Introduction to Mikasa Beauty

Hello, readers! I have something very exciting to share with you... I am a brand affiliate with Mikasa Beauty! I received an email from the marketing coordinator offering me a free Lemon Drop makeup sponge and a personalized discount code for me to order and try some of their products. I received my Techni L2 Brush and S100 Lemon Drop in the mail, and I've used them enough to give you a helpful review on these items.

I only ordered one makeup brush to see if the quality was any good before I spent a lot of money on this company that I had never heard of prior to the original email. The L2 caught my eye immediately on their website, because I had been looking for this style of brush already. These linear shaped tools work wonders with cream contouring and highlighting. And I have to say, this L2 is no joke! The handle is very sturdy, unlike the flimsy plastic of some other paddle style brushes I've tried, and the bristles are incredibly soft yet dense. This performed beautifully with the cream contour shade in my Tarteist Pro Glow palette, and I used it to apply the product to the hollows of my cheeks, jawline, forehead, and nose. I've only used it a few times, so I'll have to update you on the sturdiness of the brush in a future post. The retail price for this brush alone is $20, or you can order the bundle below for $90 (close to the price of a single Artis brush.... 🐸🍵).

I understand, $90 is still a lot of money to spend on four makeup brushes, even though they are amazing. But fear not! I have a 25% discount code for all of you! Use BEAUTYCON25 for $$$ off your purchase.

Sadly, I cannot recommend their S100 Lemon Drop sponge, despite the company's "revolutionary" claim. It's not special at all: I've seen several sponges with the same design. The sponge's awkward shape along with its rock-like feel make it unreasonably difficult to blend your makeup. I threw it away after two uses. Stick to your Real Techniques and your BeautyBlenders, honey!

Mikasa has many different styles of brushes to choose from, and they also have makeup on their site! Check out their selection here. Remember to use BEAUTYCON25 for 25% off your purchase!

Let me know if there are other products you'd like me to try from Mikasa Beauty!

Thanks for reading 💕

Foundation: Are You Using the Right Tools?

Welcome to the second blog in my series addressing commonly asked questions about foundation. If you haven't read my first blog from last week about finding your perfect foundation, I recommend you read it before reading this one. I talked about four common foundation types (liquid, cream, powder, stick) and which skin types generally work best with each formula. Today we will be focusing on the ideal tools for blending each of the same four foundations that I covered last time.

Makeup Sponge
The transformation of the makeup sponge has taken the beauty industry by storm. No longer are we using the flimsy little white triangle sponges from the drugstore, with as many as 32 in a $3 bag. The beautyblender is the most popular sponge on the market, and although it's AMAZING, it retails for an astonishing $20. For one sponge. However, if you feel like splurging on one of the world's best and diverse beauty tools, I highly recommend it.

 

Don't panic, my budget buyers! There is a close second to the beautyblender, and you find these at Ulta, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. for around $5. I've gone through several of the wonderful Real Techniques sponges, and they are *almost* as amazing as the beautyblender. They are definitely better than any other drug store makeup sponge you can get.

I ONLY recommend the orange Real Techniques sponge. The diamond shaped sponge and the tiny purple ones marketed for under eyes are gimmicky. The one that's half orange and half pink is hard as a rock and barely absorbs any water.

Makeup sponges perform best with a liquid foundation. They can blend out cream and stick formulas, but because of the thickness in those formulas, it takes a long time to achieve even coverage. Use a rounded side of your sponge to blend the foundation around your face. Make sure it's wet! This is a mistake that many people make. Before use, run the sponge under water until it absorbs as much as possible. Squeeze the water out and pat with a towel so the sponge is damp. Blend away! Both of the sponges mentioned are reusable, so wash every week with warm water and dish soap or makeup remover (nothing oil based).

Buffing Brush
For cream foundations, I recommend either rounded or flat buffing brushes. A kabuki brush will also suffice. A buffing brush will blend this type of foundation faster than a sponge, and the density of the bristles will move the product around easily. If your cream foundation is on the thicker or drier side, you can use a little facial spray to add some moisture to the formula before blending it out. Use circular motions until the product is evenly applied.

This is Tarte's buffing brush, but really any brush with dense bristles will work perfectly. Real Techniques makes some affordable foundation brushes that you can try, but if you're a prestige brand lover, check out Sigma's line.

