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Pretend Play Makeup Set by Cutegirl Cosmetics

October 25, 2016 · Leave a Comment

There has been a lot of talk lately about celebrities who allow their little girls to try on and play with makeup, and there has been a lot of blow-back for that online. But let’s face it: your kids/nieces/friend’s kids see you putting on makeup, having fun with it, and they want to have fun too! Makeup is colorful and feels nice and smells good; it is basically a kid-magnet!

Pretend Play Makeup Set by Cutegirl Cosmetics

That is why we love the Pretend Play Makeup Set by Cutegirl Cosmetics. Developed by a doting dad for his two little girls, it looks and feels like your real makeup, so your little makeup protege can experience the tactile fun of makeup without actually wearing makeup. While the makeup is fake, the feel and appearance are very real. No actual product is dispensed, but the feel is the same. None of the products are just a hard colorful plastic; they feel realistic. The construction of the product packaging is like actual cosmetic packaging. For example, the nail polishes open like real polish with actual polish brushes inside. The lipstick has a cushiony sort of give and “drag” when it is “applied” to the lip, just like an actual lipstick. The powder compact is very realistic looking, the powder puff is nicer than some puffs that come with actual compacts, and the powder has a cushioned feel and the surface feels just like a powder. The glitter pan blush/shadow pots are strikingly realistic to a well-known cosmetic brand, and the feel of the surface of the pot feels like a glittery multi-tasker makeup. The eyeshadow has the same kind of dual foam applicator as would come in a shadow quad. As a beauty blogger obviously I work with a lot of makeup, but it feels so much like real makeup in the container than I checked my fingers to see if there was indeed product on them!

Pretend Play Makeup Set by Cutegirl Cosmetics

My favorite kit, The Essentials Kit, contains:

Pink and Purple Nail Polish
Blue Ocean Glitter Pot
Silver Moon Glitter Pot
Powder Compact
Pink/Purple Eye Shadow
Set of Real Brushes
Pink Blush
BubbleGum Pink Lipstick (Made out of Silicone)
Polka Dot Makeup Bag

A real standout among this incredible set are the brushes. These are the softest, most luxurious feeling brushes I have ever seen. A kid will love the feel, and the tactile experience will satisfy many kids’ desire to play with your actual makeup. It will make you want to search for better brushes for yourself, though!

Pretend Play Makeup Set by Cutegirl Cosmetics

Now, some reading may feel that this encourages kids to wear makeup at too young of an age. Here is my feeling: Makeup is a powerful tool of expression. Children should learn to use that tool responsibly. If they are interested in makeup at a young age, then let them find a way to satisfy that curiosity in an age-appropriate manner. My mother gave me a powder puff and an empty container of loose powder when I was five or so. I got to experience the soft feel of the puff, and the lingering rose scent from the jar without actually wearing powder. But in the hyper-filtered world of social media, kids are going to want more than that. This is why I think the Cutegirl Cosmetics line is so great. As both of you play with the “makeup,” you can establish a discussion about when and how it is appropriate to wear makeup. Asking your daughter how old she thinks a girl should be when she wears glittery eyeshadow, or would she wear it to school or just to a fancy event gets both of you thinking through when it is appropriate to wear makeup and different kinds of makeup. This is a discussion that can continue over the years even when she outgrows the kit. But, just telling her that makeup “is for grown-ups” and shutting down the discussion will result in a kid who is wearing goth makeup by the time she’s twelve. Kids are hard enough to raise, don’t turn makeup into a contentious issue before it has to be.

Pretend Play Makeup Set by Cutegirl Cosmetics

But CuteGirl Cosmetics, would you mind making a real set for grown-ups too? The colors really are fantastic. 🙂

Find this great set at Amazon.

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I received this product in exchange for my unbiased review and received compensation for my time and effort. However, my experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.

Makeup Application: Startreasureland Oval Makeup Brushes

September 28, 2016 · Leave a Comment

A few well-known high-end beauty brands have made the oval brush concept very popular. They look like tiny hairbrushes but have soft bristles intended for use on the face. The benefits of oval brushes are that they have excellent control due to the handle shape, they can get into tiny crevices, and there is an incredible color payout. To see if an oval brush set is for you, a good set to try is the ten brush Startreasureland Oval makeup brush set.

TIP: The key to finding an effective but reasonably priced oval brush is finding one with highly packed dense bristles.

The Startreasureland Oval makeup brush set has ten brushes with very dense and tightly packed bristles give a very smooth makeup application that starts out light a thin opaque layer you can buff out to the desired degree of sheerness.

Startreasureland Oval Makeup Brushes

COMPARING OVAL BRUSHES TO BEAUTY BLENDER SPONGES
Both have their place in a good beauty arsenal. While awesome for sheer coverage, a Beauty Blender is less helpful when seeking natural looking opaque coverage, such as on areas such as the undereye area, blemishes, imperfections, or areas that need fuller coverage. So I apply my makeup with an oval brush and blend out to the desired sheerness when needed.

