Get 'em before they're gone.

I know, I know, makeup brushes again. But I just wanted to share that Coastal Scents recently launched some new brushes (or newly designed brushes) and put all of their current brushes on Clearance. The brushes were already inexpensive to begin with, so the extra discount (I believe it's 50%) is quite the steal on several of them.

I really don't think you can go wrong with any of them, but some of my favorites include: The Bionic Flat Top Buffer Brush, Black Sable Buffer Brush, Destiny Kabuki on a Stick and Fan Brush Black. Most of their eye brushes are quite good. I use The Pro Blending Fluff Brush and Destiny Blender often, and I would say they are very comparable to higher end makeup brushes.

 Assorted Coastal Scents Brushes

*With any new makeup brushes, I recommend washing them before use to release any loose bristles, and rid the bristles of any dust that they may have came in contact with during manufacturing. Also, brushes typically feel softer after a good wash.

I've been ordering from Coastal Scents from the past couple of years and I'm really happy with their service and shipping time. I typically always receive my order within three business days, and my order has never been wrong. (No affiliation)

Check out all of their brushes, by clicking here.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Review: Coastal Scents African Black Soap!

Description on Coastal Scents website: Coastal Scents black soap is the original thing! It is imported from Ghana where it is hand pressed and processed by women in a small village in Ghana. It contains no scents, preservatives OR chemicals.

For centuries, Ghanaians have used Black Soap to help relieve acne, oily skin, clear blemishes and various other skin issues. It is known to help with skin irritations and conditions such as Eczema and Psoriasis as well. African Black soap has also been used to achieve beautiful skin. Africans have also used this natural soap for bathing and washing their hair. It's excellent for removing make-up too! Black Soap will leave your skin soft and clear.
 

Suggested Uses:
Traditionally, African Black Soap has been used to treat rashes, acne, eczema, dandruff, body odor and much more. The African black soap helps keep the skin clean and helps against premature facial lines. It is great for showering, bathing, washing of the hair, face and the feet. Black Soap is recommended for the young and the old. Black soap leaves the skin smooth and soft & as a facial soap it is excellent for clearing acne.

African black soap has been used in Africa for the treatment of rashes, ring worm, eczema and also as a natural hair shampoo to avoid itchy and dry scalps. 

Storage:

African black soap should not be exposed to excess water and stored in a cool dry place. African black soap is soft and has a very high content of natural glycerin.

Because of its natural glycerin rich content it absorbs moisture from the air and becomes softer if not stored in a cool dry place or in a sealed polythene bags.

Ingredients:

Cocos nucifera(Coconut Oil),butyrospermum parkii,(Raw Shea butter), Cocoa Pod ash, Aqua(Water)
Elaeis guineensis (Palm Kernel Oil)

To read more about African Black Soap on the Coastal Scents website, click here.

The price is this soap is $12.95 for 17 oz. A standard Dove bar of soap weighs in at 4.25 oz. So you can think of it like 4 standard bars of soap combined into one. But, it appears a little larger because it's not as dense as a standard bar of soap. I think the price is very reasonable.

How I use it: I typically use it on my face by rinsing my face with water, then lathering a small piece of soap in my hand and working the lather all over my face, avoiding the eye area. Then, rinse & pat my face dry. Sometimes I use it the same way, but while I'm in the shower.

I also like using it on my body while I'm in the shower by lathering it through my loofah - just as I would with any soap.

Review: I'm not even sure what really possessed me to purchase this product several months ago. I think while placing an order on Coastal Scents, I stumbled upon African Black Soap on accident and saw the rave reviews so I took the chance in purchasing it. It's a little difficult to describe the texture. It feels like soap, but it's not dense like a bar of soap. It's soft and a little crumbly. I like cutting the soap in slices and then in 1/4" pieces. It's a good size and it will last me about two weeks with daily use, sometimes less. The soap itself, because it isn't dense, is pliable. Once I've cut the soap in squares, I can mold it into a ball.