Oval Brushes
The best method for blending stick foundations is using an oval brush with thick bristles. Stick foundations are notoriously more difficult to blend than other mediums, so you really need to be using a flat surfaced oval brush to smooth the products correctly. Again, if you need to add moisture to the foundation, use your favorite facial spray before blending.

The Artís Oval 7 and Oval 8 are perfect for the job. I must warn you, these are ridiculously expensive, but I wanted to show you what they look like since they are the best of their kind. A cheaper alternative to the $62 Oval 7 is the Royal and Langnickel MODA Prismatic Face Perfecting Kit for $16.84 at Walmart. That kit comes with 4 different brushes, including their oval foundation brush.

Powder Brush
You can probably guess what foundation the powder brush is perfect for. There are a lot of great tools for powder foundations, but large fluffy brushes are my favorite. Usually, I like to use the flat powder applicator that comes with the foundation to press powder into the skin, and then I take my Sigma F30 Powder Brush to blend everything out and add more foundation if needed.

Any large powder brushes will do the job, but Sigma brushes are my favorite. I have sensitive skin, so I can't cut costs with cheap brushes. Sigma may be pricey, but the bristles in the brushes cause no irritation when I apply my makeup.

I hope you found this helpful! If you have any questions about foundation, leave me a comment! Let me know what you want me to cover next.

Thanks for reading 💕

2017 Spring Favorites

Happy May Day, everyone! Back in January, I posted my favorite products for the month and said I'd be doing that every month. Just kidding! Even though I purchase a lot of makeup, I use many of the same products for a few months before I swap them out for something else. When February rolled around, I was still using many of my favorites from January, so it didn't make much sense to do another post for the month. Instead, as you've inferred from the title, I've picked a few products that I'm loving this Spring!

Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic palette, Tarte Maneater mascara, Mario Badescu Facial Spray, Tarte Clean Slate primer, Anastasia Beverly Hills brow gel, Ofra Rodeo Drive highlighter

You probably recognize most (if not all) of these if you're a fellow prestige brand buyer. Let's get into the details!

Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette
The only way you wouldn't know that holographic products and duo chrome colors are in again is if you have zero internet access. I have a few different products, but this palette from Kat Von D is my favorite. My boyfriend bought this for me in March, and I've been using it nonstop. Not only are these fun highlighters, but they double as eyeshadows. Here are some swatches of the shades:

Top to bottom: Emerald, Amethyst, Saphyre, Opal

See!!! Beautiful 😍 Opal is my favorite of all. The pink shift compliments the pink undertones in my skin perfectly.

Tarte Maneater Mascara
You guys, this mascara is wonderful!! I've been using Too Faced Better than Sex mascara exclusively for months, but Tarte's Maneater and the Lights, Camera, Lashes mascaras have changed me forever. Maneater is perfect for enhancing each of your natural lashes, because its wand shape grabs each individual hair. It's perfect, and you'll adore it.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray
Mario Badescu is a skincare line found at Ulta that produces high quality products for low prices. Their Rosewater facial spray (above) is a best selling item, and they've just added a Green Tea and Cucumber spray if rosewater isn't your style. After Urban Decay sabotaged their setting sprays with what I believe to be cosmetic stink bombs, I was desperate to find a new spray that could set my makeup. This products does so much more. It's great for priming the face, moisturizing throughout the day, and melting your makeup into the skin for long term wear. It's 1000 times better than any makeup spray ever created by a makeup brand, because Mario Badescu is a skincare brand. This huge 8oz bottle is only $12, and the 4oz bottle is $7.

Tarte Clean Slate Timeless Smoothing Primer
I have never used a primer that felt so great on my skin. I'm used to the Smashbox Photo Finish primers which have a slippery, almost oily feel (despite their oil free label). Clean Slate is thick, almost like clay, and I've noticed that it actually smooths out my textured skin. When I pair it with my Amazonian Clay foundation, my face stays flawless all day!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Gel
This particular brow gel is clear, but ABH also makes tinted gels for those of you who are looking for an easier way to fill in your brows. The brow gel is the finishing touch to my brow routine, and I use it to achieve the airbrushed, almost fluffy look that's trending right now. It's great for enhancing your natural brows, or you can pair it with a brow pomade/pencil for that glam Instagram look. 

Ofra Cosmetics Rodeo Drive
Last but not least, we have Rodeo Drive!! I actually wrote about this last night, so read this. I do have a swatch for you, though!

  
And that's it for my favorite products this Spring! What have you been using lately?

Thanks for reading 💕