My Favourite Makeup Brushes! ♥

After cleaning my brushes yesterday, I thought now would be the perfect chance to let you know about my go-to, favourite make-up brushes that I use on a regular basis. I probably have more brushes than I should, so I’ve narrowed it down to the essentials!

So let’s begin with my top 5 face brushes…

The first contender is my relatively new, but definitely well-loved, Real Techniques Duo Fibre Face

brush. (Beware there is continual theme of Real Techniques haha). This is just a great all over, multi-use face brush for bronzer and powder etc. Being duo fibre means it’s designed to not pick up too much excess product and gives a light coverage. Therefore it’s particularly great for powder, as I have dry skin; too much powder isn’t a good look so this gives just the right amount of powder to keep the slight bit of oil on my t-zone at bay without being cakey. I also love to use this with my Benefit Hoola bronzer as in the winter it’s slightly too dark for my pale complexion, so as it’s duo fibre it doesn’t give too much colour that I look orange, but just gives a nice warmth and glow.

Secondly we have a pair of foundation brushes because I just can't decide which I like more, so I use them alternatively! The first is the Real Techniques Buffing Brush which I bought first from the Core Collection and I loved it so much and used it every day. Then for Christmas I received the Expert Face Brush and now I use that a lot too! I really can't decide which one I prefer more I just think they're both really high quality blending brushes that work brilliantly with liquid foundations to give a flawless complexion. Sometimes, when I haven't used it for foundation, I like to use the Buffing Brush to pack on powder in areas that I need shine to stay away rather than using a fluffy brush. But other than that, these are two of my top brushes that I used every day!

Something I really couldn't live without has to be my Real Techniques Contour brush! A-m-a-zing! It fits perfectly into the hollows of my cheeks and creates really defined cheekbones that also look natural because it blends out product sooo nicely. I use this with powder bronzer but I think it would work just as well with a cream bronzer like the Chanel Soleil De Chanel. I've also used this for concealer because it fits just under your eyes and blends out seamlessly. I wish they sold this brush separate from the core collection and then I would by two- one for contouring and one for concealer! This is just an overall great, unique brush that I haven't yet discovered anything like it on the market.

And lastly for face brushes we have the Real Techniques Stippling Brush. This was my first ever RT purchase and I used it for foundation religiously. After incorporating the Buffing Brush and Expert Face Brush into my routine, this sadly got neglected.  After spending around £10 on it and I felt extremely sorry for it, I had to find a use for it so I started using it for blush and now I would never go back! It blends all blush out perfectly to a really natural flush to the cheeks without being too harsh. Occasionally I opt to using this for foundation and I still love it for that but it's essential for my blush!

Okay, so next we have all of my favourite eye brushes. I now that I bombarded you with Real Technique brushes, but they really are the best face brushes I've tried for a reasonable price. You'll be glad to know that my selection of eye brushes is less of a RT theme haha.

Firstly we have my two favessss. My favourite blending brushes are No7 Eyeshadow Blend and Contour and the famous Mac 217. I was forever longing over the 217 but really couldn't justify the price so I heard that the No7 was a good but not an exact dupe so I tried it with a voucher off at Boots. Yes it did shed a little at first but other than that it blends out beautifully and is sooo soft on my eyes which is obviously a good thing because no one wants scratchy lids! I finally plucked up the courage to get the 217 and it is only £16 but £16 for an eye brush is slightly OTT if you had asked me before I brought it. But now that I own it and know how GOOD it is, it's totally worth the money. It's a lot more dense than the No7 so is good for blending out harsh edges and packing on colour. I still adore the No7 one as the bristles are a longer, it's more flexible so its great for the crease. If any of you girlies have also been longing over the 217, DEFINITELY try the No7 one first- and Boots alwaysss have vouchers of No7 cosmetics.

