Review: Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Set

Doing a review for Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Set.

I bought this brush set earlier from a local blogshop because I really wanted another concealer brush. Not going to mention the name of the blogshop because wasn't too pleased about their service.

Photos Obtained from Google Images

The Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Brush Set contains 3 duo-sided brushes. It comes with a travel-size ziplock bag.

From top to bottom: Blending and Eye Shadow Brush, Blush and Powder Brush,
Foundation and Conceal Brush

The brushes are rather soft and nice. First impression was that I really liked the Foundation and Concealer Brush because it was the most well made out of all. The others just don't look as nice.

Blending and Eye Shadow Brush
This brush has brown bristles that are quite soft. The blending brush is a flat topped brush. It is really big for my eye area. I wasn't too sure what it was for initially because it's just too big. It can be used for applying all over eye lid colour for people with bigger eyes. It can also be used for blending out harsh edges around the crease area. I just find it to be too big for me. Doubt I'll really use this much.

I really like this eyeshadow brush. It's very soft like E.L.F Eyeshadow Brush. E.L.F's regular eyeshadow brush is rounded at the top but this is angled. I like that it's angled because it goes in the crease areas so well and blends out really smoothly. Makes eye makeup such a breeze. Definitely one of my favourites.

Blush and Powder Brush
This brush has soft white bristles at one end and coarser black bristles at the other. The blush brush is small and fluffy and slightly angled. It's too small for blush application but maybe fine for precise blush application. I thought it was really nice to use this for maybe contour work. However one thing I really hate about this brush is that it stinks like crazy after washing. (Maybe I didn't dry it properly) I think the blush brush is made of animal fur. Not 100% sure but it sure smells like it. I really like this brush but it just stinks too much for me. Am not against animal hair brushes or anything but I don't really own any and have no idea how to make it not stink. Sorry if it sounds stupid. It doesn't help that it's duo-sided so it makes brushes harder to dry.

The powder brush is a small domed shape brush. This side leaks dye like crazy when washed so definitely wash all your brushes before using it. It is really small so I wouldn't really use it as an all over powder brush. It is probably good for you to dust a bit of powder to set your undereye concealer or other concealers where you need setting.

Foundation and Conceal Brush
This brush comes with yellow with brown tipped bristles. It is good for creme and liquid application. Both sides are similiar, just difference in size.
The foundation brush is big and nice tapered brush. I like that it's really thick at the sides. I don't really use liquid foundation but after testing it out, it really makes applying liquid foundation a breeze. You can get into corners around your nose and the foundation blends out really well. Would recommend this if you need a cheap and good liquid/creme foundation brush.

The concealer brush is the same except it's smaller. I really like how tapered and thick it is. Really wanted to get this because of that. I have the E.L.F Studio Concealer Brush which is rounded at the top and good for cream concealer application too. But I like the Essence of Beauty Concealer Brush even more. It smoothens out liquid or cream concealer around the undereyes really nice and makes it not as cakey. You get the concealing job done so much faster too. Just dab your concealer on. You can conceal a bit first with your fingers to slightly warm it up. After that use the concealer brush to go over the area and buff it out. It softens the edges of the concealer patch hiding the dark eye circles. The same thing applies to redness around the nose, mouth so on and so forth. One of my favourites from this set.


Overall I'm liking only half of the brushes from this set. The Blush and Powder Brush is my least favourite duo-sided brush out of the 3. Am prepared to throw it away because of the crazy problems it gives me. The eyeshadow and concealing brush are my favourites currently. I think this brush set's worth considering if you want to find cheap and good brushes. It's pretty decent. Maybe you can choose to buy the brushes seperately and not this particular set but am not too sure if their brushes are consistent. Duo-sided brushes probably save a lot of space but I find it kind of hard to dry them properly. Really not a fan of it.

The Essence of Beauty Deluxe Duo Set retails for USD $14.99 on CVS.com.

Review: NYX Eyeshadow Base

Ok, I've finally finished testing NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skintone which I bought not too long ago. The colour looks nothing like that as the photo taken by NYX website (above).


The NYX Eyeshadow Base comes in a plastic jar with a white cap. The colour is a orangy beige colour that looks darker than NYX Concealer in A Jar in Beige. It is lighter when applied. It is a really creamy base which I had no problem blending but it dries fast when applied so you have to work fast.

On NC25 skin, it has an obvious orange tinge in swatches. As the base can be blended, you can just apply a thinner layer to make it less obvious. When applied on my eyes, the orange tinge wasn't that obvious for me. As I have dark shadows on my eyelids (due to thinner skin ), this eyeshadow base really helps in concealing and correcting all the darkness on the eyelids that I want to be gone. It glides on really smoothly and smoothes the creases on the eyes for me. I find it easy to blend out. The base goes on, giving a sheer coverage.