COMPARING OVAL BRUSHES TO TRADITIONAL FOUNDATION & CONCEALER BRUSHES

The Startreasureland Oval makeup brush handles are ergonomic with a wide flat top and rounded easy to grip sides. They make it easy to angle around the face, so you can see what you are doing at any angle, whereas a regular foundation or concealer brush is the shape of a paint brush, allowing you to work your makeup at only one angle, which limits both visibility and blending ability.

Startreasureland Oval Makeup Brushes

HOW TO USE THE OVAL BRUSH SET

The two very large Startreasureland brushes in the set are for setting powder and foundation powder, applying makeup for body or applying powder over a large area. The second-largest can also be used to apply a face primer or even your moisturizer and sunscreen.

While each brush can accommodate any makeup, a liquid or cream texture foundation is applied with the third largest to the medium size brushes, concealer and blush with the medium to the small range (brushes 4-6), and eyeliner and eyeshadow for the smallest and round head brushes. The small round heads are also useful for lipstick, spot blemish concealer application, eyeshadow crease/contour and the thin small heads work for eyeliner, contour, and eyeshadow. I was surprised how nicely the round brush applied a dark, heavily pigmented lipstick into a nice subtle layer of sheer tint, perfect for that transitional autumn timing.

RESULTS
I was surprised by how large the foundation brush is, but when the sides are used, it draws a very defined contour line. The foundation brush maneuvers the angles of the face well. The concealer brushes (generally the 4-6 largest) get in well in the small crevices around the eye and that dark area between the nose and undereye under the brow. I love how sheer the oval brushes get foundation and concealer, even on bumpy areas.

The most important thing I found when using these brushes, is that there is very little wasted makeup. I found with some brushes and sponges, my Beauty Blender type applicators especially, that I lost a fair amount of makeup that was soaked into the sponge, even when the Sponge is used damp. These brushes just help smooth out a thin layer and buff out to your desired level of coverage without wasting much makeup. In short, what you apply to your face directly and brush out, or what you apply to your brush and brush on, is what ends up on your face. It is easy to go heavy-handed at first.

I was also surprised that the round head oval brush as a lip brush was as useful when applying lipstick. Even dark, sticky colors went on sheer and super even with no lumps or bumps. It took a few tries to get used to controlling the brush as a round tip directly on the lips instead of a side-to-side flat brush painting motion.

CONCLUSION

The Startreasureland Oval makeup brushes are useful for powders, creams and liquid makeup – whether foundation, contour, eyeshadow, highlighter, cream blush or even lipstick. This is a very handy set of brushes that are well-constructed with well packed and dense bristles. There is a great color payout, and I love how sheer foundation appears on the face, and I especially like how much control it gives when applying contour, concealer, and eyeshadow. Quality set for a good price.

Startreasureland Oval Makeup Brushes

I received this item for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!

Travel: Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

September 19, 2016 · Leave a Comment

The Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag comes in three different colors; we selected pink, and we use it to hold makeup and beauty supplies while traveling, going to the gym, or for makeup redo jobs if we are leaving for a social event directly after work.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

SIZE AND APPEARANCE
About the size of a purse, it is suitable for discretely carrying to the ladies room for a mid-day emergency beauty touchup (or total overhaul). It is also suitable for using as a handbag/carryall for the gym to hold my jewelry, phone, wallet, makeup, and toiletries for taking a post-workout shower and styling my hair afterward. There are convenient pockets to hold my gym membership card so I can quickly swipe my card and get to my workout.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN
There is a black plastic hook to hold it upright in place when used in a locker or bathroom, and a handle for carrying it. There is a fair amount of cushioning within the bag to keep items safe in transit. It is waterproof and leakproof, which is particularly useful when transporting multiple beauty products that could cause a mess in your suitcase.

The bag comes with a black eye mask and earplugs, suitable for use to get some sleep while traveling. This bag would be very helpful if you choose to keep your beauty supplies with you while traveling, which I prefer to do whenever possible to keep them out of my luggage and avoid hot/cold weather extremes when luggage is in the trunk of the car.

There are two internal zippered pockets for holding more fragile makeup powders or perhaps jewelry during a gym workout. I use it to hold more expensive beauty items. For example, my Hourglass powder trio is very delicate so I keep it in the box when using it outside of the house, and having a secure pocket to hold it in is very useful to keep it safe.

The deep middle pocket holds a long thin can of hairspray or dry shampoo, face wash and a ton of makeup and beauty supplies, as seen in the photos.

It has multiple side pockets for various makeup pencils, makeup brushes, toothpaste and toothbrush and makeup palettes. The inner side pocket is useful for holding a wallet and different cards, or a small book or journal. The pockets are deep enough to hold a full 8-ounce size tube of lotion or face wash. I carry hand cream in this pocket.

Mr. Sleek Toiletry Bag

CONCLUSION: Useful for carrying all your toiletries and beauty tools while traveling, post-gym workouts, or to discretely redo your look after work before a night out, the Mr. Sleek bag holds a TON of stuff in an easy-to-find internal design that keeps even delicate items securely in place.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyKQ-6XRM1A[/embedyt]

I received this product for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer it!