Ms. Donna said it's fine to use cheaper brushes, but there IS a huge difference in output. She made us pass around a pair of powder brushes - 1 MAC, and the other a cheap unbranded one, and made us feel the difference ourselves. Cheap brushes, while they can do their basic job of transferring makeup onto skin, are scratchy, making putting on makeup a not so enjoyable task. And if you're a makeup artist, scratching your client's faces with low-quality brushes are a total turn-off. Also, there are brushes that are so bad they do not have evenly distributed hairs and fibers that they deposit makeup unevenly on skin. Worse, some can have bits of hair falling on the face as you brush.
I currently use a set from Sephora, Liz Claiborne and a big, dense brush from Essence of Beauty. Price ranges from mid to high-end.
I've tried brushes from Etude House (Foundation and Stippling), Avon (Complete Set), and the free ones you get inside compacts and palettes from drugstore brands like L'oreal and Revlon, to Victoria's Secret. MAC brushes and Sephora brushes are similar in output, softness and longevity. Mid-priced brushes can sometimes deliver well in terms of output and softness, but not in longevity, OR deliver well in longevity and softness, but not in output. The Trifecta of Brush Greatness:
Crazy expensive brushes promise to deliver all three.
Cheaper brushes can only promise two and suck majorly in that one unshaded area.
Dirt cheap brushes can only promise to at least LOOK like brushes, you'll be lucky if they deliver at all.
Ms. Donna skipped a thorough discussion on each brush, so I shall discuss them one brush a post, some other time. She only emphasized the importance of investing in good ones. Other tools such as sponges, puffs, velcros, buds, cleaners and spatulas were mentioned in passing. I think they're just as important as brushes, especially the sponges. I am yet to try the Beauty Blender, as I am quite content with my Daiso disposable sponges - a dozen for P88. In terms of prices though, unlike brushes which are more complicated in form, these other tools can be purchased for cheap and still deliver.
Ms. Donna's product recommendations:
PRIMER. Quick Fix No Shine Mattifier. A makeup artist/participant in our table also had good things to say about this product. It's cheap, costs around P85 and can be bought in watsons and sm beauty stores.
FOUNDATION. MAC Studio Fix or Makeup Forever HD Foundation. Ms. Donna recommends high-quality a.k.a. expensive foundation because they are more pigmented. HD products are best as they look perfect in photos and in real life. For starters though, she says San San HD Foundation isn't bad. Tried it on myself during the workshop, half expecting it to not deliver because it's cheap (really, it is! Around P200 for a full-sized bottle!) but I was pleasantly surprised because it did well in covering my spots and it was intact for 6 hours, 2 hours of which I was sweating and exposed to the sun and dust. I noticed 3 red spots after putting this on, but it could be the Quick Fix No Shine Mattifier - it has salicylic acid. Fortunately though, I didn't break out so both should be good for combination, sensitive skin.
CONCEALER. I don't remember any specific brand she recommended for concealing spots and bags. She was using a concealer palette, not concealers in sticks and tubes so I'm not really sure what stuff she considers to be good.
POWDERS. I was waiting for her to mention Ben Nye Banana Powder because my makeup artist friends are so into it, but she didn't have that. I think it was from Mary Kay or Maybelline that she was using. She said if heavier coverage is needed, MAC Studio Fix is best. She's a big fan of MAC.
BROWS. NICHIDO BROW LINER PENCIL in CHESTNUT according to her is best and looks great on most faces. She also uses FACE SHOP STYLE MY EYEBROW, which I also personally use. I'll discuss the perfect brow in the next post. She insists it's ~*THE*~ most important part of the face so she gave it an entire block of discussion.
EYELINER. Again with the NICHIDO. I've not, to be honest, in my 10 years of makeup curiosity and practice, been a fan of this brand. Swear. Even when I was working on a student budget and could only afford Pond's, Maybelline, and at one point, Ever Bilena, I have never given Nichido some thought. I have no idea why this brand never appealed to me. (You gotta market, people!) Because I'm not really a fan of eyeliner (I'm chinita, monolid/korean/kontrabida-looking) I was not able to justify her excitement/loyalty to this line of pencils. Judging solely from her recommendation, I guess it's a good brand. She also recommends BYS. It's another brand I have seemingly for no reason ignored, but another makeup artist friend is crazy about this brand so I guess it's also good. I'm not really into pencils and liners.
EYESHADOW. LIPSTICK. BLUSHERS. SETTERS. ETC. I do not recall her recommending anything or discussing these products at length, probably because I've been delaying writing about it for over two weeks now (!) or I think it's because she skipped these products altogether and went on the next part which was about the Perfect Eyebrow.
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