Real Techniques Brushes

Real Techniques Stippling Brush · $10

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush · $9

Real Techniques Setting Brush · $8

So, I finally got the brushes I've been lusting over and yes yes yes they are worth purchasing. I can't even begin to explain how much I love these brushes, especially the stippling brush. They're so soft, really light, and just a breeze to work with. I use the stippling brush with liquid foundation and the end result is utter perfection. The expert face brush is really great for blush, bronzer, powder, cream based products, etc — so it's really a ton of brushes in one. The setting brush is great for setting powders (obviously), but you can use it for concealer as well.

You really can't get better brushes for the price and the quality is awesome. I'm already looking into getting the core collection and the kabuki brush, but we'll see :). I'm just overall amazed at these little babies considering how cheap they were. Big thanks to Kate whose post made me want to buy these; I love them!

Does anyone else own these brushes? If not, what are your favorites?

Birchbox Man: July 2012

Birchbox Man · $20/mo

Stuff for guys on a women's beauty/style blog. Really? I mean, really? YES REALLY.

We can't forget the fact that I'm married to a man that does like to indulge in skincare and haircare products quite often, so I kind of feel the need to write about it (and why not!?).

I have to admit straight away that I am 10000% more impressed with this box than I was with mine (/sob). Anywho, this pretty little box was filled with some awesome stuff. As you can see we've got some Benta Berry G-1 Super Moisturizing Face Cream, John Allen's Shave Slickwater — two pretty badass products from what I can tell. In the neatly wrapped package, there was a Supersmile Whitening System, and not pictured were the Cordies and the Wrapster from Quirky.

I've got to give it to Birchbox, they definitely packed this full of stuff Richard would be (and is) interested in trying and using. I'm really excited that there is now a beauty box for men that actually caters to the guys likes and needs. The questionnaire he had to fill out while signing up was fun and they really hit the nail on the head with picking things he'd like. Bravo, Birchbox. Now if you could only get mine sorted out :)

What do you guys think of this box? Are you interested in seeing more stuff for men? Would the guys in your lives enjoy something like this?

Finding the perfect flat iron (Part II): KeratinPerfect PerfectLight Deluxe

KeratinPerfect PerfectLight Deluxe · $175 @ Sephora 

After my not so great experience with the GHD my search for a new straightener continued and lead me to this glorious tool. I admit I had been looking into Keratin straighteners since my stylist used a Keratin Complex iron on my hair in which lead to awesome results — you can only buy them online which isn't a total drawback, but I just wanted something that would be easy to return if I didn't like it. Luckily when I returned my GHD at Sephora, I found this little guy.

Once again, I came home and was (seriously) impatient to try out what I had just bought. All I can say is oh my god this thing is wondrous. It's easy to hold, heats up fast, and overall gets the job done without burning my hair. The end result was soft, manageable locks and it literally made me look like I had just walked out of the salon. The buttons and digital display make it really easy to use, it's light, and the plates are titanium which seem to help in making my hair shinier. The PerfectLight goes up to a whopping 450º which makes it one of the hottest irons on the market today (it's lowest temp is 280º and I use it around 350-380º). While they say you should use this with the KeratinPerfect product line you definitely don't need to, and I don't; it still works perfectly and yields incredible results all on its own.

I would definitely recommend this to everyone and anyone — especially those with coarse, thick, or curly hair. I imagine it will work really great for straight haired ladies as well.

Goodbye 9 year old CHI, it was nice knowing you <3.

Finding the perfect flat iron (Part I): GHD Purple Peacock

 GHD Gold Series Purple Peacock · $225 @ Sephora 

I've had my CHI Turbo for since 2003 — it still works perfectly but I'm afraid that it'll die on me any day now and I won't have a backup. My hair is sooo thick and curly and sometimes wearing it natural just isn't an option.

While at Sephora I spotted this little beauty which happened to be the last one and really wanted to give it a try. I've heard nothing but good reviews so I figured why not (also Sephora's return policy is amazing).

I was immediately impressed with how fast it heated up; it took less than a minute!  Once I started to straighten I noticed that my hair was definitely very straight but also very dry (and not soft at all!). After doing a semi-big section + my bangs I just had to stop — my ends felt like straw and I didn't want to do any more damage than I already had. I was honestly soooo upset because I had read so many amazing reviews but this iron was just not working with my hair AT ALL. I do think main reason was that I didn't have control over the temperature and with hair like mine, I've got to have that control.

I wasn't about to risk the health of my hair for this gorgeous straightener, so I took it back to Sephora today and exchanged it for a few other things (I mean, this is only part 1) ;)

All in all, while the GHDs seem to get great reviews I'm not sure they're the right tool me and my hair temperamental hair type. However, this does seem like a tool that would be great for straight/wavy haired girls who don't really need the all the extra settings. What do you guys think of GHDs?

Benefit Sunbeam

Benefit Sunbeam

I've never used a highlighter before but after reading about them, I really wanted to try one. My decision was between this, Benefit's Watt's Up, High Beam, or NARS' Albatross. I wanted something that wouldn't be super noticeable, but that would just give the definition I was looking for. Although the reviews on all the other highlighters were wonderful, I decided to go with Sunbeam after trying it in the store.

Sunbeam gives my olive skin a beautiful bronze glow which is exactly what I was looking for. It looks stunning at night when out having drinks or at a restaurant with atmospheric lighting. During the day, the sunlight hits it in all the right spots and gives me the warmest glow — I couldn't be happier.

It's easy to apply, highlights the right parts of your face (while complimenting your blush) and overall just adds a little something extra.

What's your favorite highlighter? I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking to this one for quite a while! x