Reader Contribution - Mikyajy Makeup Brushes Review

Lovely reader Rima was recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where she happened to find a great line of makeup brushes ! Rima was kind enough to share the deets with us.

Thank you Rima - the brushes are gorgeous !


"Brand - Mikyajy

Website - www.mikyajy.com (currently under construction)

Products purchased - Makeup brushes from the "Girls Tools" range (10 brushes + brush roll)

Purchased from - Mikyajy company outlet at a mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Price - Around 200 Saudi Riyals (roughly INR 2600/USD 57 if my math is right)

Naturally, Mikyajy is a brand that most of us have not heard of. I was apprehensive about entering the store but the product packaging looked so great that I had to take a look. I went in and swatched a few products on my skin to test the quality. I also smelled them! Excellent stuff, to say the least! I decided to skip the makeup and buy the brushes as those were what I needed most.

The bristles are oh so soft and fine! Even after a thorough cleaning, they don't lose their shape or softness. The handles are non-slippery and fit snugly between my fingers. I would rate these brushes better than Mac. Yes ladies, BETTER! I find it difficult to believe my luck. Who gets to buy 10 excellent, professional quality brushes at such a cheap price? You know how expensive good quality makeup brushes are.. Though the brushes are still going strong, it scares me when I think that I might never get to lay my hands on this brand again! :( "

A few pictures of Mikyajy stores ... I love how colorful the stores are !

Makeup Brushes Storage

I like to store mine in Quart / Gallon sized Ziploc bags. They are sanitary IMO. I wash them regularly with shampoo, air dry them and zip em up in bags. One bag with eye makeup brushes and another with face brushes. One more with brushes I don't use very often.

Something about storing them in open pots scares me. Especially when I see the amount of dust a house can accumulate. So, storing them in bags is my way of taking control of the situation.

How do you store your brushes ?



Love,
Indian Girl

What Is Your Favorite Blush Brush

One of my first blush brushes that I still have and use is the small angled blush brush from ELF. Its soft but can get better, has weird auburn hair and came free with the ELF bronzer I picked up at Big Lots.

The ELF Bronzer is also one of the only blush / bronzers that I've ever hit the pan on. The last time I used it was a couple of days back.

Its a beauty.

A $1 beauty.


The next favorite is from a nameless brand again picked up at Big Lots.

Do not fear unknown brands.

This one is a big angled blush brush. Okay on the softness but otherwise very good for $2.

And then for a while I went Kabuki with the blushes. Its good but I think I'll stick to powder foundations for the kabuki. This one is from Cover FX. Its nice and dense. Again, a little more soft and I'll say LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Lets get to current day. Right now I have two super favs.

One is the fluffy big blush brush from Clinique that came out with the Bamboo Pink Collection.

Its soft, big, fluffy and can be used to apply all over shimmer powder or the blush or to blend the blush with the bronzer underneath - lotsa things !

The other super super fav is the Brush #16 - Blush Brush from Smashbox.

I am huge fan of the black and red design but that's not all. This is the softest blush brush I own. The size is perfect for laying blush just over the apples of my cheeks or along the cheek bone ( my current method). Because of the small size I can be assured that the blush goes just where I want it to and does not cover most of my cheeks with color.

So that's it. These are my faves and super faves.

What is your super favorite blush brush ?

Love,
Indian Girl

Smashbox Concealer Brush #4 : Review - The Only One That Works !

Over the years I have tried several concealer brushes but always came back to this

my ring finger.

It is soft, bendable, reaches every corner, helps me blend the concealer into my skin just as much as I want.

That being said I am still an Indian who eats spicy food with her hand - the one thing I always take into consideration before I put my finger anywhere on my face. The spicy ring finger is something I am predisposed to and as a result I have had to continue my search for a better concealer brush.

I expect the concealer brush to be everything my ring finger is - soft, bendable, reach every corner, help me blend the concealer into my skin just as much as I want.


In my search I found several types of concealer brushes. Some were beyond my comprehension. Ones that were rigid, made of weird fiber like material and did not blend or bend were all throw out. After seeing a few too many similar looking brushes that did not work I eventually found one that fits all my requirements from a concealer brush - the Smashbox Concealer brush #4.

Apart from the lovely black / red design, the brush is made of soft synthetic hair that gives excellent control for blending and layering the concealer. It bends into every contour of the eye without a need to apply too much pressure on the delicate skin.

What can I say - I am loving the non spicy version of my ring finger ! I only hope its as durable too ! If its not, you'll see a PS stating just that.

If $26 seems like a whole lot to spend on a single brush, check out the Wish For The Perfect Tools Brush Kit - $49 ( original value $ 134) The kit contains five brushes -
travel angled blush brush
travel blending brush
travel crease brush
travel shadow liner brush
travel angled precision liner brush

According to Smashbox's website the blending brush works double duty as a concealer brush !

What is your favorite way to apply concealer ? Is there a brush that does the trick for you ?

Love,
Indian Girl

Makeup Sponge / Wedges - Where have You Been All My Life ???

