Makeup Brush Maintenance

Back in December, a reader, kuri, asked that I write a post on how I take care of my natural hair makeup brushes from Chikuhodo, Hakuhodo, and Koyudo. So here it is, my brush washing and maintenance arsenal consisting of 3 things: a bowl, a bar of Marseille soap, and microfiber cloths. Not pictured is a couple of broken mugs I use to stand the brushes in to dry, because they're just too pitiful LOL!

 

***Disclaimer***

This post describes how I take care of my natural hair makeup brushes for personal use on myself, not for professional use on others. 

Lavshuca Light Mix Eyes

Update Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

Redid the swatch photos for this palette as well, in better lighting and with a slanted shot to show the sparkling top wash's opacity when seen from an angle.

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Original post Sunday, February 1, 2015.

This Lavshuca Light Mix Eyes in GN-1 was on clearance at Adam Beauty and ended up as a cart filler along with a recent order. I didn't care for these palettes much when they first came out. The color combinations just look so... boring! Thankfully, when the order arrived both the compact and the colors look much better in person.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Paul & Joe Eye Color Set CS

Update Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

Last update for this post, promise!

I had time to redo the swatches to show a blend of Cream Eye Color CS 085 and Eye Color CS 085 (at far left):

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Update Tuesday, February 10, 2015.

Finally got around to wearing the Cream Eye Color CS 085 below without any primer underneath, and it creased immediately upon application T.T So sad to say but this is a no go. At least I know that Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer is able to hold these cream colors for a couple of hours, which is really a feat as it is!

Boo. Hiss.

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Update Tuesday, February 3, 2015.

Doing a bit of experimenting here with the Cream Eye Color CS 085 below. For a case this morning I finally wore it on top of Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer, then topping with a sheer wash of Excel Shiny Shadow in SH07 Shiny Beige, and line with Eye Color CS 085 on the upper and lower lash lines for a soft look. It was glowy and sheer gorgeousness! I was so surprised to see the end result turned out to be a glistening wet finish and not too sparkly at all where work is concerned (I usually don't wear makeup to work, and when I do I apply gingerly)! The Excel SH07 by itself is super sparkly, so I'm thinking the cream base must have taken that down a notch or two somehow. Love!

But guess what. Less than two hours later, it creased. I want to blame the EH Proof 10, but even then that's a stretch because this stuff is completely budge proof. Then again, may be a cream base on top of an eye primer is overkill. I want to blame the Excel SH07 next, but I've never had any problem with these creasing before.

So I will try wearing this P&J Cream Eye Color without any primer underneath to see how it fares then. Sigh. Will update again.

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Original post Wednesday, January 28, 2015.

This Paul & Joe Eye Color Set CS in 085 Princess was part of my purchase last summer, along with three Lipstick CS' and four Eye Gloss Lip Gloss Duos. This Eye Color Set CS includes a Cream Eye Color CS 085, Eye Color CS 085, and Eye Color Powder CS 085. There aren't actual names for these colors, other than the number 085. What a funny contrast with many oddly-named Japanese cosmetics ^.^

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Chikuhodo Brushes Part III

Reviewing a few Chikuhodo brushes ^.^ Will post more soon!

A few notes for this batch, and after this third time I won't repeat again, promise :P

1. All brushes were photographed pre-wash. The smallest Chikuhodo brush is starched, and the measurements are off for that one, although I did take post-wash pictures. 

2. Cameras don't have the same depth-perception as our eyes. Measurements are only estimates and not so much engineer-precise, plus the starching.

3. Brushes are listed by collection, then model number. 

4. I broke my no-squirrel rule again. Ha.

Brushes in this batch, from left to right: Artist 12-6, Artist 20-4, Artist 20-5, and G-06.

Privacy UV Face Powder 50 SPF50+ PA++++

Another translucent loose powder with superb sun protection in the form of Privacy UV Face Powder 50 SPF50+ PA++++. Privacy is a sub brand under the lesser known Kokuryudo Cosme. I believe this is the very first item I've tried from them, and you know what, I LOVE it!

