Essence Get Big! Lashes Volume Boost Mascara Review

 Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara

Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara is one of Essence's newest mascaras. It claims to provide "density and abundance with every application" that won't clump or feel heavy on your lashes. The large brush design is said to reach even the tiniest lashes.

I've tried a couple of Essence's mascaras in the past - Lash Mania Mascara (meh) and their Multi-Action Mascara, which I actually think is pretty good.

They are very inexpensive - I don't think any of them cost over $4. So it's not a big investment if you wanna test out a few of them, or if you're just plain pressed for cash and don't feel like spending a lot on a mascara.

One thing I'm not crazy about is that the mascaras aren't sealed - I'm not sure if it's how they are sold everywhere, but at ULTA, none of them are sealed, and I'm sure people are opening them all day long, thus drying them out. Regardless, for a couple of bucks, I'm willing to give them a try.

I was drawn to the Get Big! Lashes Mascara because of the big honkin' tube and large, fluffy brush. For whatever reason, I'm drawn to trying out mascaras with huge wands even though they are typically ridiculously inconvenient to apply.

  Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara (wearing three coats)

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I won a giveaway and I'm so psyched!

 

It's very rare that I enter a giveaway - and by rare I mean very rare. Almost never. The only giveaways I'll typically enter on occasion are the ones sponsored by Temptalia and Makeup and Beauty Blog.

For some reason I decided to try my luck and enter The Best Thing in Beauty's recent giveaway for an adorable Bobbi Brown Mini Shimmer Brick in the shade Sandstone.

I've been a long time subscriber of The Best Things in Beauty (I believe ever since I started my blog in '09 - she started a month before me!) and if you haven't stopped by her blog yet, I really urge you to. She's known as "Charleston Girl" and she is sure to keep you drooling over the newest high-end makeup collections and her lovely sunlit swatches. She is one fabulous woman with wonderful taste and a passion for beauty. What are you waiting for!? Go read! (click here)

Anyway, I really couldn't believe I won, and here comes my package in the mail yesterday morning!

Of course as generous and sweet as her, she added in a couple awesome extras. I'm so thankful and can't wait to try everything out!

Believe it or not, as big of a makeup fanatic as I am, I've never tried a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick. I've always been curious, but since I own so several MAC MSF's that are on the shimmery side, I passed up ever purchasing any. I'm definitely not afraid of shimmer, glitter or frosty cheek products. There are some people that want nothing to do with anything that shines, but I love a matte blush just as much as I love a shimmer.

Sandstone (limited edition shade) contains five stripes of pure, glowy goodness. There is a lovely champagne ivory, golden tan, bronzed brown, copper brown and chocolate brown. All stripes are of course frosty and pigmented.

What's really great about Shimmer Bricks is that you can use the colors individually (on eyes or cheeks) or you can swirl them all together for a beautiful golden, tan glow. 

Bobbi Brown Sandstone Shimmer Brick

Bobbi Brown Sandstone Shimmer Brick

If you're wondering about the compact, it's actually metal - and yes, heavy! The compact has a very high-end look and feel. I'm sure you could even use it for a little paper weight.. haha! It has a magnet closure, which frankly, I'm quite obsessed with. This little compact was a Bobbi Brown exclusive back in 2009, so I'm sure they are very hard to find now.

Bobbi Brown Sandstone swirled together.

I'd like to thank Charleston Girl again for this awesome prize, and I can't wait to put it to use!

Have any of you tried Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks? Have any favorites?

Real Techniques Stippling Brush Review!

 Real Techniques Stippling Brush

I've been meaning to literally buy this brush ever since it came out, but I rarely ever go to ULTA. I've had the Real Techniques Blush Brush for a while now, and use it often to apply my powder blush. I've always been interested in trying the stippling brush as well considering Nic and Sam, or "Pixiwoo" (Sam - the creator of Real Techniques and sister Nic) are always using it to apply their foundation in their YouTube tutorials and their skin always looks flawless! I swear, when I'm on the computer, I sometimes just play their vids and minimize the screen and go about my work, just because I love their voices. Weird?

Nicola applying foundation with Real Techniques Stippling Brush (Image Credit)

The head is much shorter than the MAC 187 Brush and smaller overall in comparison to the Sigma F80 Brush (which I lost.. boo!!!) and the Coastal Scents Bionic Flat Top Buffer Brush. The size is probably the most comparable to the Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Flat Blusher Brush (I like this brush better).

The synthetic taklon bristles are super soft, and it's dense enough to stipple your foundation, but it's not super dense for those that like a somewhat dense (dense enough to provide good coverage), yet pliable brush. I think Sam did a fabulous job designing this brush as it's just perfect for applying foundation. The shorter bristles and smaller size make it perfect for covering small areas of the face.

You don't only have to use this brush for foundation - it's also useful for cream and powder blush, as well as bronzer. Because it is fairly small, you can apply color precisely to the apples of your cheeks.

 Real Techniques Stippling Brush

All of Real Techniques Brushes are cruelty-free!

This brush retails for around $9.99 at ULTA and it's worth every penny! (that's only my opinion, of course.)

For more information about Real Techniques Brushes, visit http://realtechniques.com.

What's your favorite brush for applying foundation?

Becca Compact Concealer Review (With before & after photos)!

Becca Compact Concealer

I'm the prowl for a new concealer! As of lately I've been stuck mostly on my MAC Prolongwear Concealer, MAC Studio Finish Concealer and Coastal Scents Camo Quad. But, you all know me by now, and I get bored quickly with the same ol' products every day, and love switching it up and discovering new products.

I've been wearing MUFE Full Cover Concealer every once in a while, but the more I use it, the more I kinda realize I'm not a huge fan. Any lovers of Make Up Forever Full Cover out there? After a few hours I notice it settles kinda funny and it causes my eye makeup to transfer.

Anyways, Since my complexion has been resembling Snow White lately, I needed to find a concealer light enough to match my skintone that offers heavy coverage and is also long lasting.

So, I was recommended to try out Becca's concealer. I've never tried anything from Becca before, so I excited to give it a go. It turns out Becca Compact Concealer is everything I was looking for. 

Becca Compact Concealer consists of two concealers - one is called the "extra cover" and one is called the "medium cover". The idea is to create the amount of coverage you'd like - by layering or using each of them on different areas of the face.

The "medium cover" works great for the under-eyes and the "extra-cover" works great for spots on the face, as they often need more coverage. The consistency of the "extra-cover" concealer is slightly drier, so it's very ideal for spots, as it's not going to budge/fade.

Becca Compact Concealer comes in a huge variety of shades (34 to be exact) to match all skintones - from very fair to deep dark. I've never seen so many shades - especially for a concealer, so there shouldn't be too many problems finding your perfect shade.

I have the shade Sherbet, which is a duo of two fair shades. They're almost identical, except one of them is slightly peachier. It's a pretty nice match if you're around the MAC NC15 coloring.

 Becca Compact Concealer in Sherbet

Here are both shades swatched on my hand. My hands are a little darker than my face, but on my face, it's a spot on match.

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