Next is an essential brush that every one needs- an eye shadow brush. My favourite is just a cheap and cheerful yet very effective ELF Eyeshadow Brush. I have quite a few Elf brushes and I think they are really great quality for the price and especially good to help build up your makeup brush collection. This basically just do what it says on the tin, packs on basic colour to the lid but I couldn't be without it!

Another Elf brush is the Eye Crease Brush. In my opinion, it's much more like a pencil brush however I do sometimes use it to define my crease in a heavy smokey eye but mainly I use it to smudge colour onto my lower lash line. I reallly couldn't be with out this brush as smudging a little bit of brown or whatever colour on your lower lash line just completes whatever look and adds dimension to your eyes.

Lastly but definitely not least is my Elf Small Angled Brush which I use every single day to fill in my eyebrows. I really like this one in particular because the brush hairs are slightly longer so it's not so dense so it produces much more natural, softer eyebrows without any harsh lines. I also use it to line my upper and lower lash lines to add extra dimension. It's just a simple brush that everyone needs in their collection.

Well that's it for today's post! I hope you enjoyed finding out about my favourite makeup brushes that I use regularly. I'd love to know what makeup brush brand is your favourite or what your ultimate holygrail brush is!

See you soon, Hollie X

Tag: My Furry Friend

Hello there! I thought it was finally time for you to meet my best friend! I don't know how you haven't met her sooner as she is such a big part of my life (so cheesy but true). Any of you dog owners will understand how once you have a dog, you can't imagine life without them!

Soo here are the questions:

1) What is your pet’s name?

Maggie! Some people laugh, some people say it's cute. Personally I couldn't imagine her being called anything else. It all stemmed from when we were planning on getting her, me and my mom wanted cute names like Daisy and Rosie but my brother and my dad were totally against them. They also said she wasn't allowed a pink lead etc, but me and my mom managed to worm our way into that idea! Anyway, since we weren't allowed a really cute girly name, we were watching the Simpson's one day and it suddenly clicked that Maggie (the little baby in it) would be perfect!
2) What kind of pet is it and what breed?

A dog (obviously haha) and a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel :-)
3) How long have you had your pet friend?

We've had Maggie since she was 8 weeks old and she's 7 this year so 6 and a half years!

4) How did you get your pet?

From a local family who had had a litter of cavaliers. As soon as we got through the door and saw her,

we had to have her she was so small and innocent! The family were so lovely and we wanted to take all the litter home!
5) How old is your pet?

6. I can't believe she's so old!
6) What are some quirky things about your pet’s personality?

Sooo many things. I don't know if it's quirky but she is reallly obsessed with going in the car- she doesn't care where you're going or how long for but she has to come or else she goes in a mood (typical female!). It's really weird because I know a lot of dog owners whose dog's hate the car or it makes them ill... weird.
7) What does your relationship with your pet mean to you?

It sounds really cliche but she's such a big part of my life! My whole family adores her, she is basically like a sister/daughter.
8) What are some of your favorite past times with your pet?

I have soo many, she's brought the family so many special, unforgettable memories that I can't just pick one!

9) What are the nicknames that you call your pet?

Maggie is quite a hard name to shorten but we sometimes called her Magz but it sounds a bit awkward. I often call her my little munchkin or my baby haha!

Well I hope you enjoyed meeting my special furry friend! What pet do you have?

See you soon, Hollie X

My Current Favourites!

Welcome back! I knowww that I’ve been MIA for way over a week now, but I’ve been so busy with my birthday and just life in general! I’ve found it really hard to find time to take pictures because by the time I get home from school, it’s already dark! Stupid shitty England weather. Anyway, enough of the excuses and let’s get started with today’s post…

 I was planning on doing a February favourites but now it’s 11 days into the next month so I don’t think I can class it as my February favourites (woops) but it’s too early to do my March favourites so instead I’m going to do a mixture of both and do My Current Favourites. I've discovered quite a few products this month as it’s been my birthday and I can’t wait to share them with you!