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Moist Labo BB Mineral Foundation SPF40 PA++

Moist Labo BB Mineral Foundation SPF40 PA++ is a loose powder foundation that comes in two shades, 01 Natural Beige and 03 Natural Ochre (not sure what happened to #02 ^.^). I bought the 01 Natural Beige with my fingers crossed, and thankfully it works out ^.^

Ever since I waded into loose powder territory, I found that the boundary of their functions blurs a bit. After all, the couple of criteria I had were: 1 - it's a loose powder, and 2 - it has high-ish SPF, although I've broken this rule a couple of times already, picking up powders with meager SPF20+. My current makeup routine calls for 2 rounds of powder, the first dusting to set the bb cream I apply as concealer and highlighter around the nose/mouth area and under the eyes, and the second and last dusting as finishing touch.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

HanSkin Super Snail B.B. Cream SPF30 PA++

Here's another HanSkin hit that's thankfully still available, the Super Snail B.B. Cream SPF30 PA++. I like that these bb creams come in various sizes, some in 5mL, others 10mL, 15mL, with full sizes range from 30-50mL. The full size for this Super Snail cc cream comes in 30mL in a pump bottle, I think. But I'm pretty happy with this 10mL for now.

HanSkin Blemish Cover Natural and this Super Snail B.B. Cream. All pictures taken in natural light without flash. 

HanSkin Blemish Cover

This 10g HanSkin Blemish Cover is actually a concealer. I figured I'd give it a try since I'm using all my bb creams like I would concealers anyway. There are two shades available for this concealer, Bright and Natural. Silly me bought the wrong shade and ended up with Natural, the darker one of the two :(

HanSkin Blemish Cover Natural and Super Snail B.B. Cream SPF30 PA++ (will review next). All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

HanSkin Smooth Reflex Moisture BB SPF27 PA++

Last of the recent HanSkin bb cream batch is this 15mL tube of Smooth Reflex Moisture BB SPF27 PA++. Like the Gold Pearl B.B., this tube came sealed and was made in Japan.

From left to right: Mineral Magic Moisture B.B. SPF30 PA++, UV Screen B.B. SPF50+ PA+++, Gold Pearl B.B., and this Smooth Reflex Moisture B.B. SPF27 PA++. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

HanSkin Gold Pearl B.B.

Well, playing with bb creams I figured sooner or later I would stumble upon the goods and the bads. Actually, it's not that black and white and there's a spectrum of goods and bads. And by bad I mean they don't work for me, either the color being too dark or the formula too drying for my already dry skin.

For example, there are spectacular hits like Dr.Jart+ Renewalist (I bought a loose powder version of this too, will review later), HanSkin Super Light Touch, Mineral Magic, and UV Screen, and Dr.G Gowoonsesang Total Active (I even bought backups!). Then there are good ones like Dr.Jart+ Black Label Detox, and Dr.G Gowoonsesang Perfect Pore Cover and Primer BB Protector. And the ho-hum decent but not great like Skin79 Oriental Gold Plus, Lioele Beyond the Solution, Dr.G Gowoonsesang Actifirm Recovery, and Skin79 Snail Nutrition. Of course, there are misses too, like Dr.Jart+ Water Fuse, Lioele Water Drop, Dr.G Gowoonsesang Hydra Intensive, and Skin79 The Oriental Perfect Cover.

Which means there is one last category that I'm loathed to mention, the absolutely disastrous. Unfortunately, this 15mL tube of HanSkin Gold Pearl B.B. fits squarely in that category. In short, it's a disaster :(

From left to right: Mineral Magic Moisture B.B. SPF30 PA++, UV Screen B.B. SPF50+ PA+++, this Gold Pearl B.B., and Smooth Reflex Moisture B.B. SPF27 PA++. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.