I like storing the soap in a large zip lock bag inside a Rubbermaid container to keep it away from any moisture or air. The smell is described as "earthy", I think it just smells like your traditional bar of (non fragrance) soap. It lathers well - it doesn't "over" lather or "under" lather, if you know what I mean. I don't care for soaps that don't lather, and although I could use a little more lather, I'm satisfied with it. What I really love about this soap is the amazing job it does at removing my makeup. Once I lather it on my face and rinse, everything is gone. No trace of makeup in sight and no residue left behind - and I'm not sure I can really say that about any of my cleansers, although Cetaphil for Normal/Oily does a pretty good job. Once my face is dry, it feels slightly taught and very clean. A moisturizer is very necessary! When I first started using this soap, I used it every day with an exfoliation brush, and I loved it. Until a few days later I had a bunch of dry spots pop up around my mouth. I realized since then, it's a bit harsh for my skin and using it in conjunction with a harsh brush was too much for my skin. I think this is a fantastic soap for those who would like a cleanser that provides good oil control as well as those who suffer from acne and breakouts. This does such a great job cleaning my skin that pimples don't last very long on my face while using this. I also like using this soap on my body, but avoiding my legs, because my legs are quite dry. It works great for the rest of my body, and wonderful on my upper back (which I tend to breakout here and there). I love that it leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean, yet soft & doesn't leave any residue on my skin or an oil slick in my bath tub. Overall, a really great product and I will be purchasing more when I run out!

UPDATE: Although, I mentioned it's too harsh for my skin in conjunction with a brush, I actually started using it daily with my Olay Pro-X, and I haven't had any dryness. A good moisturizer is key! I load up on the moisturizer at night and my skin is looking great!

Review: Coastal Scents White Liquid Color Corrector. (To lighten your foundations)

Coastal Scents Undercover Liquid Color Corrector - White

Coastal Scents Undercover Liquid Color Corrector - White

When you purchase a foundation that is too dark for your skin, there is little you can do to lighten it. Your one basic option is to purchase a foundation with the same undertone, that is lighter, and mix them. Depending on how dark it is for your skin, you may need a shade that is only one shade lighter and mix them 50/50, or if it's much darker, you'll need a shade that's significantly lighter (at least three shades lighter) and mix the two. For a cheap drugstore foundation, that's easy. But if you purchased an expensive department store foundation, it's not very practically (or affordable) to purchase a second bottle. At that point, you may get stuck with the foundation, gift it to a friend, or "swap" it on makeupalley.com for a different used or un-used makeup item you will use.

When I discovered Coastal Scents Liquid Color Correctors late last year, I was pretty psyched. Back in November I purchased "yellow" to add to my foundations that fell short of the yellow tone I need to match my skin coloring. It's become a useful item in my makeup kit for foundations that are too neutral/beige or pink. (See my review for the yellow correcter here).

Coastal Scents has the options of purchasing Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black and White. (View them on the website here)

The description on the website for white, as goes.. "This is not a color, it is a tint, tints are used to lighten all colors. When you are in between shades in your color range white can be used to lighten, black to darken. White can be used to create a foundation one or two shades lighter than your regular makeup and to be used for highlighting."

The consistency of these is fairly thin, and when they are smoothed out, they are fairly sheer. I would compare them to the consistency of watercolor paint - thin, but not watery, creamy, but not thick. I personally don't find that it changes the consistency or coverage of my foundations, but I suppose it all depends on how much you put. 

In the following photos, I used my MAKE UP FOREVER HD Foundation in the shade #128 to lighten. #128 is for medium skin with beige undertones, and it's a good match for MAC NC40-42. It's a little dark now for me now, as my current MAC coloring is around NC35. 

In the first photo (top left) I swatched the foundation twice. In the bottom swatch, I added a small amount of white corrector to the color. As you can see, it has lightened the color a couple of shades. #128 lacks the golden factor, so I added a little yellow corrector in photo #2 (top right). In the bottom photos, it shows the difference of #128 alone and #128 mixed with the white and yellow correctors. When mixed with the correctors, the foundation is a shade that I'm able to wear with my current coloring.

