

Preface
This post is primarily dedicated to reviewing MUFE’s Aqua Cream in Shade 8 (a poppy red shade), however I went off on a bit of a tangent on how i managed to get my hands on it: I made an exciting little discovery last weekend! If you don’t care to read about this and only want to know about the product being reviewed, feel free to skip ahead.

 

Spoolies, Let’s Talk

Raise your hand if you’ve ever bought a spoolie brush.
Now put them down because you ought to be ashamed of yourself

Now ask yourself what a spoolie is. I’ll give you a minute.

Got the answer?