As a eyeshadow base, I really do not find that it intensifies eyeshadows as stated. You do get colour payoff compared to not using any base or primer but I find it to be average. You might get better payoff working with a good eyeshadow primer instead. There was something I did not like about how the eyeshadows turned out after applying over this base. I couldn't put a finger to it and so I did several swatch tests of this with E.L.F Mineral Primer, L'Oreal De-Crease Primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (yes, I have that many. Too bad I have no pictures for this because my camera has broken down). So in short, although colour payoff for eyeshadow applied over this NYX eyeshadow base was decent, there were some colours that didn't turn out the way they should. I had problems with colours that were reddish copper or burgundy purple that turned up darker or more brownish. I believed it's due to the orange tinge in the base affecting it. Somehow the base darkens some of the colours instead of intensifying it.

Overall, I'm not really liking this product as an eyeshadow base to apply eyeshadows over. It is kind of dark. It works fine for me but probably wouldn't work for someone who's fairer than NC25. If you have perfectly fine eyelids (no dark shadows), using it will leave your eyelids looking orange which is pointless. However, I really like how it corrects all the darkness on my eyelids. I would probably use it on days when I don't feel like wearing eyeshadow, just to make the area around my eyelids look less dark. Another use I've found for it is probably as an undereye concealer. Even though coverage for this is sheer, it does help to conceal a little bit of dark eye circles. I suppose it works well as a "orange" corrector and since its consistency is really smooth, it doesn't make the undereye area look dry.

As most cream bases crease on me, usually i would use eyeshadow primer (to prevent creasing) before applying any cream base over to make eyeshadows stick. As this product doesn't work magic for my eyeshadows, it's really pointless for me to do it this way. You can give it a go with this method if it creases for you or the eyeshadow base in another colour (White and Pearl) works for you.

Item retails for USD $6.00 on Cherryculture.com

Comparision between NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk and NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skintone

If you can't decide between the two, maybe this would help. The NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk has a slightly creamy and sticky consistency. It is opaque white. You can apply on a thick layer to get a white canvas on the lids or blend it out sheer for a sheer wash of base to let eyeshadows stick on. Colours go on vibrantly and it's really good to have as a cream base to work with. The NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil definitely creases if applied on its own. Due to its sticky consistency, it can be hard to blend. Once you pat your eyeshadows on, they wouldn't budge as freely as it normally would (when done without any base).

The NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skintone has a creamy and slightly greasy feel and dries to a clean finish without any stickness. I find it to be easier to blend on top of it as compared to using the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil as a cream base. In terms of colour payoff, it was a little disappointing since it did not intensify colours as much compared to the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil.

Tips: Makeup Don'ts

This is hilarious. Am sharing it because I think every girl should watch it.
It may sound harsh but xsparkage has good intentions. Even your closest girl friend might not tell you when your makeup just doesn't look pleasing to the eye.

Tips: Makeup Tips For Asian Women

Just thought I'll share this article.

The original heading caught my eye. The article was titled "Best Makeup Tips. Ever. For Asian Women". lol..

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Learn how to tackle issues like sallow skin and single eyelids. Plus, other top makeup advice and techniques that flatter Asian features.

1. Asian skintone
Most Asians have a yellow skin undertone, so pick a yellow-based foundation and powder instead of pink-based ones.

If you're lucky enough to have a good complexion, you can choose to skip the foundation. For those who have spots and blemishes, use a good creamy yellow-based concealer with lots of coverage and opacity. Dab concealer on top of the blemish and blend with your finger, then set by dusting a little loose powder all over.

2. Asian lashes
Asian lashes tend to be short and poker-straight. Lash curlers are great for opening up the eyes, but if you love a longer-lasting fuller curl, try using a heated lash curler.

Add definition to your eyelashes with two coats of mascara -- black is the color that complements Asians' black or dark-brown irises. Lengthening mascaras contain micro-fibers to extend lash tips and create the illusion of longer lashes, while thickening mascaras help to volumize if you have thin or sparse lashes. Look for a mascara that comes with a thin brush applicator to reach the entire lash length for a full coat.

3. Asian eyes
Often, Asian eyes lack a crease in the upper eyelid (i.e. single eyelid), or they seem to disappear when the eyes are open. Asian eyelids are also somewhat heavier, making the eyes look tired and puffy.

Add definition with a generous stroke of eyeliner for definition, or try a black eyeshadow for a smoky smudged effect -- this sooty look especially flatters eyes without creases. Apply with a small angled brush, staying close to the lashline.

To disguise puffy lids, blend in brown or apricot matte shadow over the upper lid, sweeping all the way up and out of the outer corner. Blend highlight along the brow bone and along the rim of the inner corner to add dimension.

4. Asian cheekbones
Most Asians have naturally high cheekbones. For a youthful flush, accentuate your cheeks with a blush shade like rose or soft berry that will lift the yellow undertone.

Apply blush with a blush brush and sweep using crescent strokes just below the apples of your cheeks. To locate your cheek apples, just smile -- they're the part of your cheeks that pop out.

For a more dramatic look, apply highlighter to the top of your cheekbones to play up your bone structure.

source: here