I actually used it for the first time yesterday and it worked really well. I used it to lighten up my Nars Sheer Glow in the shade Stromboli. It worked really well.

I'm really happy with my white corrector and I'm sure I'll be using it very often as many of my foundations are at times too dark because I self tan often. I think these color correctors are a really great product to have in your kit, especially for makeup artists, to match the clients skin as perfect as they can. 

Coastal Scents Liquid Color Correctors are sold exclusively at www.coastalscents.com. They are $3.95 for an 8ml tube.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Coastal Scents and was not in any way compensated for this review. The thoughts in this review are my own, based on my personal experience with testing this product.

Coastal Scents Brushes!

Coastal Scents Brushes (http://coastalscents.com)

Left to Right: Eyelash Definer, Destiny Precision Angled Liner Brush, Divine Taklon Liner, Black Detail Synthetic, Synthetic Deluxe Crease Brush, Destiny Blender Brush, Sable Contour Brush.

Left to Right: (starting at the duo fiber brush) Tapered Duo Fiber Brush, Bionic Flat Top Buffer Brush, Deluxe Duo Fiber Shadow, Black Blending Brush, Black Sable Lip Brush.

Coastal Scents Brushes are my favorite brushes next to Sigma Brushes. What I love the most about Coastal Scents Brushes, aside from the great quality, is the amazingly affordable price. Even less expensive than Sigma, most of their eye brushes range from $2 - $4. Their face brushes range from around $5, with the most expensive brushes being $15. 

To view all brushes, click here.

The Bionic Flat Top Buffer Brush is becoming a new favorite of mine. I've used it the past couple of days for applying foundation, and it works really well. The bristles are incredibly soft, and because it's fairly large, it takes half of the time applying my foundation than it would with a standard foundation brush. I was a little worried that it would soak up too much product, but it didn't at all. Even after a few uses, the brush remained very soft.

The Tapered Duo Fiber Brush is a dupe of the MAC 131 brush. I wouldn't say it's an exact dupe, as the MAC brush has better quality synthetic fibers, but the shape is the same and it also works well for applying foundation. I think it's also a great brush to use for a cream blush and highlighting powder as the duo fibers don't pick up as much product at once as a denser brush.

The Deluxe Duo Fiber Shadow Brush. I'm pretty much a sucker for any "duo fiber" brush, so I thought I had to have this. Although it's a shadow brush, I really like it for applying concealer and applying foundation in precision areas, such as around my brows. This is also a good brush to use for a brow highlight or a light wash of color on the lids.

The Black Blending Brush was a little bit larger than I expected it to be and it's not very dense. I personally like it for powdering my under eyes after I've applied concealer, and around the corners of my nose to prevent shine. It works very well for that. I do think it would work well to blend any harsh lines in your eye shadow application.

The Black Sable Lip Brush is your standard compact lip brush with a metal lid for carrying around in your bag. I haven't used it yet, but it will be handy for when I wear my OCC Lip Tars.

The Eyelash Definer is something I think everyone needs. Plastic Lash Combs rarely ever do a good job of separating your lashes & clumps of mascara.. they moreso "comb" your lashes. Metal combs do a much better job at separating, as the teeth are thinner and come to a small point. I have a Tweezerman one for travel, but this is a good backup to have.

The Destiny Precision Eyeliner Brush is a pretty decent brush for applying gel liner in very thin lines, and I even use it sometimes for my brows (see tutorial here). I ordered a backup because mine started to fray. The "Synthetic Fine Liner Brush" may be a better choice for a liner brush as the bristles are longer and may not fray as easily. The Destiny Precision Eyeliner Brush comes to a point, so it's moreso for detail work.

The Divine Taklon Liner Brush is a very good synthetic brush for applying liner and brow products. It's fairly thin, so I haven't had any issues with fraying of the bristles, which often happens with most of my angled brow brushes.