Why hasn't anybody told me about these wedges ? I am mad . Why is everybody keeping the secret to themselves ?? We all need to look pretty ..not just you. You; with the secret !

Ugh.

Anyways you couldn't keep it from me for long. I discovered them recently and I am all over them. These makeup wedges are the easiest most efficient tools to apply makeup. I hardly use my foundation brushes anymore. In fact with just this one wedge I can finish my whole makeup routine. Its that powerful and multidimensional ( can this word be used here ? I can never tell...)


I bought these wedges at Big lots for $2. Two dollars for 32 wedges. Each wedge can be used for two applications if stored in a Ziploc. I personally use one side on day one and the other side on day two. Sometimes I use a wedge just once - highly recommended. Always look for Latex free ones. I did not but got latex free ones, so that's good. Some people can get a severe allergy with latex sponges.

So, this is how you use it. Take a wedge, wet it, squeeze it to take the water off. Dab in foundation and dab all across your face. Now take some concealer on the wedge and use it under your eyes, over your eyes and everywhere else needed. You hold the thicker side of the wedge and use the thinner side to apply anything and everything. It bends, squishes, molds - does it all.
And did I mention, $2 . I then use it to apply my cream blush and cream highlighter. All done in dabbing motions. So much less pressure on your skin yet the effect is equal to airbrushing.

In between each step sometime I like to wet the wedge with Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray and dab it all over. Other face sprays or water can also be used. Yeah that article is coming up next - The importance of water in makeup. Seriously all these secrets I am discovering are amazing !!!

Try these handy wedges and lemme know how it works for ya

Love,
Indian Girl

Clinique Summer 2009 Bamboo Pink Collection : Review & Swatches

Hello Ladies !

Happy Monday ! Did you have a good weekend ?

If I had to describe my weekend I'd call it - Bolly Buster. I don't know what took over me but I woke up Saturday morning craving SRK. Nobody does romance better than him and the only movie I remembered was Kabhie Kushi Kabhi Ghum, so I sat and watched it. I truly believe that a lack of romance in real life can be compensated by an overdose of it from Bollywood and of course lipstick. And yesterday I watched Bluff Master. So I'm full. My Bolly appetite has been served and served well !

Now temme what you did. I hope yours was more exciting than mine ! Think about it and we'll get back to it later.

The Clinique Summer 2009 Bamboo Pink Collection

Read my preview post before this one, so you know how I feel about the collection. I've always wondered what I'd wear if I was invited to meet the Queen of England . Okay I lied. Who thinks of such stuff ! Surely not me. But if I were invited to meet the Queen I would most probably use items from this collection for my meeting-the-queen look. Did you know the Queen was 22 when she gave birth to her first child ? Again, I have never wondered about meeting the queen and I am not obsessed with royalty. I'm just saying...if I did, then...

The collection is for women of all skin tones. And this cannot be said for most collections. Here are the swatches. Ogle at it and then make a mad rush to the mall.

Fresh Bloom All Over Color

Though it says fresh bloom and the flower looks a lot like the Fresh Bloom Collection released for spring this year, there is a marked difference. This product only has about 15.6 % of the frost that fresh bloom products had. This is more like a pink glow for your face. It is for people who don't like bronzers, don't need one or just want to change it up. It catches light so beautifully and makes my face glow in multitudes of pink. Multidimensional stuff, I tell ya !


Bamboo Pink Eye Shadow Quad

Four sophisticated colors in one palette - a champagne pink / taupe / deep wine with hint of brown/ brown pink. I personally love wearing each color on its own all over the lid. Or any of the three with champagne pink as highlight. Sexy as hell ! Totally S.S.S



Butter Shine Lipstick - Bamboo Pink

A dusty pink with a hint of brown and a pearly finish. Great for pigmented lips. Great for work. Great for Kroger. Great for you. Great for your mom. And great for your neighbor with the tiny dog and big hair. Oh wait, that's my neighbor.



Cream Shaper For Eyes

Chocolate Luster is a pretty doe eyed brown. But the other color -Did they call it Cocoa shimmer ? I call it pencil taupe. It is the exact taupe from the eyeshadow quad in a pencil from. You know how makeup artists never get tired of saying " Silver / Gold on the inner corner brightens up your eye" Well news flash - gold or silver on my eye at work only gets me the nick name Goldie- Hawn . ( Yeah my imaginary coworkers are super creative with names) So, what I'm getting at is that this taupe makes for an excellent inner corner color. See, I told you I'd get to the point sooner or later.

Get your sunglasses out, camera flash on silver causes blinding


The Bamboo Brush is beautiful in its design and I'd say you should get it. But if you had to skip one thing from the collection then I'd say its the brush. Nothing's wrong with it but I don't want your wallet to kick me on my behind. The deal is this - I'll save ya $30 in return for no kicking-the-behind.

So, tell me how was the weekend. We are now come back to it. Indulge me. Gimme details. Make up stories. Anything !

Love,
Indian Girl
PS : Are you still rooting for me ? If not, start now ! Start HERE ! I am losing terribly and dont want to...