A Quick Lesson on How to Fill Your Eyebrows: Part 1

As I have mentioned before, eyebrows can make a big difference in your appearance, and that could mean good or bad!   A nice set of groomed brows balances the face and makes the rest of your makeup look more polished.

Depending on the shape and size of your natural brows, the type of product(s) you can use may vary.  On a basic level, pencils should be used to shape the brow and powder should be used to fill.  There are other products out there, like brow gels, waxes, pomades, etc.  Brow gels and waxes are used to set the brows, and are available in clear and colored formulas.  Brow mousses and pomades are used to beef up thin or extremely pale brows, generally giving the appearance of thicker hairs.  No matter what you use, it is always a good idea to groom your brows in good lighting (trust me on this one!) and make sure to comb through the brows to ensure that the product is well-blended.  A spoolie brush is a MUST for combing, and a small angled brush is great for filling.

With brow products, I tend to lean toward shades that are slightly lighter and ashier than the natural brow color.  A lot of brow products tend to appear more reddish in photographs, which looks unnatural unless you have warmer toned hair and skin.

Here is my first EVER video tutorial!  Please forgive the quality of the video, as I am still getting used to all of this:)

Please stay tuned for Part 2 of How to Fill Your Eyebrows, which should be up soon!

A Quick Lesson on the Makeup Brushes Every Girl Should Own

Frequently I am asked about the types of makeup brushes to use to create different types of looks, for example: the cat eye flick, a smokey eye, etc.  I wanted to share with you the basic functions of the makeup brushes that can help create the majority of makeup looks- no need to go brush crazy!
The basic rules for makeup brushes are that natural hair brushes (animal hair) are best for powder products and synthetic hair brushes (plastic/manmade fiber) are best for applying cream or liquid products.  For natural hair brushes, I suggest splurging on brand name versions since they are generally made better and last longer (no hairs coming out after washing!)  I tend to buy MAC Cosmetics brushes because of their good quality, but there are plenty of other brands out there with great brushes as well.  There are also plenty of brands that offer inexpensive, well-made synthetic brushes, such as Real Techniques or Bdellium.  You can even find some nice kits out there that likely include all of my recommendations below.  Anyway, here we go!

Kryolan Shader Brushes (small and large)

1.  Eyeshadow shader brush:  A shader brush allows you to apply eyeshadow to the lid.  I recommend a good quality natural hair brush, but there are plenty of synthetic versions that work perfectly fine too.

Smashbox Blending Brush

2.  Eyeshadow blending brush: A blending brush is used to blend (duh!) eyeshadow (or other powder products) to get a seamless result, especially for achieving a smokey eye.  You can also use a blending brush to blend concealer on the under eye area, which makes the look more natural.  A natural bristle brush with get you the best results.  

MAC Spoolie Brush

3.  Spoolie/brow brush: Spoolie brushes can be used to groom brows into shape and also to de-clump mascara.

MAC Angled Eyeliner Brush

4.  Angled eyeliner brush:  A angled eyeliner brush is used to draw on eyeliner (especially good for a cat eye) with a gel or cream product.  You can also use this brush to fill in brows with a powder product.  A synthetic version is your best bet.

MAC Blush Brush

5.  Blush brush:  A blush brush is used to apply powder products, like blush and bronzer, to the face.    Look for a good quality natural brush for the best results.

MAC Powder Brush

6.  Powder brush:  The powder brush is used to apply powder to large areas of the face, mostly to set makeup and blot out shine.  Once again a good quality natural bristle brush is best.  

Sigma Concealer brush

7.  Concealer brush:  Concealer brushes are best to apply cream products to the skin.  This allows for precise concealing on the face, such as covering zits or other imperfections.  A synthetic version is your best bet.

Two different types of foundation brushes: MAC Angled Foundation Brush and Urban Decay's Optical Blending Brush

And if you wear liquid or cream foundation, 8.  Foundation brush or Beauty Blender:  A foundation brush is used to apply liquid or cream foundation to the face.  Using a brush or sponge instead of your fingers ensures that product isn't wasted, and allows for better blending.  As with the other cream/liquid products, a synthetic brush will work best.

I hope this helps clear things up when it comes to makeup brush shopping and usage.  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.