The Black Detail Synthetic is a small brush for smudging shadow or liner to your lashline. Because the shape is a little bit rounded, it won't create precision lines, which makes it a good tool for smudging or small details.

The Synthetic Deluxe Crease Brush is a good brush for applying shadow to your crease. Also, because it's synthetic, it would work well for applying cream shadow. Because it's synthetic and dense, it will pick up lots of product, so it's a good brush to use if you want a very dark crease. I actually like using it to apply concealer, as it's a bit similar to the MAC 224, but shorter. It still works really well.

The Destiny Blender Brush is again, very similar to the MAC 224, but has shorter bristles. I like it for applying shadow all over my lid and through my crease.

The Sable Contour Brush is your standard "pencil" brush. It works very well to apply shadow through your crease, in the corners of your eyes, and even for blending/smudging shadow on your lashline.

I am really pleased with all of my brushes, and I highly recommend all of them. Especially if you're on a budget, or if you are looking to expand your brush collection.

Do you have any favorite brushes or products from Coastal Scents? Share in the comments below!

The Brush Guard Review!

You can purchase these in different variety packs for $5.50 (tax & shipping included) from http://www.thebrushguard.com/. I purchased mine from Coastal Scents for $4.95 (+ shipping).

View the reviews for the brush guard on makeupalley here.

Review: The basic concept of this product is to keep the bristles of the brush together while drying.. and to dry the brushes upside down so excess water won't seep into the wooden handle and cause the handle to separate from the brush in the future. I didn't really buy into the whole idea of the brush guard (considering these have been around for a while).. Although it's a good concept and it makes a lot of sense, I never really found the urge to purchase them. But while I was making a purchase on Coastal Scents, before checkout I was tossing in some last minute things and I figured I'd give them a try. I couldn't think of any other method or tool to use to dry my brushes facing down. When I clean my brushes, I usually lay them flat to dry and by the following morning, they are usually dry and fluffy. No problems. No serious issues with my brush bristles fraying or straying away.. and haven't had any brushes separate from the handle (well, high end at least). When I used the brush guards, it dried my brushes just as good & it kept all of the bristles together. I find the drying time to be very long (for this post, I had them drying for 10 hours and they were still damp. I had no choice but to use them by that point, so I couldn't take a picture of them dry). You really need 24 hours for them to dry completely. I find that my goat hair/natural bristle brushes dried in a much shorter time (it's always the case anyway) than the synthetic brushes. I do think this will help maintain my brushes well and that it will give my brushes a longer life span. Overall, I think it's a good product. Nothing I'd continuously rave about.. but, worth the $5.

Do you own these or anything similar? What are your thoughts?

Review: Coastal Scents Camo Quad - Medium + Before/After Photos & Swatches!

Coastal Scents Camo Quad in Medium

Hey Guys! I have another Coastal Scents review for you guys. It's for their Camo Quad Concealer in the shade Medium. They have four different Camo Quads in the shades Light, Medium, Dark and Color Corrector. You can view all shades here.

Before ordering this quad, I made sure to look up swatches and read some reviews. I also watched a review video by one of my favorite youtubers, Lisaz09. You can click her username and it will take you directly to her review video. Anyway, the majority of the reviews seemed very positive so I thought I would give it a try.

The shade Medium contains four (4) shades. They don't have specific shade names or numbers. There is a White, Light Peach, Med. Beige and a Dark Pink Beige. Prior to receiving this quad in the mail I thought these colors were going to be more yellow toned because of all of the swatches I have seen. I would say they kind of look more like NW shades than NC shades. The Med. Beige shade looks a little bit like my NW25 concealer.. but less orangy. Which is absolutely fine because peachy & pinky shades seem to camouflage dark circles very well. Then, once my yellow toned foundation is applied over.. they should be completely covered. 

I would say that my camera captured the color very accurately in both the quad by itself and the swatches (it may depend on your computer, because not every computer will obviously capture color the same way).

