Q: hi Rhia, I saw your post about Crown Brushes and was wondering what's your opinion of Crown brushes now that you've had the chance to use them for a while? I'm hoping to build a brush collection for my own everyday use, so I was wondering if I should buy Crown or maybe get brushes from Sephora or MAC? What do you think?

A: Thanks for the question! I still like the brushes for the original purpose I had bought them – to build my make-up artist kit and have back-up brushes for consecutive appointments. After getting the chance to work with them, it turns out my favourites from what I purchased are the foundation brush, large powder brush and kabuki brush. The brushes apply and blend product well, and feel smooth against the skin. One thing I did note when washing the large-sized brushes (blush brush, powder brush) was that the dye bleeds slightly once wet. Small price to pay for such an affordable line of brushes!

For your own personal use, it doesn't hurt to invest in a really good set of quality brushes. They feel better on your skin (and your skin deserves to be pampered!). As long as you properly take care of the brushes, they will last you a long time. You can find great quality brushes through Crown, Sephora, MAC and other department store brands. My first two professional brushes ever are by MAC and were given as a gift to me back in high school. The brushes are still in good condition to this day, and I’ve obviously gotten great use out of them as high school was a long time ago! For the larger sized brushes especially (i.e. powder, blush brushes), you'll feel and see the difference in how the make-up is applied. For that reason alone, quality brushes are definitely worth the investment!

Be sure to check out these sites/stores:
MAC Cosmetics
Industry Cosmetics (for Crown Brushes)
Sephora

Related posts:
PRODUCT REVIEW | Splurge vs. Steal Part I - Face Brushes
PRODUCT REVIEW | Splurge vs. Steal Part II - Eye Make-up Brushes
KIT ESSENTIAL | Essential Brushes

Up here in the Great North, we're just getting past our (hopefully) last taste of winter. But worldwide, fashion houses are setting the scene for what looks we'll be after come Fall 2009! We go backstage with MAC Cosmetics for this sneak preview Fall 2009 beauty trends:
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RUNWAY BEAUTY TREND: Gray LipsGray-toned lips (Doo-Ri, Rodarte) were the answer to the goth-hot black lips that dominated runways last year. At Doo.ri, MAC Pro Artist Tom Pecheux mixed Black Lipmix with concealer to achieve a gray colour for the lips. (An actual gray lipstick? That remains to be seen!)

From Runway to Realway:
Now, runway looks aren't necessarily intended to look great on the everyday woman, but in this case, even a supermodel hardly makes a gray colour "work". Wear gray on the nails and on the eyes (like at Badgley Mischka), but please let's reserve this look for the runway.

photo on right: www.fashionindie.com

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RUNWAY TREND: Red Lips
At Ruffian, face make-up was clean in order to set the focus on stand-out red lips.

From Runway to Realway:
To me, red lips are a look that never go out of style. Pair it with a stroke of liquid liner on the top lash line and defined lashes for a classic glam look.

photo on right: www.wwd.com

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RUNWAY TREND: Brown Eyeshadow and Clean Skin
Donna Karan is known for her New Yorker practical chic approach to fashion, and the same modus operandi reflected in the runway make-up for her Fall 2009 collection. The focus of the runway make-up look was flawless skin, highlighted with neutral eyes and lips. MAC Pro Artist Charlotte Tilbury used Copper Walnut Pro Gloss mixed with a Bit of Reflects Gold for a fresh look on the eyes.

From Runway to Realway:
DK's runway make-up look is easily achievable - you can likely get the look with products that you already have at home. Use a cream eyeshadow (try MAC Paints) as a base before applying neutral eyeshadow all across the lid. The cream eyeshadow will reduce the chance of your eyeshadow creasing by day's end!

photo on right: www.instyle.com

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RUNWAY TREND: Flashback 80s
Kohl-rimmed eyes are always a great look for the fall season. For Fall 2009, the eyes at Nicole Miller made a bold statement with electric blue eyeshadow. MAC Pro Artist James Kaliardo achieved the look by using MAC Pro Marine Blue Ultra Paint Stick as a base, and then blending MAC Freshwater and Atlantic eyeshadows over the lids.

From Runway to Realway:
Yes, you can wear blue eyeshadow. Save it for a fun night out or opt for a subtle blue eyeliner look for daytime. Pair the look with neutral pink lips to keep the look balanced.

photo on right: www.instyle.com

I'm a frequent Shoppers Drug Mart visitor (and avid Optimum Points collector) so it's easy to keep on top of when my favourite items go on sale. Today, I picked up (two of) my latest fave mascara - Maybelline Lash Stiletto on sale for $9 (well, before taxes).

A great shopping resource for drugstore make-up products where you can buy without having to leave the house is www.well.ca. There are plenty of great deals on some of my kit essentials. For instance, Rimmel London Eyebrow Pencils retail for $5.99 while L'oreal Lineur Intense goes for $9.99 - and these are the site's "regular" prices. (Yes, I watch for them to go on sale!) Well.ca also offers free delivery with no minimum amount required to buy. Yes, all the more reason to shop well.ca!