Firstly, we’ve got a primer- L’Oreal Lumi Magique. I’ve not really been into primers In the past because having normal to dry skin means I don’t really struggle with my foundations not lasting that long or I don’t need to reduce oil/shine. But when Maybelline came out with Baby Skin, I thought I’d give it a go (hang in there and there might be a review coming soon!). After my first experience with a primer, I wanted to branch out more and since my skins been so dry and dull lately, I needed something to bring it back to life so I decided to try some of the Lumi Magique range. It is soo good at brightening my face of a morning and slightly helps with dryness as it just smooths over the skin. It just gives a really nice glow without making you into a disco ball and I love it! I do think that it’s slightly over priced at £9.99 but it’s still worth the price in my opinion.

Secondly we’ve got a mascara and I know some of you may be shocked in case you think I’m cheating on or betraying my Maybelline the Falsies (I’m not, I still love it as much as I did before!) but I couldn’t not jump on the bandwagon and try Benefit They’re Real when everyone (and their dog) raves so much about it! Nothing will ever beat how the Falsies makes my eyes look and how well it lasts all day but this is a pretty close runners up! It gives suchhh good length and separation and works a dream on my bottom lashes. I wish it was waterproof because I’m used to that with The Falsies but it doesn’t smudge like normal non-waterproof mascaras do! Sometimes I like to add a layer of The Falsies as well to add a bit more volume but other than that I can agree with the hype.

My favourite foundation of the moment has to be Estée Lauder Double Wear in 0.5. I've been loving this when I want slightly more coverage than my Mac Studio Sculpt and something that will last all day. It has great coverage but not as heavy as the Double Wear original and has a lot more of a natural sheen. The colour matches me perfectly and I am in love! £28.50 is slightlyyy more than I'd wish to pay but it's definitely worth it.

I've been using my Calvin Klein sheer créme eyeshadow in snakeskin silver on my inner corner a lot lately. It's soo good at brightening my eyes and making them look bigger. I prefer this to a powder form because sometimes my eye area can get a bit dry if I overload too much product in there, so a cream sits there nicely! I often put this all over the lid as well when I'm not wearing much eye shadow and it looks so pretty. I can't wait to try more shades.

Lately, I’ve been lovinggg my Mac lipstick in Craving. It’s not as natural as a nude but it’s not a bold lip, a bit of something in between. It’s the perfect pinky plumy lip. Being an Amplified finish (my favourite of all the Mac ones) means it lasts a reasonably long time but definitely not as drying as a Matte finish. It doesn’t have much shine, which I quite like, but can easily fixed with a gloss on top.

Continuing with the lip theme, I’ve been using my Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lip gloss in Pastel a lot lately. It has a lot of shimmer but gives a nice amount of shine to a look. It’s not sticky so doesn’t cause my hair to get stuck (soo annoying) and it lasts a good amount of time. Can’t wait to try more lip glosses from Bobbi Brown.

Moving on to brushes, I had to jump on another bandwagon with the Mac 217. I never stop hearing people talk about this as their holy grail brush that they couldn’t live without so how could I not buy it! Before I used my No7 dupe (anyone want a review/comparison??) which I still lovee but I can see why everyone loves their 217. It’s great and for £16 it seems pretty high quality and it will hopefully last a long time.

I’d been longing over the Real Techniques Duo Fibre Brushes since they came out, not only because they’re so different to the rest of the range, but they look so nice with the monochrome! (haha soo sad) Apart from being aesthetically pleasing, they are also really great brushes! Soo incredibly soft (as are all Real Technique Brushes) and apply just the right amount of powder. I use the large one for a dust of power or the smaller one for a more concentrated application and the little one is great for blending out eye shadow! I really recommend them :)

Well, that's it for my current favourites, I'll definitely be posting more regularly again. Hope you enjoyed this post! What have you been loving recently?

 See you soon, Hollie X