Coastal Scents Camo Quad in Medium

Coastal Scents Camo Quad in Medium

READ MORE!

Review: Coastal Scents Undercover Liquid Color Corrector - Yellow + Photos & Swatches!

Coastal Scents Undercover Liquid Color Corrector

(in the shade yellow)

Product Description: "

These are used when making custom color changes to foundation, concealer and blush are needed. Pro Color Correctors mix easily together and with liquid cosmetic products. You can also create custom color correctors such as peach, salmon, lavender and pastel green.  The use of color correctors will assist you in hiding a persons flaws and highlighting their facial strengths.

There are six velvety correctors, used in cosmetic products to lighten, darken, contour, add new tint and tone to products, and cover hyper pigmentation. If a custom fit is what you need when applying your makeup in business or at home, this set is indispensable. The viscosity is thick, highly pigmented, has good coverage and is easy to control when dispensing. " - http://www.coastalscents.com/

Why I found this product necessary to purchase - If you have been a follower of my blog and you keep up with my posts, you probably already know what skin tone I have and how often I stress about finding foundations that have enough yellow in them. Although this isn't always an issue as I have found good color matches in all of my favorite foundations, there are some foundations that fall short of my exact color match. I do own some foundations that I don't wear as often as others because of the sole reason, my face will not match my neck. Yes.. darkness or lightness wise, but the undertone will not match. Foundations that are too beige/neutral will leave me gray, cool foundations will leave me pink, too olive of foundations will leave me green and sometimes warm foundations can have too much red in the and leave me looking sunburned. I mostly run into the problem of some foundations being too neutral and they will give me a gray cast. Seeing this product on Coastal Scents made me really think that this problem can possibly be eliminated for good and I can use this product on my foundations that are missing a little yellow.

 Red - used when needing to add more pink in foundation for caucasian skin or shade of red in some darker skin tones. (Do not add more than a tiny dot of this at a time to your product, it is very strong. )

Blue - Simply mix equal amounts of yellow, red and blue (primary colors) together to make brown, known as a neutral color. The amount of each primary color used will make a specific shade of brown: more yellow, less red, less blue and so on.

Green - Adds extra coverage and color correcting for skin with too much redness from inflammation, such as rosacea and broken capillaries.

Yellow - excellent for under eye circles; used to add yellow tones; Yellow also counteracts purple blemishes and bruising. 

Black - is not a color, it is actually absent of color, it is used in the art and cosmetic industry to darken colors-absorb the light in them. Use this to darken your foundation shade, a darker shade of foundation is also used to diminish flaws and highlight strengths.

White - This is not a color, it is a tint, tints are used to lighten all colors. When you are in between shades in your color range white can be used to lighten, black to darken. White can be used to create a foundation one or two shades lighter than your regular makeup and to be used for highlighting.

So, I put it to the test. I used a foundation that is a little too neutral for me. (Rimmel Lasting Finish #200 Soft Beige) fyi, it's one of the lighter foundations I own for when I'm not very tan.

This was just a test run. I ended up putting a little more corrector than needed.. but as you can see from the final result, the foundation matches my skin much better than the original foundation. 

Review: I tested it again yesterday when I went out. I used a foundation that was again, a little too neutral for me and I used just a drop of the corrector and mixed it in with the dab of foundation I poured onto a clean palette and the foundation had transformed into a shade more suitable for me. Applied to my face, it looked like a completely different foundation. Matching your undertone perfectly is really something that can make or break a foundation. The corrector has a thin consistency.. It is not watery, nor is is creamy. It's somewhere in between. It did not change the texture or finish of my foundations. Just purely, the undertone. I highly recommend this product if you struggle with the same issues as me with foundations. I'm very happy I purchased this, and I will be using it with all of my foundations that don't have enough yellow. What's best about it is, it's only $3.95. View all shades here.

Have you used this product or a product like this?

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Coastal Scents. I was not paid or compensated in any way for this review. I paid for this product myself and as always, my reviews are honest and are based on my personal experience in using the product.