If you're interested in trying out L'oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes, go to www.beautytubes.ca and in the top right-hand side, enter the code below to save $5!
Coupon courtesy of Matchstick and L'oreal

Since mascara should be replaced every 3 months (or as soon as it starts smelling funky!), I always like to use this time as an opportunity to try something new. I'm always a sucker for mascara ads (even though they're usually false eyelash and computer "enhanced"). Over the past year, I've caved to lash blasting images of Cover Girls Drew Barrymore and Rihanna. I mean...it never hurts to try, right?! My lashes definitely need it. With some of the drugstore mascaras I try, I'm pleasantly surprised with the outcome while others...leave something to be desired. Read on for reviews...and just maybe you'll score a drugstore mascara find that's right for you (or save the $10 that you would have otherwise spent on it!).

Cover Girl Lash Blast
Lash Blast has been a personal favourite in my make-up stash since its release last year. The stiff comb-like super wand helps me distribute the mascara to all my lashes—even those tiny baby eyelashes--and these lashes especially need all the help they can get! I’m convinced the large comb-like brush coupled with the over-sized tube actually works better than the usual fibre wand to maximize product distribution from the tube to my lashes. At only about $10CDN ($8 when on sale!), this mascara is a great deal and definitely comparable to higher end (and higher priced) mascaras.


Cover Girl Exact Eyelights Eye-Brightening Mascara
I love the idea, but I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to mascaras that are supposed to be ‘highlighting’, so of course I had to try it out for myself. I wanted to believe the marketing hype with this mascara, but found that it fell short of what it promised. I scooped up Eyelighting in Black Sapphire, the recommended choice for brown eyes. Once applied, I found the Eyelighting mascara to be no different than any other black mascara. The wand is similar to the one found in Lash Blast, which works well with my lashes and saves this mascara from being a total waste! Overall, it’s a decent mascara, but I doubt I’d see a noticeable difference if I were to use the black mascara for blue eyes, the one for green eyes, etc.!

Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express
I love when my lashes are big and bold, so Colossal? Bring it on! The cross-over multiple fibres of the brush worked well to build up product on my lashes, but actually distributed too much for my liking - weighing my lashes down and undoing the usual eyelash curler lift. The colossal-sized brush also made it difficult to get at the inner and outer corners of the lash line, without the mascara smudging on my skin. As I do prefer the look of volumized lashes, I found it tough to build up coats without looking clumpy (I blame the wand!). The final result were lashes with length, but I would hardly give them the attribute “ colossal”. All in all, a decent mascara, but I likely wouldn’t purchase it again for my own personal use.


Maybelline Lash Stiletto
Lash Stiletto claims to do what for your lashes what it does for your legs – and who doesn’t know the power of the tall heel? Lengthening usually isn’t what I look for in a mascara, but I was pleasantly surprised with the results from Lash Stiletto. The tapered brush (shaped like a tall heel) works brilliantly to build up mascara on the lashes, without being clumpy. The finished result lengthens and adds volume to the lashes. The skinnier end of the brush helps you really define the inner and outer corners of the lash line, where the hairs tend to be short and fine. I love the sleek packaging! Relative to the two ‘big’ mascaras mentioned previously, the Lash Stiletto tube is more compact in size allowing me to squeeze more items into the daily make-up kit I throw into my purse.


L’oreal Beauty Tubes Mascara
Back in early December, I was given a sneak preview of the then soon-to-be released Beauty Tubes Mascara. L’oreal’s latest mascara aims to take your lashes to new heights with a microfibre primer plus mascara product, all in one tube. Once applied, I did notice my lashes were longer with the microfibre extensions at the tips. The mascara works great as a lengthening mascara; I’d recommend it for those (blessed) beauties with already full lashes that just need eparating and lengthening power in their mascara. See the original review here.

Aside from being able to do what I absolutely love, one of the most rewarding things about being a make-up artist is meeting and getting to know the people I am fortunate to work with.

Last weekend was no exception. Saturday started off my first wedding of 2009. It was a gorgeous and clear day for a winter wedding. Despite the early hour, Libby (pictured at right) was fantastic to work with and the epitome of a calm, cool and collected bride. The final result of our session was a classic glam look fitting for the beautiful bride-to-be. Click here to view more of the photos.

On Saturday afternoon, I also had the pleasure of working with bride-to-be, Bex – not for a wedding this time (that's coming up in May!), but for a Bridal Shower (neat idea, right?!). Bex (pictured at left) and her bridesmaids first treated her bridal shower attendees to a cooking demonstration and then to a smoky eye make-up demonstration (yes, that’s where I came in). The demonstrations all went hand-in-hand with the Stepford Wives theme of the shower. Neat ideas indeed! Lesson of the day: it never hurts to look good...even while cooking!

(Thanks for the picture, Bex!)

On Sunday, I had a couple more trials with these two lovely ladies pictured below, Denise and Hun-Sun. Both brides-to-be were after classic and natural make-up looks for their wedding days. We focused on perfecting the skin and adding subtle definition with make-up. I'm looking forward to working with these ladies later this year...and to the rest of the amazing year that 2009 is going to be! Thank you :)