BrushCraft by Artis Oval 6 Brush

BrushCraft by Artis Oval 6 ($24.50; brushcraft.com) is a face blending brush made from densely packed synthetic fibres that works with foundation, powders and blushes. I love it with liquid foundations that have a thin consistency. Its a well made brush, just like the rest I've tried from BrushCraft and has held up pretty well after multiple washes, even though it takes a really, really long time to dry. While I won’t recommend applying thicker cream products with this brush, it really helps buff things in after applying and doesn’t leave a cakey/streaky finish. Overall, a good brush for foundations and powder blushes, the densely packed fibres make the cleaning routine a bit difficult, but that apart, I don’t have any complaints.

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New And $10 From Essence & Catrice

Some budget beauty picks and newness from Essence & Catrice.

Catrice’ The Essential Nude and Precious Copper Eyeshadow Palettes ($7.99; ulta.com) both very beautiful palettes for the price and have a nice selection of neutrals. I love the Precious Copper palette especially since the colors are a little more warm and work better on my skin tone. The Essential Nude is nice, but the shades do look a tad close to each other, but make for good transition shades, A few shades do have a bit of a fallout, but they are great for the price.I have only swatched the darker shades in the palettes since the lighter shades look plain ashy and very similar on me. 

The Catrice Liquid Gel Cushion Eyeliner ($6.99; ulta.com)  is a fabulous gel eyeliner in a cushion formula. I love how jet black it is and how easily it comes off with water - absolutely no smudging. It it tends to peel off though which is way better than creasing. The pigment on this one is jet black and very intense.

The Essence Metals Eyeshadows ($3.99; essencemakeup.com) are shimmery eyeshadows that I prefer more to just pat/layer onto the lids. These do have a bit of a fallout while picking up using a brush. The colors are nice, may be more flattering on someone with lighter skintone than mine, but they are definitely nice if you are going for something more glam/metallic and want to keep the rest of the face simple.

The Essence Honey Care Smoothing Nail & Cuticle Scrub and Hand Cream ($3.99 each; essencemakeup.com)  are both really nice to keep hands and cuticles looking neat. They smell amazing and do the job without breaking the bank. Definitely worth checking out if you want a quick mini manicure in between polish changes.

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Model's Own Sculpt & Glow Highlighters

The Sculpt & Glow Highlighters ($11.99; ulta.com) are my very first products from Model’s Own. They are shimmery highlighters with a lot of dimension, pearl and finely milled reflective shimmer. The packaging does feel a tad less sturdy, though the product itself is great. The colors are something that would work on all skin tones and it is easy to tone down the shimmer, but also easy to go overboard since it is quite pigment packed. Overall, great highlighters for the price that work even as subtle washes of eyeshadows and feel creamy, smooth and non-chunky.

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